10-15-2023 EDU - Flipbook - Page 6
6 The Baltimore Sun | Sunday, October 15, 2023
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University of Maryland launched two new master’s degree programs in embedded systems and cloud computing.
Preparing students to meet technology in the workplace
New degree programs and learning spaces lends excitement across region
By Lisa Baldino, Contributing Writer
S
tudents at three local universities
will be introduced to new, specialized course options and high-tech
collaborative learning spaces as they
venture into the 2023-24 school year.
All related to student preparedness for technology in the workforce, Salisbury University, Notre
Dame of Maryland University and University of
Maryland are initiating solutions that will meet
the challenges of a high-tech, high-speed technical
marketplace.
Salisbury University Integrates Forensic
Science Concentration
Opportunities to join the Maryland State
Police, work for the federal government, start a
military career or work in world-renowned hospitals just moved within the grasp of Salisbury
University students. With the initiation of the
study of forensic science as part of the Salisbury
Richard A. Henson School of Science and
Technology, students can pursue this unique
program right in Maryland.
According to Ryan Shifler, Ph.D., associate
dean, it’s the only program of its kind in the
state. “The program opens up opportunities for
science and technology majors who will still
take forensics courses. The entire curriculum
will support the needs of the forensics community,” Shifler says. The program is designed
to prepare students for jobs like police work,
federal, military and medical positions.
Through a partnership with Wor-Wic
Community College, Salisbury students can
broaden their course selection by attending certain forensics-based classes at the community
college, yet they retain their Salisbury student
identity. Shifler says he personally has arranged
the transportation for students to and from
each campus. There are currently 10 students in
the program, but more can enroll in the fall, or
when they declare a major in integrated science.
In addition, thanks to a proposal between
Salisbury and the University of Maryland
Baltimore, Salisbury students who complete the
forensic science major will have the opportunity to apply to attend UMB’s Master of Science
program in forensic medicine.
Shifler says the success of the program will
include evaluation of enrollment numbers and
graduation rates from the program, but more
telling is the job market. “Success will be based
on the extent to which these students can get
jobs.”
Notre Dame of Maryland University Goes
Hands-On with Renovated Science and
Innovation Center
Notre Dame of Maryland University opened
the doors of its newly renovated Knott Science
and Innovation Center as students returned
to campus this fall. The $9 million renovation
includes high-tech labs, flexible classrooms, a
data analytics lab, hands-on and collaborative
teaching and learning areas, and an anatomy
and physiology lab that brings bones and muscles to life. The center will also be the home
base for the university’s foray into a master’s
degree in the physician’s assistant program.
“The center positions the university as a
regional leader in STEM and health care disciplines,” explains Marylou Yam, president of
Notre Dame of Maryland University. She says
the school’s focus on biology, chemistry, physics, data analytics and a doctorate program in
occupational therapy will also benefit from the
collaborative nature of the center.
“We also offer the region’s first and only
master’s degree program in art therapy,” Yam
says. “We were the first to have a bachelor’s
program in art therapy, and now we are leading
the way with advanced degrees.”
Yam proudly notes that the center’s space
off the lobby will be home to the Maryland
Women’s Hall of Fame exhibit. The Maryland
Women for Commission bestows the titles
annually to Maryland women for outstanding
contributions to the state.
Celebration of the renovation will begin
with an October 24 ribbon-cutting ceremony,
the unveiling of a special video highlighting
the new Center, and a variety of social media
strategies. “This new Center will aid in student
recruitment, have a positive impact on enrollment, and allow students to become change
makers,” Yam notes.
She shares that the renovation was completed on time and on budget, despite the many
challenges of the past two years. Now, the chalTechnology in the workplace,
continued on page 9
Students in UMBC’s entrepreneurship, innovation and leadership graduate program must come up with either a business idea, a nonprofit idea, a product or service idea.
The entrepreneurial mindset
Skills for success in any career
By E. Rose Scarff, Contributing Writer
he entrepreneurial mindset is often
referred to as the three Cs: Curiosity
about all sorts of things and the ability to ask, “what if;” the ability of
make Connections between ideas and
people to further their project; and the
ability to be Creative in the way they implement
their ideas. By learning to think “outside the
box” in this way, students can succeed in whatever their endeavor might be, whether in a business of their own, or working for someone else.
At the University of Maryland, Baltimore
County (UMBC), its entrepreneurship, innovation and leadership graduate program students
develop these skills from their very first class.
“Each student is charged with coming up with
either a business idea, a nonprofit idea, a product or service idea,” says Gib Mason, professor of practice, graduate program director for
entrepreneurship, innovation and leadership
at UMBC.
T
The class also looks at what it means to be
an entrepreneur. “What does that look like in
terms of how you operate, both from a professional perspective as well as personally,” says
Mason. They consider the impact of being an
entrepreneur, of growing a business, of being
responsible for, not only their business, but the
people that are involved in that business.
Many students arrive with an idea about
what they want to do or create, and others don't
yet know. Many students are already working
for a business or organization, so they learn
as an intra-preuneur within a business or as a
social-preuneur in a nonprofit or benefit organization. At whatever stage they arrive, students
are helped through the process of making their
idea become a reality.
With that foundation students also work
on projects and ideas brought in by an external
client. They are expected to apply this realworld learning to the work they are trying to
develop for themselves. Two capstone projects
are required. The feedback that happens in the
first capstone class helps them fine tune their
project for the second capstone.
For Lauren Cremen, who is in her last
semester of the program, learning from her
fellow students and from her professors who
are working entrepreneurs was key. “The most
valuable learning experience for me was working with United Way of Central Maryland,” says
Cremen, “solving current problems within our
local community by using creative problem
solving and design thinking to come up with
entrepreneurial solutions.”
This is also a goal for the Center of Strategic
Entrepreneurship at Coppin State University,
which aspires to improve entrepreneurial outcomes in West Baltimore and across the globe.
This is accomplished through focusing on three
pillars: economic empowerment, education and
social and community innovation.
“In the economic empowerment pillar,” says
Ron Williams, Ph.D., associate professor of
management and director of the Center for
Strategic Entrepreneurship at Coppin, “we do
the typical work that entrepreneurship centers do.” The center helps startups and earlystage entrepreneurs through their various partners, such as the Small Business Development
Corporation (SBDC), PNC Bank and others.
They also have a real estate acquisition program
where they assist students to acquire their real
estate licenses. In this way students can earn
while they learn.
In the education pillar, they have several
programs, one of which is the New Psalmist
Future Founders Literacy Program. “We take
entrepreneurs into the Baltimore City public
school system in the primary grades,” says
Williams, “and infuse the existing curriculum with entrepreneurial thinking.” Through
a read-aloud program, the entrepreneurs are
providing the young students with an example
they can emulate.
Under the community and social innovaEntrepreneurial mindset,
continued on page 9
