For business and technology students at DeVry University, the name of the game was innovation — not just graduation — as they presented their final senior projects to industry experts and local leaders.
Students really get to showcase their talents when they present their senior projects, said DeVry University Associate Professor Deborah Helman. And they’re also given the opportunity to demonstrate for business leaders the importance of building healthy, dynamic relationships with local communities.

Campus-wide, DeVry University senior project presentations, or fairs, are held several times a year.

Employers and business leaders in the community are invited to attend the events, view the projects up close, talk to the student inventors and get a first-hand look at the imagination, creativity and industry prowess a student might bring to a job.

At DeVry University’s North Brunswick campus, more than 60 seniors in 16 groups presented the projects they had worked on for the past several months, focusing on creating smart business solutions and strategicmarketing plans for local small businesses.

One team of students worked on redesigning a website for Xtreme Dezines, an online home-based business specializing in custom jewelry and handbags. Our client wanted to gain revenue and market share, so we decided that she should concentrate her business efforts on exposing her products to the public, said DeVry University student Nilsa Martinez. This would help to create the best sales opportunities for our client while also increasing additional market share and expanding her customer base. So, the team decided to design an attractive website, create an expansive promotional plan and develop the accounting software needed to help her better establish her company.

At the DeVry University Fremont campus, a team of Information Technology students created a Top Security Access Authentication System, which they designed to add multiple levels of critical security clearances at high-powered facilities such as power plants and military bases. Meanwhile, another team of students proposed their senior project, a Pilot Authentication System that uses various biometric sensors to ensure passenger safety by confirming the pilot’s identity and sobriety before allowing the airplane to take off.

Read Also: 3 Tools Every Small Business Should Use

To reinforce how the effort that the students put into their senior projects will pay off with career success, chief technology officer for Integrated Media Management and DeVry University alumnus Nish Shah came back to the North Brunswick campus to give a keynote speech.

The best part about DeVry University’s training was that it gave me hands-on experience. It allowed me to think about what I needed to do and how I should respond to a real-life situation, said Shah. He also credited DeVry University with improving his communication and team-building skills.

Although not all DeVry University senior projects make it into commercial production, the experience of identifying a need and creating a solution is just as important to the overall learning process.
For more information, visit www.devry.edu.