High Tech for the Long Haul

SOM displays its high-tech confidence by creating new and improved
telecommunications management and information systems specializations

By Paula Felps


Even as the high-tech industry struggles to regain its footing after
recent high-profile stumbles, The University of Texas at Dallas (UTD)
School of Management is strengthening the ranks as the industry regroups.

"Being so close to the Telecom Corridor, our location allows us to achieve
significant synergies with the likes of Nortel Networks, Ericsson, Alcatel
USA, and others," says Dr. Rakesh Gupta, a professor in The School of
Management's (SOM) Information Systems area. Besides proximity, SOM makes
the most of faculty ingenuity and course innovation, so Dr. Gupta adds:
"Due to all of these reasons, we will be very well positioned to take
advantage of the coming rebound in our economy."

Prime among innovations are two complements of courses that allow students
to specialize in telecommunications management or information technology
(IT) management and consulting. Students become eligible to enroll in
specialized telecom management and IT courses as they complete a core of
basic business courses that includes accounting, economics, and applied
statistics.

Beyond the core, both specialties require their students to take Database
Management Systems and Telecommunications. Thereafter, the required course
loads diverge. Telecom Management students must take Advanced
Telecommunications, Analysis and Design of Telecom Networks, and Legal and
Regulatory Issues in Telecommunications. IT students sign up for Systems
Analysis and Project Management, Systems Re-Engineering Project, and
Enterprise Resource Computing. After acquiring one of these powerful
blends of skill sets for a high-tech world, both telecom management and IT
majors finish their degree work by drawing from some thirty elective
classes to complete the last nine credit hours.

Despite the widely publicized downturn in the telecom and tech industries,
those enrolled in these innovative courses see them as invaluable. "I do
believe that [the telecommunication management specialization] will give
me an edge in the job market," says student Lila Foroutan. "It has
introduced me to network design tools, network management, topology and
the structure of telecom networks, telecom protocols, and industry
standards, [all of] which are an essential part of becoming a network
engineer or telecommunications manager."


Relevant for now - and later

Such courses are the brainchild of a group of the School's Information
Systems faculty, including Varghese Jacob, Vijay Mookerjee, Sumit Sarkar,
Srinivasan Raghunathan, and Young Ryu. Dr. Sarkar, one of the early
faculty proponents, notes that the courses are designed to meet the
ongoing needs of the telecom and IT industries.

"Before we made any decisions on what the courses should contain, we sat
down with several members of the School's Advisory Council from the
telecom industry. We knew we had to find out what the current and future
needs of the industry are. We also visited with students so we could get
their perspective. We designed the courses based on input from both
sources. We wanted what we taught to be relevant, something that would
meet industry's needs right away as well as in the future," Dr. Sarkar
explains.

SOM introduced the two specializations three years ago along with another
portfolio of classes that allows graduate students to specialize in
e-commerce (See "e-commerce," Management Volume 3, No. 1, Autumn 1999,
23-25.)

Dr. Gupta, who was instrumental in the program's development, has taught a
number of the new courses, including one that gave an overview of the
field of telecommunications during the summer 2002 semester. His support
of the program's creation stemmed from the extensive research he has
conducted in telecommunications during the past eight years. "Both the
technologies involved and the applications they enable are tremendously
powerful in the globalized environment of today," he points out. "As these
technologies proliferate, there is a significant need for managers to
familiarize themselves with the regulations, legal aspects, e-commerce,
and potential benefits of their use."

Dr. Gupta notes that high-tech programs at other universities have been
tremendously successful, and while they may have launched before UTD's
program, The School of Management houses its own unique set of strengths.

"Where we score over others is in our strongly research-focused faculty
[and] leadership; our dean is one of the pre-eminent telecom network
design researchers," he says, adding that the School's location
contributes to the courses' success as well.


Feeling good about the future

Dr. Gupta isn't alone in his confidence in what lies ahead for the
industry. Students see the skills they're learning now as an investment in
tools needed when the slowdown ends.

