Bus commuters surf the web, courtesy of College of Informatics students
College of Informatics students are changing the technology landscape of Northern Kentucky, before they even graduate. Northern Kentucky commuters riding 20 local buses will find their daily trips enhanced with free wireless Internet, thanks to the efforts of these NKU students.
Commuters in three counties will enjoy the region's first wide-ranging mobile Wi-Fi service beginning June 30 on TANK buses. The research project, initiated and designed by Northern Kentucky University, has been brought to life by College of Informatics students.
David Hirsch, Program Director for the Transportation Technology Project commented that "College of Informatics faculty and students played a major role in contributing to the design, testing, and launch of this collaborative technology initiative."
"One of the major benefits...for [informatics] students is the opportunity to work with a variety of companies while learning and applying a wide variety of skills — all in a learning and mentoring environment," explained Paul Davis, Program Coordinator for the student program and a recent NKU graduate himself.
Senior Ben Jaspers, a computer information technology major, has been working on College of Informatics projects since January, ranging from medical related research to in-house software programming and Web development.
Exposure to the vast array of opportunities provided by the College of Informatics have helped Jaspers apply the abstract concepts he's learned in the classroom. "You don't feel as embarrassed if you don't know something. You're more free to ask questions."
Jaspers is impressed with the amount of exposure and different opportunities he is getting at the College of Informatics. "I can't imagine...not being able to do the things I am doing now."
Joshua Kahwema, a senior majoring in computer information technology said he feels more comfortable in College of Informatics projects than any other job he's had. "It's so much different here, you can ask questions without feeling intimidated."
Kahwema likes the approach that the college uses. He says fantastic supervisors, and their knowledge of the IT industry and of college students, makes the College of Informatics special.
"They don't pressure us," he said. "The projects are assigned according to ability and area of interest. They look at where I want to go, and they give me projects to push me. You can see how you have grown. This is the best thing I could have asked for."
Kahwema and other students are getting paid to discover, learn and do what they enjoy.
"I love it," Kahwema said. "I realized if this was voluntary work, I would still do it. That's how much I'm learning."
TANK's free Mobile Wi-Fi service — a project of NKU's College of Informatics — will be available first on select TANK express routes, which attract thousands of daily commuters in Boone, Campbell and Kenton counties.
Combining the technology of wireless Internet routers and cellular phone signals, TANK's Mobile Wi-Fi takes wireless Internet connection to the next level — and on the road. The service was made possible by a $1.6 million Congressionally Directed Appropriation secured by U.S. Senator Jim Bunning for NKU's College of Informatics. The project is being administered by the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) over a four-year period and focuses on transportation technology research.
