Summer 2003

Volume 6 Number 3
A publication of Macon State College

MSC's Institute for Information Management Now Based at the New Warner Robins Campus

This multimedia auditorium in the Academic Services Building of the new Warner Robins Campus will be the site of some of the Institute for Information Management's workforce development programs. Photo by Danny Gilleland

By Sheron Smith

Macon State College’s new Warner Robins Campus is now the headquarters of the Institute for Information Management, MSC’s technology outreach arm designed to help business, industry and Robins Air Force Base meet their professional workforce needs.

“The new campus is a perfect location for the Institute,” said Mike Hale, who heads up the Institute as executive director of the new campus. “The concentration of technology related industries in Houston County will give us many opportunities to create partnerships that will help the region’s economic vitality.”

Created in 1998, the Institute reflects part of Macon State’s core mission: using the College’s strength in information technology and other disciplines to provide professional education and serve as an economic development resource for Central Georgia.

The Institute coordinates specialized instruction for the region with a focus on the courses, software and IT certification opportunities that will help business and industry maintain a competitive edge in the information economy.

Among other functions, the Institute is the conduit through which Macon State has provided Intellectual Capital Partnership Programs to private businesses and to Robins Air Force Base. The most recent ICAPP project took place on Base, where 15 engineers who already have their bachelor’s degrees received accelerated software development education to enhance their expertise. The Base has faced a shortage of software specialists who are crucial to attracting new workload and remaining competitive with other air logistics facilities in the nation. ICAPP is a University System of Georgia economic development tool.

Hale said the Institute will continue to develop ICAPP partnerships with the Base and the private sector. But the Institute is also launching new initiatives.

Among them are seminars and workshops that are free and open to the public. Recent sessions, which took place at the Warner Robins Chamber of Commerce, covered such topics as “Top 10 Reasons Why Businesses Should Have a Website,” and “Current Developments in Computer Security.”

The Institute has also introduced a series of fee-based courses, each three days in length, to address specific business needs of Central Georgia companies and other entities. Recent courses at the Base included “Benchmarking” and “Lean,” both efficiency programs.

Hale said that apart from offering courses, the Institute is now talking to individual company prospects in Houston and Bibb counties about developing programs to meet their workforce needs.

“The Institute’s new location in Houston County will give us an opportunity to size up the market to discover new opportunities throughout the region,” Hale said.

For more information about the Institute for Information Management call 757-4396.