Jeffrey S. Raikes School

The Jeffrey S. Raikes School of Computer Science and Management (formerly the J.D. Edwards Honors Program in Computer Science and Management) is a specialized honors program at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln that focuses on computer science and management. It was founded in May 1998 by Ed McVaney, co-founder of the JD Edwards company. With his gift of $32 million to the university, McVaney charged the school with setting up a program to train the next generation of business leaders.[1] In June 2008, the program was renamed after Jeff Raikes in recognition for his lead gift in a $20 million fundraising campaign.[2] The program accepts roughly 32 high-ability students every year.[3][4][5][6]

The Raikes School's curriculum focuses on integrating a computer science and business education. It aims to instruct students on innovation, entrepreneurship, and working in a team.[7] Students are led by a faculty with diverse backgrounds, such as business owners and research experts.[8]

Curriculum

The Raikes School incorporates computer science and business management into one integrated curriculum.[7] It prides itself with providing an education balanced in technology and management with focus on leadership, communications, and collaboration.[9] This program offers an undergraduate program that complements business, computer science, and computer engineering majors.

Design Thinking has become a focus for students and faculty as the Raikes School shifts its focus to innovation. Silicon Prairie News quotes previous director, David Keck, describes Design Thinking as "teaching them decision-making and problem-solving in a scenario of relatively incomplete information."[10]

Third- and fourth-year students work on real-world projects for companies in Design Studio, a year-long class in which students divide into teams, meet with clients, agree on specifications, develop the product, and in many cases perform quality assurance after delivery. Design Studio gives members of the program real-world experience designing and writing software, working in teams, meeting deadlines, and communicating with clients. The project comes together at the Design Studio showcase, where Raikes students present their final projects publicly.[11][12]

Freshman Year[13]

Semester Classification Title Description
Fall Communications I Fundamentals of Communication Learn the basics of effective writing, editing and presentations
Fall Computer Science I Problem Solving Essentials Practice computational thinking with programming to more effectively solve problems
Fall Design Thinking Introduction to Design Thinking Introduction to an approach to problems employing a user-focused, iterative, team-based process to promote cross-discipline innovation
Fall Leadership I Fundamentals of Leadership Learn the essentials of leadership and it’s application to a variety of settings
Spring Foundations of Business I Financial Accounting Learn the practice and application of accounting via accounting information systems
Spring Foundations of Business II Economics and Modeling Learn economic principles and modeling techniques that are used to address innovation in an evolving economy
Spring Computer Science II Introduction to Discrete Structures Introduce data structures and discrete mathematics to increase computational problem solving ability
Spring Communications II Technical Communication Learn the basics of effective writing, editing and presentations

Sophomore Year[14]

Semester Classification Title Description
Fall Business Systems and Operations I Modeling Business Solutions Learn how more sophisticated modeling techniques can be used to solve complex problems
Fall Communications III Applied Communications Learn professional and effective written, spoken and visual communication
Fall Computer Science III Data Structures and Algorithms Learn advanced data structures and algorithms that solve common problems, as well as algorithm-based approaches to solving new problems
Spring Business Systems and Operations II Statistical Models in Business Develop a greater understanding of the role statistics make in modeling complex business decisions
Spring Communications IV Management Communications Learn professional and effective written, spoken and visual communication
Spring Data Science I Introduction to Data Modeling Learn how methods for storing, searching and displaying large amounts of data can enhance security while making you more productive
Spring Software Engineering I Introduction to Software Engineering An introduction to the theory, methods, and best practices of large-scale system design and development

Junior Year[15]

Semester Classification Title Description
Fall Advanced Topics in Business I Introduction to Finance Introduces the fundamental principles of risk and return, valuation, corporate finance, financial securities, risk management, market hypotheses, and private venture financing
Fall Leadership II Teams Learn the essentials of leadership and it’s application to a variety of settings.
Fall Software Engineering II Development Operations Learn the fundamentals of engineering complex software systems in teams
Spring Advanced Topics in Business II Innovation in the Economy An introduction to using behavioral models to reason about complex business systems
Spring Data Science II Multi-agent Systems Learn and apply a multiagent paradigm to solve complex problems
Spring Software Engineering III Design Methods Explore advanced topics in the design and development of complex software systems

Senior Year[16]

Semester Classification Title Description
Fall Advanced Topics in Business III Principles of Marketing Provide an introduction to the fundamentals of marketing and its role in management
Fall Leadership III Communication Learn the essentials of leadership and it’s application to a variety of settings
Fall Software Engineering IV Software Architecture Develop an understanding of the role of architecture in software engineering and learn to apply these concepts to real-world development projects
Spring Data Science III Database Architecture Learn how to utilize data systems in the implementation of software systems

