Live From New York, It’s Pace Path!

Selfies Galore

The long-anticipated event #PacePathLive has just blown through campus on this brisk Saturday afternoon. We had an awesome turnout of panelists and participants, making the event well worth the trek, so early in the morning.

It was a great day to hang out with some of our favorite alumni, like Matthew Knell (’00, of About.com) and Alex Quick (’11, of AppFigures) and to meet a variety of people in media and development fields, such as Marissa Lerer (of Compose(d) Creative), Masha Murakhovsky (of 360i), and so many more.

Panelists spent the afternoon describing all sorts of things, from splitting time between professional and personal Twitter accounts, to how to protect your own brand, to the differences between working corporate versus start up jobs in the tech field. They all shared stories of their work lives and internet lives, answered questions from the participants, and took selfies galore, of course, (#SeidenbergSelfie).

While there’s no way to recreate the event for those who couldn’t make it (we truly hope your Saturday Sleep-In was well worth missing out). What we do have are some SketchNotes that offer a touch of insight to the event’s proceedings. [click images for full size]Anya Rosentreter SketchNotesAnya Rosentreter SketchNotes 2

High School Students Explore Robotics & Game Programming @ Pace

On Saturday November 1st, the Seidenberg School hosted their second Hands on Technology Day Workshops (HOT Workshops).  High School students attended workshops about Game Programming, taught by Dr. Mary Courtney, and Robotics, taught by Dr. Pauline Mosley. Participants were able to get a real hands-on experience. In Dr. Mary Courtney’s workshop, participants learned interactive programming using an international programming environment GreenfootThey also used the Java language. In Dr. Pauline Mosley’s workshop, students learned how sensors can assist autonomous vehicles in detecting objects. They each got to program, build, and test their own robot.

We collected a lot of great feedback from the event form both the professors and participants. Participants loved the topics that were covered, the hands-on elements, the instructors, and the current Pace Seidenberg Students who came to help out. The Professors were greatly encouraged by the excitement that the participants brought to the sessions and how they really dived into each of the workshops.

The Seidenberg School would like to thank all the staff from Seidenberg and the Pace University Admissions office that helped make the day a wonderful success.

Here are some pictures from the event:

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You Mean You Haven’t Heard about Urban Mill?

It’s that time of year again — PDP season is in full swing! PDP, the Product Development Project Seidenberg participates in, in collaboration with our friends at Aalto Design Factory, starts every year in the Fall and lasts until May. This year we have six students who have traveled to Helsinki this month to get in touch with the teams they’ll be working with for the next eight months. The students participating are Brianna Vecchione (CS), Ethan Garrison (CS), Jane Rabinovich (Graphic Design), Patrick Prescott (IS), and Peta Clarke (MS in IS).

Brianna Vecchione wrote a piece about the team’s experience in Helsinki earlier this month:
[the following text stands in its original form as it appeared on the Urban Mill home page]

“After weeks of planning and with anticipation and excitement, the Pace University PDP team finally arrived in Espoo to formally begin our PDP projects. There are 6 of us split into 2 teams: One sponsored by ABB to innovate maritime engineering and the other sponsored through ComNet to develop a low-cost autonomous networking system through environmental data collection. Our first stop after our 8-hour flight from New York City was the Espoo Innovation Garden, where we were first introduced to the Design Factory grounds. However, we were lucky enough to run into Lars Miikki, who gave us an in-depth introduction to the history of Urban Mill, an urban innovation platform, from its untraditional conception to its future ambitions as the next pioneer for European innovation. The space boasts extremely advantageous features, from their geographical and cultural location in Espoo to their emphasis on sustainable development via intelligent solutions, like smart city design and internationalization.

PDP Group 2014PDP Group 2014 - 2

This ambition is reflected throughout the grounds of Urban Mill. The space embraces the concept of  “ready but never finished,” with startup vision boards, rough prototypes, research posters, and Styrofoam ground plans scattered throughout the spaces. There are small, creatively decorated design spaces throughout the area, giving it a modern, colorful flare. As Lars explained to us, students prefer the “unfinished” space because it invites their own ideas and contributions as well as providing them with a chance to create, build, and innovate in a way that is original and personalized.

Our group was mesmerized by the many inventions we encountered, ranging from workspace bedrooms, to an “active life village,” to data trackers that detect movement. There’s an entire wall full of business cards of individuals who share, collaborate and contribute to the development of the Urban Mill – of course, we couldn’t resist adding our cards as well. We finished the tour with a demonstration of their three-panel, floor-to-ceiling monitor screen (we were pleasantly surprised to see an image of Manhattan in the background!).

Peta Clarke

Urban Mill

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

All in all, it was a wonderful introduction to the work to be done here at Aalto University Campus and we are honored to contribute to its visionary expansion at such an exciting time!”

