As you progress through your academic career, becoming involved in industry-related peer organizations will give you experiences which will serve you well later in your professional life. Below are some of the organizations and activities in which you can participate as an SITC students.
Student Chapter of ACM
The Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) is the world’s oldest and largest educational and scientific society for computing professionals. Since 1947, ACM has been dedicated to advancing the art, science, and applications of information technology. Membership currently numbers more than 80,000 worldwide, including students in approximately 500 student chapters.
ACU has been home to a student chapter of ACM for more than three decades. The chapter is largely self-directed, with professor Ray Pettit currently serving as the primary sponsor. Chapter members annually participate in a number of extra-curricular activities. Among the most visible events is the annual Valentine’s Day Cupid Project, a fundraising event which consists of a computerized compatibility screening for ACU students. Other ACM activities are less visible, ranging from administering computer systems and networks to competing in the annual International Collegiate Programming Contest regional competition, hosted by ACU.
To learn more about the services available to students through membership in ACM, visit www.acm.org/membership/student.
VPUG
Abilene Christian University is excited to be the first university in Texas to have a chapter of the Virtual Planes Users Group.
VPUG is a group of digitally creative people, united in creating the next generation of entertainment. VPUG provides an environment in which students interested in animation, film, and gaming can collaborate on ideas, develop new entertainment, or simply have fun playing a game or watching a movie. VPUG establishes this network of students to promote enthusiasm for new media and assist participants in attaining careers in associated fields.
VPUG was founded by Dr. Brian Burton (now a faculty member in the SITC). Dr. Burton is currently developing a new degree in Digital Entertainment at ACU, offering tracks in Animation, Game Development, and Film. For more information about VPUG or the Digital Entertainment degree, please contact Dr. Burton at brian.burton@acu.edu.
ACM Programming Contest
Every year ACM hosts the International Collegiate Programming Contest (ICPC), which most recently has been sponsored by IBM. The contest is structured in the following way. Universities typically hold a local contest to identify programming teams to subsequently compete in regional contests conducted in the fall, with regional winners moving on to the world finals held in the spring. At stake are awards, prizes, scholarships, and bragging rights! Thousands of teams throughout the world compete each year.
For more than 30 years, ACU teams have participated in the South-Central Region contest, which typically includes about 50 teams from colleges and universities across Texas and its neighboring states. ACU teams have a history of giving strong performances at this level, sometimes placing in the top ten.
MISfits
Dr. Brent Reeves sponsors a group of students that go by the name MISfits, which stands for Management Information Systems—Fluency in Technology. MISfits participants have a variety of backgrounds and majors, but have a common interest in information systems. If you’re interested in discussing current topics, investigating new technologies, and sharing ideas about what is, and what should be, in our information rich society, this might be the place for you to start! You might even get to work on some of Dr. Reeves’ cool R&D projects.
