By: J.D. Ross
(315) 443-3094
For the second year the School of Information Studies (iSchool) and MLB.com are co-sponsoring the MLB.com College Challenge, a contest that invites iSchool students to develop new ideas that could end up on MLB.com, Major League Baseball’s official website.
The competition will put teams of students to the test by asking them to attack real-world problems in the world of technology and sports. Teams will submit competing solutions to demonstrate their creativity, insight and talent.
“We are so excited to be partnering again with our alumni at MLB.com to offer this unique opportunity to our students,” said Julie Walas, director of undergraduate recruitment at the iSchool. “Our students are tech savvy users of interactive sites like MLB.com, so we think they’ll come up with some insightful and innovative proposals.”
Syracuse iSchool alumni and MLB.com employees Josh Frost ’08 and Joe Kanakaraj ’00, along with fellow Syracuse University graduate, Mike Hoffman ’93, once again will be leading the initiative working closely with Walas and iSchool Associate Professor of Practice Jeffrey Rubin.
“An initiative like this offers students unique opportunities to put their iSchool experiences to immediate use in an educational, challenging and team-oriented environment,” said Frost.
Registration for the contest, open to all Syracuse students, begins on Monday October 10. Students can register and form teams consisting of two to five members. All teams must have at least one iSchool student and teams need to register online by 5 p.m. Monday, October 31.
The on-campus challenge will use a two-day, hack-a-thon style, beginning with dinner at the Carmelo Anthony Center on November 10. Student teams will then work on their pitches and proposals through the night and present in an open forum on Friday, November 11 in Hinds Hall.
The winning team will go to New York City to MLB.com headquarters for a behind-the-scenes facilities tour and lunch with MLB.com employees.