It’s an exhilarating opportunity for all students participating, and we can’t wait to see how the projects turn out!

Dr. Houle’s UNV 101 class takes on cybersecurity

It’s never too early – or too late – to educate people about safe online behavior, and our Seidenberg students know this!
(L-R) Amanda Perez, Brian Bounos, Joel Thomas and Jalyn Robinson, present their ideas.
October is National Cyber Security Awareness Month (NCSAM) and the Seidenberg School has joined with the Department of Homeland Security and its partners across the country to highlight the importance of cybersecurity and online safety.

As part of this effort, Seidenberg first-year students in Dr. Bernice Houle’s UNV 101 class took the lead to share responsibility for online security by promoting cybersecurity awareness.

The students worked in groups to create a poster and two videos that highlight three distinct cybersecurity-related issues.

 
To receive cyber security tips year round, visit www.dhs.gov/stopthinkconnect and become a Friend of the Campaign. The Stop.Think.Connect. online toolkit is filled with tips, facts, and shareable resources for several audiences, www.dhs.gov/stopthinkconnect-toolkit.

Seidenberg Alum’s Kickstarter Campaign

Marcelo Zimmler
Seidenberg Alum, Marcelo Zimmler
Seidenberg alum, Marcelo Zimmler (Class of 2012), has just launched a kickstarted campaign of his own. After graduation, Zimmler moved to London to pursue an MBA, but over the years, he has been developing his own business he calls Mariscotti Art, and it is based out of NYC. The publishing company deals with original artwork and reproductions by Contemporary Abstract artist Osvaldo Mariscotti. The Kickstarter Zimmler has just launched is campaigning to create an entire collection of unique fashion accessories inspired by Mariscotti’s art. The accessories include (so far) scarves and shawls made of pure silk, cashmere, and Merino wool.

“I thought that by presenting the art in more familiar and accessible formats, people would be able to gain insights and greater appreciation for this particular kind of art which is very valuable but sometimes misunderstood.”

To take a look at the Mariscotti Art project, or to back the fund, you can get to the Kickstarter page here!
The artist Mariscotti and some of his work.
The artist Mariscotti and some of his work.

Agile Explained

As mentioned in the previous blog post, Pace will be hosting Agile NYC for their 5th annual Agile Day, happening on the 18th. For most who have not been introduced to or worked with agile methodologies, the concept of the agile approach can seem a bit abstract, and  abstraction might be intimidating at first, but agile is something you’ll want to understand concretely before looking for work. 

Agile NYC Pace UniversityAgile NYC’s coordinator Joe Krebs, in answering a few of our questions about agile, mentioned that a company using the agile approach will expect its employees to be familiar with the methodologies before they are hired. So how does a student go from zero experience in agile to pro upon job-interview? (Actual representation of becoming an agile pro depicted below).

Well, you won’t have to be pro, but having some experience with agile will be necessary in your field. Luckily for most of you, gaining experience isn’t too hard around here, since Pace is one of Agile NYC’s closer partners. Agile NYC’s events are often in and around the university, like Agile Day on the 18th, and participating in these events will get you up to speed. Then, if you still want more practice, you can gain hands on experience by joining teams like Seidenberg Creative Labs, who will use the agile approach in their projects, or taking certain classes — an example of which being Dr. Scharff’s mobile software engineering class, CS 389 — that implement agile techniques on classroom projects. Having a rich understanding of agile will really give you the edge you need when employers compare you to you your competition.

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Agile, in the simplest terms, is a product development methodology, specifically for programmers. Many careers in programming lead to projects where someone (or a company) will consult a team of programmers to build what they need. While the programmers do their thing and the ‘bosses’ do their own, often times problems arise from start to finish. The agile method of working through a project helps avoid a lot of these problems or provides simplified methods of solving said issues as they arise — and they will arise.

From its official conception in 2001, when the Agile Manifesto was created, agile’s values are described as,

“Individuals and interactions over processes and tools.
Working software over comprehensive documentation.
Customer collaboration over contract negotiation.
Responding to change over following a plan.
That is, while there is value in the items on the right, we value the items on the left more,” (agilemanifesto.org).

This set of rules directly opposes the more traditional methodology known as the Waterfall method. Agile emphasizes the importance of personable teamwork that moves forward as a cohesive effort, rather than a group of separated workers working towards a common goal. To do this successfully, agile encourages daily meetings for teams to discuss issues before or as they arise rather than after. Not only are daily meetings valuable for avoiding issues, they also stimulate creativity and brainstorming between team members. More often than not, these meetings take on an informal tone and promote a sort of playfulness to offset stress or idea blockage.

Now that you’re on your way to becoming an agile pro, instead of wandering around next Thursday’s event, spending all your time learning what the heck agile is in the first place, you can now focus on the real meat of Agile day and feast on its workshops and networking opportunities.

 

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