Design Studio

Design Studio is the capstone project of the Raikes School. Juniors and seniors participate in year-long projects on teams of five or six students. The projects are for real companies, ranging from developing an app for Microsoft to helping Fiserv connect with its customers.[17] In an interview with the College of Business Administration, Raikes School alumnus Justin Hicks credits Design Studio for his job at Google. Hicks says, "Something made them grab my resume. I believe it was a combination of learning how to present myself to a company and the hands-on work we did at Raikes in design studio learning how to interact in teams."[18]

School Administration

Executive Director of the Raikes School

Dr. Stephen C. Cooper was appointed in 2015 as the Executive Director of the Raikes School.[19] Cooper graduated from Cornell University in 1988. He went on to receive a Master's Degree and a Doctorate from Syracuse University. Previously, Cooper worked as a professor at Purdue University and, most recently, Stanford University. In a recent interview with the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Cooper said, “I’m looking forward to working with many of the amazingly talented students at the university and in the state of Nebraska, helping them to succeed, and in sharing my enthusiasm for computing, technology, and innovation/entrepreneurship.”[19]

Director of Design Studio

Ian Cottingham joined the Raikes School in 2012 as the Director of Design Studio and an Assistant Professor of Practice.[20] He has over 15 years of experience with start-ups, software engineering, and technology research. Cottingham served as the Associate Director of the School from August 2015 until early 2016 during the transition to a new executive director.[20][21] His classes include software engineering, Design Studio, and Design Thinking.[11] Cottingham holds a Bachelor of Computer Science and German and a Masters in Computer Science.[21]

Director of Recruitment and Student Success

Anna Pressler has served as the Director of Recruitment and Student Success since August of 2015, replacing Lori McClurg who retired earlier that summer.

Praise

The program has consistently received praise from leaders in the Information Technology industry.

Bill Gates said in September 2005 during a presentation to the program in the Kauffman Center:

I think this program is a great program. It really speaks very directly to a challenge that Microsoft sees, which is that we get lots of great engineers and we get lots of people who’ve got good business backgrounds, but we rarely get people who combine those skills, and particularly as you move up the ranks in Microsoft, the number of people who’ve got that background really are bringing those two skill sets to bear. It turns out the world at large has a great shortage so seeing a program like this makes a lot of sense to me and I can guarantee you the opportunities you’ll have will be quite phenomenal and make whatever hard work is required in the program well worth the energy you put into it.[22]

The Lincoln Journal Star credits the Raikes School for retaining talent in the technology industry.

The Jeffrey S. Raikes School of Computer Science and Management has also helped keep in town some of Lincoln’s brightest lights.[23]

National Public Radio interviewed David Graff, one of Hudl's founders, about the decision to keep their company in Lincoln.

CEO and co-founder David Graff says the company could have moved anywhere, and had offers to relocate, but it stayed in Lincoln because "we really like the access to the University." Hudl has 35 interns and most are from the Raikes School (named for Nebraska alum and former Microsoft executive Jeff Raikes).[24]

In another interview by the Omaha World Herald, David Graff again discusses the company's decision to stay in Lincoln.

In describing why the company chose to remain in Lincoln, Graff said a central reason is the support Hudl receives from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, specifically the Jeffrey S. Raikes School of Computer Science and Management.[9]

Scholarships

The program awards full or partial scholarships to incoming students to cover room and board. All incoming students are also members of the University Honors Program and receive a stipend by the Honors Textbook Scholarship. Most incoming Raikes School students come to Nebraska with tuition scholarships; these may come from external sources, such as the National Merit Scholarship, or from the university, such as the full-tuition Regents Scholarship (only available for Nebraska high school graduates).

In 2015, Hudl established the Hudl Scholarship Fund through the University. It donated $500,000 for annual scholarships for students of the Raikes School.[25][26] The University news reports that the donors "view the scholarship as a way to recognize and thank the university for the education and support they received as students." This is the largest donation the Raikes School has received from its' graduates.[26]

Esther L. Kauffman Academic Residential Center

Students live in the Esther L. Kauffman Academic Residential Center, which is named for McVaney's mother-in-law. The building is a learning community with classrooms on the first floor and living accommodations on the second and third floors. Kauffman is located in the middle of the UNL city campus, directly across the green space from the student union.

