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Happenings in the Keweenaw Peninsula August 31, 2006 Text © 2006 Michael Moore. Reprinted with permission.

MTU students seek communication projects

HOUGHTON -- This fall Michael Moore, instructor in the Department of Humanities and the Enterprise Program at Michigan Tech University, is teaching an Advanced Practicum in Scientific and Technical Communication, a course that supports students in developing and delivering a complex, client-based communication project. Local groups and organizations, both on and off campus, are invited to submit projects for this class.

"If you live and work elsewhere, don't worry, as we're also good at distance projects and collaborations," Moore said.

In the past, these projects have included web sites, publicity and fundraising materials, recommendation and feasibility reports, usability and human-computer interaction (HCI) studies, graphic-design projects, documentation manuals, content-management systems, ergonomic/workplace studies and other projects that solve a communication problem.

If you've participated in these kinds of student projects in the past, you already know that the most challenging aspect can be planning and logistics: coordinating your schedule with a student's schedule; collecting materials and helping to orient a student to your organization's needs; and providing timely, productive feedback as the project develops and progresses toward a successful completion.

"The payoff is worth it," Moore explained. "You'll be working with smart and creative upper-division Scientific and Technical Communication (STC) majors who are nearing graduation and who have developed impressive professional skills in a range of media platforms, audience awareness, project management and client relations."

These graduates go on to editorial, writing and leadership positions in technical communication, design and media development. Some recent graduates are working in Africa on AIDS education programs, while others have become documentation and knowledge-management specialists here in the U.S. or have gone on to top communication graduate programs. 

Course readings in the fall term include technical communication in global, cross-cultural and cross-disciplinary contexts, and in the art of project management.

If you're interested in working with an Advanced Practicum student this fall semester on a communication project that will benefit your organization and an STC student's professional development, here's what you can do:

 1. Send Michael Moore a 100-150 word description of your potential project's goals, purpose and primary audience by Friday, Sept. 8.  It can be general at this point; you're under no pressure to have all the details worked out. Email it to mmoore@mtu.edu or mail it to Michael R. Moore, Instructor, Department of Humanities and The Enterprise Program, 112 Walker Arts and Humanities Center, Michigan Technological University, 
Houghton, MI 49931.

2. Plan to visit the HU4634 Practicum from 9:35 a.m. to 10:50 a.m. either Tuesday, Sept. 12, or Thursday, Sept. 14, during Week 2 of the fall term. Students can ask questions, and the class can brainstorm project possibilities based on your written project description.

In order to ensure smooth and sustainable project logistics, please contact Michael Moore as soon as possible if you are interested in proposing a project for the class.