Corporate Partners in Computing Program Sees Significant Growth

An innovative program that fosters research, educational and employment opportunities between the University of Maryland and technology-related industry leaders has shown marked growth over the past six months.

The Corporate Partners in Computing program—supported by the UMD Department of Computer Science and the University of Maryland Institute for Advanced Computer Studies—has added seven new names to its roster since last July, bringing the total number of participating companies to 21, a 33 percent increase.

Creative Information Technology Inc., Casaplex, Aptify, GEICO, Lockheed Martin Corp., Microsoft and Fortigent are the latest companies to take advantage of the program, which joins private sector scientists with UMD experts in social media analysis, software engineering, machine learning, mobile computing, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, parallel computing, visual analytics and more.

They join other industry leaders in the program, including AFCEA-Bethesda, Appian, AOL, Booz Allen Hamilton, Carr Astronautics, CyberData Technologies, Dante Inc., FireEye, Google, OPIS, Palantir Technologies, TATA Consultancy Services, and Yahoo.

“These unique partnerships give our students and faculty hands-on experience with many of the regional and international tech giants who are constantly working on groundbreaking discoveries,” says Samir Khuller, chair of computer science at Maryland. “It also gives our scientific community a front-row seat in seeing the latest trends and challenges that are out there.”

In addition to partnering on cutting-edge research, companies in the program gain access to a highly qualified pool of UMD students for potential internships and full-time employment.

Thomas Georgen, who graduates in May with a bachelor of science degree in computer science, interned for eight weeks last summer with corporate partner Booz Allen Hamilton, a leading provider of management consulting, technology and engineering services to the U.S. government in defense, intelligence and civil markets.

Georgen worked alongside a team of other cybersecurity students in developing a product that was ultimately shown to senior management at Booz Allen.

“We were given a lot of freedom to create technology that was directly tied to real-world applications. I found that very rewarding,” Georgen says.

Georgen, who is president of the UMD Cybersecurity Club, was offered a job at Booz Allen as a cybersecurity consultant, and will begin working there full-time after receiving his degree.

For more information on the Corporate Partners in Computing program, contact Tara Burke, director of corporate relations for computer science and UMIACS, at 301.405.8606 or tburke13@umd.edu.