"I definitely feel there is a very bright future in telecommunications,"
says Darrell McClanahan, telecommunications manager for the city of
Garland and an SOM student specializing in telecommunications management.
He took Dr. Gupta's telecommunications course last summer, and it
brightened his outlook for the industry.

"The potential and benefit are just too great to remain untapped. Demand
will continue, and scientific developments will continue to reduce cost
[of services], making it more affordable."

Mr. McClanahan had already enrolled in an MBA program at UTD when he
discovered the Master of Science degree specialization in
telecommunications. He says the program was exactly what he was looking
for.

"I plan to continue my career in telecommunications," he explains. "I am
using this training to improve my skills. My plans are to get involved in
new applications of technology. I want to be involved in the future of
telecommunications."


Teaching flexibility for survival

Even as the present seems uncertain, the future is keeping class
enrollment and enthusiasm strong. Woody Wu, owner of a small high-tech
company in the Telecom Corridor, teaches another of the new courses,
Network Analysis and Design. Mr. Wu says that although the course is
designed for students in today's telecom market, it can help them better
prepare for the future.

"It helps them to be more flexible [so they] can survive in today's
telecom market," he says. "It makes them more open-minded."


Regaining sure footing

Mr. Wu uses the business case method in his class, which is organized into
learning teams. "The learning teams must decide the customer requirements.
[Teaching this way] helps students [learn to] decide what may be the best
strategy for short-term or long-term network design. And companies need
good strategies to make and save money."

The course provides both theory and practical knowledge and skills needed
to compete in today's marketplace. Mr. Wu says the School's location in
the Telecom Corridor only adds to the value and quality of education, as
both instructors and students working in the industry are available to
share their knowledge and experience.

That creates the ability to provide detailed, specific courses for the
telecom and high-tech sector, something that student Lila Foroutan
couldn't find at other schools. She enrolled in UTD's telecommunications
management courses after taking other classes elsewhere.

"None had entailed designing or managing a telecom network," says Ms.
Foroutan, one of Mr. Wu's students last summer. "I felt that this course
would help tie everything I had learned together."

Like most students in the program, Ms. Foroutan believes that the hard
knocks suffered by high technology in recent months are merely a dismal
footnote in its long-term success story. As the industry regains surer
footing, professionals who have continued honing their high-tech skills
will find themselves at a distinct advantage.

"I believe that the recent downturn in the telecom industry is only
temporary, and telecommunications will continue to become more and more
important," she points out. "This has been a good opportunity to enhance
my skills, . . .increasing my chances of getting a job in the telecom
industry."


SOM carries on

The downturn definitely is not shaking the confidence - or determination -
of School officials. Hasan Pirkul, dean of The School of Management, says
that the temporary slowdown will not affect the long-term success of the
program.

"We believe that technology and telecom will come back strong, and there
will be a shortage of qualified employees as a result of massive layoffs
and people leaving the [high-tech] sector and this region," he says. "Our
programs will be popular again, and will indeed play a critical role in
meeting the new demand that will emerge as a result."

He points to the demand from students and area companies, which led to the
development of the graduate-level high-tech specializations. SOM's
development of the courses is a natural outgrowth of trends in the
high-tech sector, he says.

Those who are enrolled agree that the program provides more than they
signed up for. They are confident it is only a matter of time before they
are put in advantageous positions to use the array of skills gained from
the classes.

Ms. Foroutan says she has gleaned unexpected benefits from her classes, 
such as learning to keep current on the latest trends in technology and
learning how to assess their impact, benefits, and future position. Mr.
McClanahan, likewise, feels that the program has far exceeded his
expectations and has better prepared him to face industry ups and downs.

Telecommunications plays a major role in a wide range of applications, he
says, and he has "benefited from the challenge to assimilate the
diversity. I find it stimulating and challenging to keep pace with the new
developments.

"Telecommunications today is very different from telecommunications a year
or two ago, and I think the professors. . .are very involved with those
changes and are keen to pass new ideas on to their students. They are
enthusiastic and excited about the future of telecommunications."