Skip to main content

IS&T Welcomes 14 High School IT Interns

Over 100 well-qualified high school students applied for an opportunity to learn in IS&T research labs this summer.

image

Omaha – The University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO) College of Information Science and Technology (IS&T) welcomes participants in its annual Summer High School Internship Program in Information Technology (IT), starting Monday, June 6, 2016. Over 100 well-qualified students applied for 14 spots in various IS&T research labs. Now in its 4th year, the internship program is designed to immerse qualified high school students in the research and development of traditional, applied, and emerging areas of IT.

With a focus on hands-on experiences working directly with IS&T professors, staff and current students, the selected high school students work 20 hours a week over 8 weeks and receive a stipend of $1,500. The goal of the program is to provide high school students with concrete structured research experiences while exposing them to the fun and excitement of the IT profession.

IS&T research areas participating in the program this year include programming for robotics, bioinformatics, software engineering, information assurance, database-driven web development, IT innovation, iOS/Droid app development, unity gaming, big data, and others.

“Introducing high school students to exciting and cutting edge research in IT provides an insight into how the scientific process happens as compared with what they learn in school,” said Deepak Khazanchi, associate dean of academic affairs at the College of Information Science and Technology. Additionally, Dean Khazanchi believes that “many students do not realize how their career aspirations fit into the IT landscape. Through hands-on work with research and development projects, students can discover their passions in technology and create a rewarding career path.”

“Many students do not realize how their career aspirations fit into the IT landscape. Through hands-on work with research and development projects, students can discover their passions in technology and create a rewarding career path.”

 Associate Dean of Academic Affairs Deepak Khazanchi

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, between 2010 and 2020 the output for information technology related fields is expected to grow at an average 6.1 percent every year. Despite the tremendous opportunity for qualified IT professionals, there remains a workforce deficit. Code.org reported that by the year 2020 there will be 1.4 million computer jobs, but only 400,000 computer science students – a deficit of one million qualified professionals. In Omaha, Careerlink.org reports that IT is one of the most in-demand career fields and continues to grow. The High School Internship Program in IT opens the doors of opportunity for students as they begin to map out their careers.

The program, which runs June 3rd thru July 29th, welcomes 14 students from various high schools in the region: Millard West, Millard North, Omaha Christian Academy, Omaha Central, Skutt Catholic, Elkhorn High School, Gretna High School, Westside High School, and Northview High School (GA).

For questions about the summer high school internships, please contact Angela McGraw at admcgraw@unomaha.edu. For media inquiries, please contact Amanda Rucker at arucker@unomaha.edu.

About IS&T

The College of Information Science and Technology (CIST) was established at the University of Nebraska at Omaha in 1996 and represents the joint efforts of the University of Nebraska, the State of Nebraska, and private industry to address the growing global needs for knowledgeable professionals in Information Technology (IT). For more information, visit http://www.ist.unomaha.edu.