About 20 teams of Michigan State University juniors and seniors are ready and waiting to help business, government and nonprofit organizations and MSU researchers. As part of the final course in their Information Technology minor, these students are required to work in cross-functional teams on a real-world project. They just need a few more clients.

Teagan Dixon, fixed-term faculty in the Department of Accounting and Information Systems, and Tom Day, assistant professor in the Department of Media and Information in the College of Communication Arts & Sciences, who are teaching the course, say the students are capable of taking on a wide range of projects. Each team will consist of students majoring in business, media and information, computer science, engineering and a few other majors. They’ve already completed successful projects like these:

  • Websites and content management systems: Students have designed new websites, redesigned existing websites and proposed new ideas for database systems, among other web-related projects. For example, one student team was responsible for the redesign of an online dashboard for Steelcase and MSU.
  • Businesses strategies and IT solutions: A student team created a unified endpoint management strategy and built a proof of concept using the proposed solution for the Oakland County IT Department.
  • Market research and user research: Student teams have developed a full market assessment of web technologies for the Michigan Government Management Information Sciences and performed user research via surveys and focus groups for the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, Wildlife Division.
  • Social media marketing and search engine optimization strategies: Students have created social media campaigns and SEO strategies for several companies and organizations. One of the most recent projects was for Wrapped in Love, a clothing and accessories line providing comfort, style and dignity for cancer patients.

Business, government or nonprofit organizations may now submit proposals to have student teams take on projects for the spring 2022 semester, which starts in January and ends in late April. The ideal project is hands-on, with a well-defined outcome that can be achieved by five students in about 10 weeks.

To submit a project for consideration, please contact instructors Dixon and Day as soon as possible and no later than Jan. 4.