Manoj J. Chacko

One of the great advantages Temple students have long enjoyed is the opportunity to work directly with top industry executives under the IBIT mentorship program. This year was no different—though thanks to the wrench that the COVID-19 pandemic threw into the midst of the 2019-2020 academic year, program participants faced unusual challenges.

As in-person instruction moved online, IBIT leaders and program participants also quickly shifted gears to protect and maintain the mentorship experience. As it happens, the program this year was as robust as it has ever been, with 11 industry executives and 13 students on board (up from three mentors and three students last year). In keeping with the tradition of the program, the mentors were members of either the IT Advisory Board or executives of IBIT member firms, including George Llado, SVP & CIO of Alexion; Chris Cera, the CEO of Arcweb; and Larry Dignan, Global Editor-in-Chief of ZDNet.

Students were matched with the executives based on how well the mentor’s background and expertise lined up with a student’s aspirations. Senior Kevin Dang says that not only did he feel like the pairing with his mentor, Dignan, was spot on, but he also appreciated the “organic” nature of the relationship and the flexibility of their interaction. “I reached out to him when I needed help and when I felt was right, not on a schedule that was assigned to me,” Dang says. “The mentorship allowed me to connect with another person whom I know I can reach out to anytime if I need help.”

Dignan, too, found the experience to be a positive one. “It was fun talking cybersecurity and career plans with Kevin,” he says. “I see him going far.”

The next goal for the program is to include a dozen mentors who take on one to three students each.

Senior Jordan Febles, who was mentored by IT advisory board chair Bruce Fadem, says his experience with the program in the 2019-2020 school year ended up resulting in the best mentorship he’s ever had.

“It motivated me to become the best version of myself, and allowed me to gain experience from a fascinating person within his field,” he says. “It also showed me the various stages IT has had in developing the world, and how it will continue to develop the future.”

The Spring 2019 IBIT pilot matched students with top executives. One of the great advantages Temple students have long enjoyed is the opportunity to work directly with top industry executives under the IBIT mentorship program. In the 2018-2019 academic year, the mentorship model shifted a bit from project-based pairings to one-on-one assignments designed to give students even more access to guidance, perspective and feedback from seasoned senior executives.

“Our mission with IBIT is to integrate professional perspectives with academic expertise to create best practice forums and facilitate excellence in IT,” says Sondra Barbour, IT Advisory Board member. “This newly designed mentoring program directly supports that mission. By pairing students with industry experts, we’re providing the opportunity to increase knowledge and connections between students, industry and faculty.”

Mentors have traditionally been members of either the IT Advisory Board or executives of IBIT member firms, and this year was no different: The roster of leaders included George Llado, CIO of Alexion; Chris Cera, the CEO of Arcweb; and Dinesh Desai, the Chairman and CEO of Emtec, Inc.

The pilot program’s three mentees, nominated by faculty and chosen by the Institute, were all MIS majors. Rising senior Michelle Purnama and rising juniors Sophia Spadotto and David Shin were assigned to their mentor based on background and mentor expertise.

“It was a special and unique opportunity,” Purnama says. She was paired with Alexion’s Llado, which she says was ideal given her upcoming internship with the company. Not only did her conversations with Llado and tour of the Alexion office help her prepare for the internship, she says, she found the CIO accessible and easy to talk to. “That made it comfortable for me to ask him questions and ask for advice.”

The mentors, too, enjoyed the experience. “The mentorship program has been a great way to build relationships with young professionals while simultaneously helping them create new building blocks for their careers,” Arcweb’s Cera says. “I plan to continue being a part of the mentorship program moving forward.”

In fact, not only will the new model of IBIT mentorship continue on through upcoming semesters, but the next goal for the program is expanding to include a dozen mentors with anywhere from one to three students each.

In 2016-2017, dozens of experienced IT executives served as sounding boards and advisors for MIS capstone projects. IBIT matched 36 industry executives to MIS student projects.

The goal of the IBIT Mentoring Program is to match experienced executives with student projects. The senior executives are usually members of the Fox IT advisory board or employees of IBIT member firms. The role of the mentor is to work with a team of students and provide ideas, feedback, and act as a sounding board for challenges and problems. The mentors also serve as judges for the final project competition, where students semester-long projects are evaluated during final presentations.

The benefit for mentors is the opportunity to engage with outstanding students; the benefit for students is the chance to leverage the experience of senior executives. The IBIT mentoring program is chaired by Bruce Fadem, Chair of the Fox IT advisory board.

In spring 2017, the winning team was “Floating Bridges”, an application that combines 3-D mapping drones, bridge-assessment algorithms and augmented reality to give experts a cost-effective way to assess a bridge’s structural needs. Team members Alexandra Iacovetti, Nicholas Rivera, Bridget Silk and Benjamin Sulaiman were mentored by Fox IT advisory board member Joe Spagnoletti.
The fall 2017 winner was My.Di, a tool for monitoring digital identity. The team, composed of Kimberly Eastlake, Mia Jardine, Noah Mercado, Ryan Pace and Nodir Zakhidov, was mentored by Sondra Barbou, the inaugural recipient of the Fox IT Award for Distinguished Alumni.