The rooms are suite-style, each with its own bathroom, and progressing from one room up to three rooms between each pair of students. Kauffman offers multiple study lounges and break-out rooms for teams as well.

The layout of a freshman room.
The layout of a junior/senior room in Kauffman.
The layout of a sophomore room.

Raikes School Alumni

95% of Raikes School graduates have jobs within three months of graduation.[27]

Graduates have started their own businesses in Nebraska, such as Hudl, Boutique Window, MedXT, and Pickit.[26][28] 25 alumni have gone on to work at Hudl.[25][26] One graduate has gone on to work at Google.[18]

References

  1. ↑ The Scarlet: Building for Tomorrow 2001-04-19.
  2. ↑ Ross, Timberly (2008-06-12). "NU Regents rename program after charity CEO". Lincoln Journal Star. Retrieved 2012-06-13.
  3. ↑ "UNL's Jeffrey S. Raikes School announces 2009 entering class". 2009-05-20. Retrieved 2012-06-13.
  4. ↑ "UNL's Jeffrey S. Raikes School announces 2010 entering class". 2010-06-03. Retrieved 2012-06-13.
  5. ↑ "UNL's Jeffrey S. Raikes School announces 2011 entering class". 2011-07-22. Retrieved 2012-06-13.
  6. ↑ "Fall entering class at UNL's Raikes School announced". 2012-06-08. Retrieved 2012-06-13.
  7. 1 2 "UNL's Raikes School looks toward "design thinking" in its third iteration - Silicon Prairie News". Silicon Prairie News. Retrieved 2015-11-04.
  8. ↑ "Ian Cottingham". cse.unl.edu. Retrieved 2015-11-04.
  9. 1 2 "World-Herald editorial: Growing tech, the economy at UNL". Omaha.com. Retrieved 2015-11-04.
  10. ↑ "UNL's Raikes School looks toward "design thinking" in its third iteration - Silicon Prairie News". Silicon Prairie News. Retrieved 2015-11-04.
  11. 1 2 "Raikes School students unveil fruits of yearlong Design Studio projects - Silicon Prairie News". Silicon Prairie News. Retrieved 2015-11-04.
  12. ↑ "Raikes Design Studio students share project challenges, next steps - Silicon Prairie News". Silicon Prairie News. Retrieved 2015-11-04.
  13. ↑ "Jeffrey S. Raikes School of Computer Science and Management". raikes.unl.edu. Retrieved 2015-11-04.
  14. ↑ "Jeffrey S. Raikes School of Computer Science and Management". raikes.unl.edu. Retrieved 2015-11-04.
  15. ↑ "Jeffrey S. Raikes School of Computer Science and Management". raikes.unl.edu. Retrieved 2015-11-04.
  16. ↑ "Jeffrey S. Raikes School of Computer Science and Management". raikes.unl.edu. Retrieved 2015-11-04.
  17. ↑ "Amidst change, Raikes School strives to foster interdisciplinary innovation - Silicon Prairie News". Silicon Prairie News. Retrieved 2015-11-18.
  18. 1 2 "Raikes Alumnus Brings Business Sense to Google". cba.unl.edu. Retrieved 2015-11-18.
  19. 1 2 "UNL taps Stanford’s Stephen Cooper to lead Raikes School | UNL Newsroom | University of Nebraska–Lincoln". news.unl.edu. Retrieved 2015-11-04.
  20. 1 2 "Develop U – May 27th". Professional Learning. Retrieved 2015-11-18.
  21. 1 2 "UNL- Raikes School for Computer Science and Management - i40". i40. Retrieved 2015-11-18.
  22. ↑ http://raikes.unl.edu/video/bill.gates.mp3
  23. ↑ "Why Lincoln is worth paying attention to". JournalStar.com. Retrieved 2015-11-04.
  24. ↑ "Silicon Prairie: Tech Startups Find A Welcoming Home In The Midwest". NPR.org. Retrieved 2015-11-04.
  25. 1 2 "Hudl creates scholarship for Raikes School students | UNL Newsroom | University of Nebraska–Lincoln". news.unl.edu. Retrieved 2015-11-04.
  26. 1 2 3 4 "Hudl gifts $500K to UNL Raikes School for annual scholarships". Silicon Prairie News. Retrieved 2015-11-04.
  27. ↑ "Alumni News Detail | Microsoft Alumni Network". www.microsoftalumni.com. Retrieved 2015-11-18.
  28. ↑ "UNL students' startup helps charities and nonprofits through coupons - Silicon Prairie News". Silicon Prairie News. Retrieved 2015-11-04.

External links

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