Technology industry demands new skills, Davenport Univ. responds with two advanced tech programs

In response to industry and government demands for technology workers with advanced skills, Davenport University will launch two new technology degree programs in the Fall 2013 school year.

The programs — Master of Science in Technology Management, and a Bachelor of Science in Digital Forensics — will prepare students for jobs that continue to open up as corporations and governments become more technology driven, says Dr. Michael Clancy, dean of Davenport University’s College of Technology.

“A new report from Hewlett-Packard and the Ponemon Institute says a cyber attack averages $8 to $9 million in damage costs,” Clancy says. “Davenport sits on the Information Technology Executive Council (iTEC), which has the 18 largest companies in Michigan, so we’re hearing all the challenges and problems they’re having.”

Clancy says that one of the problems he hears consistently is that, when people in IT are promoted to management, they don’t have any management training, for example, in how to put together a departmental budget. The Masters of Science and Technology Management will fill that gap, combining technical and business education to prepare students for corporate and government IT management roles.

Digital Forensics — preserving, analyzing and reporting on digital media, involving computers, mobile devices, memory storage and network activity — is a “very, very techie program” that equips students to conduct in-depth investigation into cyber crimes, such as, data theft, data corruption, and the planting of viruses and worms in computers, mobile devices, memory storage and networks.

“Because Davenport University is labeled by the federal government as a Center of Academic Excellence in IT security, our graduates can move right into the NSA or Department of Homeland Security as a digital forensics specialist,” Clancy says.

Interested students can apply now for classes that begin with the Fall 2013 semester.

Source: Dr. Michael Clancy, Davenport University College of Technology
Writer: Deborah Johnson Wood, Development News Editor