{"id":1040,"date":"2008-08-02T15:52:24","date_gmt":"2008-08-02T19:52:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/?p=1040"},"modified":"2014-11-14T16:01:33","modified_gmt":"2014-11-14T21:01:33","slug":"partnership-brings-web-presence-to-local-businesses-range-of-benefits-to-business-students","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/2008\/08\/partnership-brings-web-presence-to-local-businesses-range-of-benefits-to-business-students\/","title":{"rendered":"Partnership brings web presence to local businesses, range of benefits to business students."},"content":{"rendered":"
Even small businesses know that being on the web no longer counts as a luxury. These days, it\u2019s a necessity. However, finding a resource to create that site and facing the possible design costs can pose obstacles.<\/p>\n
Not any more, thanks to a partnership between the College of Business Administration and Elevate Miami, a program that the City of Miami, under the leadership of Mayor Manny D\u00edaz<\/strong>, facilitates and which \u201cprovides tools and skills to small business, individuals, and family members to improve their digital literacy skills,\u201d according to Lauren Cortinas<\/strong>, the organization\u2019s program coordinator.<\/p>\n [flv:http:\/\/business.fiu.edu\/newsletters\/BusinessNetworks\/2008\/08\/videos\/elevate.flv 500 334]<\/p>\n \u201cAnything involving the community with lots of interaction with students gets me excited,\u201d said Faisal Kaleem<\/strong>, lecturer, Department of Decision Sciences and Information Systems, who teaches many courses in modern technology. He devised the idea of offering a three-credit internship course to motivate business students to establish web sites for small business owners.<\/p>\n \u201cThis adds value to our students and to Miami\u2019s small business community,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Acting as consultants, students teach . . . and learn.<\/em><\/p>\n The students\u2014mostly undergraduates with varying technology experience\u2014work in teams of two, each assigned between six and ten companies to contact on their own. They schedule two workshops during which they create the site and provide insights into how their clients could grow their businesses. Twenty strong candidates applied for the initial opportunity, with thirteen selected as technology coaches.<\/p>\n \u201cParticipating was a no-brainer for me,\u201d said Jos\u00e9 Hernandez<\/strong>, an MIS major. \u201cI will get a certificate from Microsoft and from the City of Miami, both of which will look good on my r\u00e9sum\u00e9. I usually sit in front of a computer rather than in front of a client, so this gave me a view of how clients think and a chance to network with potential clients for my own business.\u201d<\/p>\n Accounting major George Ramos<\/strong>, who also has a marketing background, appreciates the way \u201cthe internship supplemented my knowledge of accounting, enabled me to interact with others, and helped me learn the technology. Maybe when I create my own business, I\u2019ll be able to put up my own web site.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s truly an amazing opportunity for these students who otherwise would be in a classroom setting, not interacting with business people one to one,\u201d Cortinas said, and according to Kaleem, \u201cWe are looking at how to integrate such community-based projects into our course offerings every semester, involving faculty members and student organizations.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n
\n <\/td>\n <\/td>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n George Ramos<\/em><\/strong><\/td>\n Jos\u00e9 Hernandez<\/em><\/strong><\/td>\n Faisal Kaleem<\/em><\/strong> and Lauren Cortinas<\/strong><\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n \n\n
\n \n
\nGeorge Ramos<\/em><\/strong> and Jos\u00e9 Hernandez<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n