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IT Directory

LAN Scholarships have Students Networking with the Experts

UK Computer Science students have the unique opportunity in their junior or senior year to apply for the LAN Scholarship program. If they are accepted into the program, they receive a $3,750.00 stipend which pays for their tuition and other expenses.

Joe Tietyen (left) with UK senior, Jackie Denault (right)

Program Director Joe Tietyen (left) with UK senior, Jackie Denault (right). Denault says, "I am much more confident about telecommunications theory now that I have been exposed to hands-on operation in this program."

Most important, however, is the experience they have with hands-on projects in the WAN Group (Wide Area Networking Group) located within the Information Technology Center on UK's campus. This rich hands-on experience is sponsored by UK's Information Technology (IT) Operation and by Windstream Communications. To date about 24 students have participated in the program, which began in 1991.

Joe Tietyen, the program's director, guides four students a semester through the program. In their first two semesters, students learn about the complex world of wired- and wireless-networking. In this short "co-op" situation, students also meet and work with several highly experience members of the WAN Group. Students move around campus with these WAN Group professionals learning what the WAN folks do, how it's done, what it looks like, etc.

The last two semesters, students work on several, actual projects guided by WAN Group professionals in UK's WAN Group operation.

For example, if a student is interested in wireless networking, he/she might go work on a wireless project in UK's Chandler Medical Center. Students learn about routers, switches, wireless access points, and computer testing. For a project, a student will gather information about what the client needs, design the solution, program the solution, install the solution and test it.

For this work, students receive 2 credit hours each semester in which they participate; a student's time involves about 15 hours a week. But the real value of what the student receives is much greater. They learn how to work as a team with sophisticated professionals in a difficult and rapidly-changing technology.

Program Dir. Joe Tietyen (left), Jackie Denault (center) and Vishal Mistry (right)

Program Dir. Joe Tietyen (left) works with UK computer science seniors, Jackie Denault (center) and Vishal Mistry (right)

Senior scholarship participant Vishal Mistry says, "We learn networking fundamentals and the telecommunications model. After we learn the concepts, we go to many different job sites to see the concepts in operation."

Students in the program are also guided through the steps needed to pass the test for CCNA Certification. And students are supported in their endeavor to apply to graduate school or for a job. Another bonus is that students might rotate between WAN Group and Communications and Network Systems.