Cornerstone University Hosts Second Annual Midwest Collegiate Computing Conference
Students from five Michigan colleges and universities convened at Cornerstone University from March 22 to 23, 2019, for MWC3, a competitive computing conference. A total of 78 students attended this second annual event along with faculty, staff, area sponsors and employers. Participating schools were Central Michigan University, Cornerstone University, Ferris State University, Grand Valley State University and Kalamazoo Valley Community College.
Students competed in up to four competitions, including Java development, Python development, Visual Studio development, Office Solutions, network design, systems analysis and design, project management, enterprise systems and cyber security. The conference also included a small group discussion of emerging technologies, professional networking time and a career panel led by sponsor and employer representatives.
Paul Newton, a consulting IT specialist for IBM Dallas, was the featured speaker at the event’s concluding awards banquet. In his presentation, Newton targeted the conference’s theme “Connecting to the Future” by reviewing the history and importance of the mainframe computer, as well as its prominent position in the future of cloud computing. During the two-day event, Newton also led the training and orientation for the students who competed in IBM’s “Master the Mainframe” competition.
Event sponsors were Auto Owners Insurance, Dow, Farmers Insurance, IBM, Simulation Powered Learning (SPL) and TEK systems.
The conference provided opportunities for students, sponsors and faculty to network and learn of area job and internship possibilities, as well as learning about new and emerging computing technologies and skills.
