Adopting the IS 2009 Model Curriculum: Apanel Session to Address the Challenges for Program Implementation

This panel session is designed to initiate an open forum and frank discussion of the IS 2009 Model Curriculum proposed by the Joint IS 2009 Curriculum Task Force and developed as a cooperative effort by the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) and the Association for Information Systems (AIS). Following an introduction to the new model curriculum, a summary and overview of the changes from IS 97/2002 to the IS 2009 recommended core and elective courses will be presented and a panel representing academia and business will address possible issues, challenges, and implications of implementing the suggested curriculum changes on the major stakeholders that include students, faculty, administration, infrastructure resources, and the business community. Concluding the session will be an open forum to allow audience participation in the discussion for the purpose of exchanging ideas on the implementation of the new model curriculum

Are information systems and computer science overlapping more and more?

In this research, we posit the importance of including Computer Science topics in undergraduate Information Systems courses. A review of the existing literature has mentioned the importance of learning some Computer Science topics for an Information Systems career. Unfortunately, we have not found a consensus that could push this initiative. There is a set of concepts that Information Systems students should acquire from Computer Science or at least have a solid background in these areas. Therefore, we propose a set of courses from Computer Science that, we believe, should be considered in an Information Systems education

Exploring existential interventions that enable competency development in Information Systems students

The Information Systems field is one characterised by constant debate about its central focus and lack of a defined identity. This debate has perpetuated as the field constantly changes its identity in response to rapid and often turbulent technological advances. By attempting to study humans, computers and the results when humans and computers interact, the field covers a vast intellectual territory. This vastness causes inconsistent focus and different prioritisation across geographic regions, academic institutions and industry entities. In contrast to established fields, where curricula are relatively standardised, Information Systems' curriculum has traditionally been slow to respond to industry needs, generic in nature and has served as a guideline rather than an authoritative truth. This research is concerned with how the nature of the field affects Information Systems students and graduates, and seeks to investigate how learners can contend both the with vastness of the subject matter and the lack of authoritarian guidelines. The theory of existentialism is presented as a possible philosophy that can be instilled in students to help them contend with the nature of the field. Through the gathering of personal accounts from graduates and Graduate Recruitment Officers, this research assesses how students have grown in academia and moved past the challenges of adaptation to industry. In this endeavour it confirms that existential interventions are necessary tools that can be instilled in practitioners to help them contend with the unstable and ever changing nature of the field. In addition, teamwork or the first team experience is determined to be a fundamental event in identity formation. Lastly, significant specialisation change, otherwise called role movement, is identified during this time and could be the subject of further research