The course led by Guido Lang, professor of business analytics and information systems, offered each spring, enables computer information systems students to positively impact the community through a semester-long educational initiative. The course aims to advance the public good by providing real-world learning opportunities for students enrolled.

To be successful with their projects, student work individually in teams to integrate what they have learned from previous CIS courses to understand and address their clients’ IT needs and problems.

Lang credits the applied experiential learning experience as a benefit to students and their future careers.

“Being an academic entrepreneur myself, I know from first-hand experience that real-world IT projects are often ill-defined, messy, fast-paced, and under-resourced,” said Lang. “Allowing students to struggle with the complexity and ambiguity of real-world IT projects really prepares them for what's ahead in their careers.”

Candlewood Fencing and The Boat Locker were clients who took part in the course this past spring.

Located in Newtown and Norwalk, Connecticut, Candlewood Fencing is Connecticut’s oldest and most decorated fencing club. Students who collaborated with Candlewood Fencing worked to automate a customer relationship management (CRM) process. They also developed a solution that automatically sends consumers personalized promotional emails based on their consumer behavior.

The Boat Locker, located in Bridgeport, Connecticut, has been a premiere sailboat dealership in Fairfield County, Connecticut. While working with The Boat Locker, students were able to implement an inventory management solution using a QR code-based inventory management system.

One of the students enrolled was Walter Erenhouse ’24, who had the opportunity to work with Candlewood Fencing and The Boat Locker. Erenhouse felt drawn to the course because it allowed him to deal with real businesses by allowing them to apply the skills and knowledge they have been learning over the years.

With a heavy focus on applying all their skills to real-world IT issues that their future clients could face, Erenhouse is excited about showing off the work he has been able to complete from his time enrolled in CIS 4 Good.

“By allowing me to put everything I'd learned at Quinnipiac to the test in the real world, I was able to hone my skills as a communicator, an analyst, and a developer all at once while also learning how to meld these abilities together. This is something employers have been very excited to hear about,” said Erenhouse.