MIM Team Experience and Capstone Project

The team experience and capstone projects are drawn from actual information management challenges faced by organizations in all sectors of our society including government at all levels, corporations, small businesses, academic institutions, and non-profits. From these diverse settings, we solicit complex problems that demand a variety of expertise be brought to bear in order to find the best possible solution for the specific site. The team experience and the capstone projects comprise six credit hours within the total 36-credit-hours of the MIM degree. These are both designed to be the applied learning component of the program..

The team experience requires students to work on a team to solve a current real-life information management problem. Students apply what they are learning in the classroom to the challenges faced by their team site. They bring a fresh perspective, have knowledge of cutting-edge management theories, and understand emerging trends in technology. Their recommendations must be feasible within the implementation timeframe and financially viable for the host organization.

MIM is about much more than knowing how to gather and store information. It's about learning to make information useful, an expertise that will make a difference in every organization's future.

The Each student must undertake a capstone project during the student's last semester of the program. This project should enable the student to bring together much of what he/she has learned during the course of study and be a "proof of competency."

The team experience and capstone projects emulate a consulting relationship in which there is accountability for decision-making and deliverables are clearly delineated. Team and capstone sites are selected by MIM faculty and staff based upon submission of a one to two page proposal that includes:

• A brief description of the problem
  
• A listing of the resources that will be provided by the site and the name/title of the primary onsite host or contact for the project
• A clear statement of the expected outcome or deliverable at the conclusion of the team experience or capstone project
  

Team sites and capstone project proposals may be submitted throughout the year to the MIM Program Coordinator (ischooladmission@umd.edu).