by Savanah Baker
The University of Nebraska–Lincoln College of Journalism and Mass Communications partnered with the Jeffrey S. Raikes School of Computer Science and Management and the College of Engineering to create an interdisciplinary capstone experience for the students.
“No one works in just their industry and ignores everyone else,” said Adam Wagler, an assistant professor at the CoJMC and the capstone professor in this collaboration. “You’re always working with people outside your discipline and, for students, I think the big takeaway is actually experiencing that.”
Students from the CoJMC assisted in communications development for four capstone projects, three from the College of Engineering and one from Raikes. The engineering college sought communications development for UNL’s Baja Racing, Green Infrastructure and the redevelopment of a product for Madonna Rehabilitation. Raikes worked with CoJMC students to raise awareness and craft a brand identity for an apartment community manager app called Communify.
Jennifer Carlson, a senior advertising and public relations student, worked as the account executive for the Madonna campaign. She and her six teammates did research and audience outreach in order to assist the UNL engineering team in the creation of the Madonna ISTAND – Innovative Stabilizing Transfer-device Aiding Neurological Development.
“While it was challenging at times, I think working with both the UNL and Madonna engineers made this campaign more ‘real,’” Carlson said in an email. “We had to find the best ways to communicate our findings with them, and to help translate our findings into practical product features.”
Assistant Dean David Jones from the College of Engineering said the partnership between the colleges is very important.
“Students get to experience collaborations that are more typical of their professional settings and responsibilities,” Jones said. “Beyond the obvious job preparation, it provides a richer context for their entire educational experience.”
This is the third semester that the colleges have partnered together in order to increase the real-world applicability of working on projects.