MaCuDE IS Task Force: Final Report and Recommendations

2023 | Communications of the Association for Information Systems | Citations: 0

Authors: Lyytinen, Kalle; Topi, Heikki; Tang, Jing

Abstract: This Phase III report of the Management Curriculum for the Digital Era (MaCuDE) ... Expand

Abstract: This Phase III report of the Management Curriculum for the Digital Era (MaCuDE) disciplinary task force on information systems (IS) synthesizes the main findings of the project's two earlier phases. Based on the synthesis, this report formulates the task force's recommendations (Phase III) for future IS curricula and graduate competencies associated with Big Data Analytics (BDA) and Artificial Intelligence (AI). During the MaCuDE project, the task forcecollaborating with the Association for Information Systems leadership on education-first (Phase I) surveyed a sample of representative universities to examine the status of IS education in the digital era. During the next phase (Phase II), the task force interviewed industry leaders regarding their information systems education needs with a focus on emerging BDA and AI needs. This report builds on Phase I and Phase II results and associated feedback from project stakeholders and outlines an IS curriculum framework that identifies projected competency levels for key IS competency areas (both new and changing) within the main IS program types related to BDA and AI education (undergraduate and graduate programs; IS programs, other business programs, and non-business programs) in the coming decade. The report also highlights critical policy issues that need to be resolved to successfully implement the proposed IS curricula changes addressing BDA and AI needs. Collapse

Topics: artificial intelligence IS education IT skill IS curriculum analytical information system

Methods: qualitative interview grounded theory computational algorithm machine learning personal interview

MaCuDE IS Task Force Phase II Report: Views of Industry Leaders on Big Data Analytics and AI

2023 | Communications of the Association for Information Systems | Citations: 2

Authors: Lyytinen, Kalle; Topi, Heikki; Tang, Jing

Abstract: This paper represents the Phase II report of the Management Curriculum for the ... Expand

Abstract: This paper represents the Phase II report of the Management Curriculum for the Digital Era (MaCuDE) disciplinary task force on information systems (IS). Aligned with the current work of the AIS (Association for Information Systems) and ACM (Association for Computing Machinery), we focus on the current and future industry driven educational needs and requirements posed by big data analytics (BDA), artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), and related innovations. In this report, we probe and report on the views of industry leaders regarding BDA/AI education needs. We conducted 18 rich semi-structured interviews with a representative sample of industry leaders situated around key changes and issues related to workforce demands in digital transformation and associated educational needs. We performed a grounded theory based analysis of key themes in reported education needs. We note the shifting meaning of AI and BDA phenomena and identify three main organizational level needs for the digital eracapability improvement and transformation, decision-making strategies and tactics, and changes in operations or products -and connect them to three individual professional competencies necessary to deliver them: fundamental environmental competencies, data information and content, and system design competencies. Based on the analysis we outline several novel competency-based IS curriculum recommendations for the master's and undergraduate level IS education.Architecting for cloud: "And so the thing I noticed, a lot of these companies, when their data is growing so big and their database costs are running so high, they think about going towards Open Source Software, Open Source databases to store all the data and, hence, that creates a demand on the workforce to actually know how to use those. "Understanding data structures, architectures, and governance: "So that's his role, and the key requirement for that role again is Data Architecture, data Engineering and Data Management" Building and managing machine learning models: "Second, of course, is strong competency in the use of Machine Learning packages or models. This field is evolving aggressively." "For developing or programming our own AI solutions, our employees have no deep knowledge of mathematical models and how to build mature and value-creating AI applications." IS management and operations: "The talent sort of wars out there are really, really tough, and finding people who understand that, (how to) generate the data, use the data, think about the data, manipulate it are really, really important. I agree. It used to be you had to have people with Project Management. That was critical and that was everyone competed for that, and now it's that plus the data, the Machine Learning."Based on the data collected in this study, we cannot offer a clear answer to the questions of how BDA and AI affect areas that do not belong to the two main areas of the study. Given, however, how quickly BDA and AI have grown and how substantial related resource requirements are in organizations, it is clear that they already have an impact on several competency needs such as programming language selection, selection of BDA and AI tools based on cloud-based solutions, data architecture, data governance, service repertoires available on platform environments, and special characteristic of BDA and AI projects and how they affect education for project management needs and competencies. Summary of Findings Related to Individual CompetenciesGenerally, we observe a strong alignment and continuity between the recent information systems curriculum recommendations and the findings of this study. The data highlights the continued importance of IS core topics covered in all past curricula, such as data management, systems development, IT infrastructure and architecture (including security), and IS (project) management.The results also highlight also multiple areas that need more emphasis and careful design decisions when schools plan and implement their BDA and AI based programs: Integration of business and technology competencies in ways that allow seamless communication with both business and technology experts  A stronger emphasis on multiple life cycle models and concepts related to data management and data science than in the recent model curricula focused on system life cycles  Heightened focus on new dimensions of data analytics competencies (including communication-related elements such a storytelling and visualization)  The growing importance of ethics as a foundation for ensuring privacy and security of BDA and AI models  Need for more skills in statistics  Understanding the novel requirements that AI solutions set up for IT infrastructure  The importance of competencies in AI systems development and deployment. Collapse

Topics: artificial intelligence big data analytical information system data management decision making

Methods: qualitative interview machine learning meta learning field study personal interview

Competency Maturing grounded theory

2023 | International Conference on Information Systems | Citations: 0

Authors: Ogundipe, Tejumade; Brown, Irwin; Johnston, Prof Kevin

Abstract: ... Expand

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Topics: IT skill IS education IS curriculum IS discipline research and development

Methods: grounded theory qualitative interview survey qualitative coding constant comparative analysis

On-Demand Learning: Podcasting in an Introduction to Information Systems Course

2023 | Communications of the Association for Information Systems | Citations: 0

Authors: Van Slyke, Craig; Clary, Grant; Sutherland, Eric

Abstract: ... Expand

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Topics: podcast mobile application IS curriculum website digital service

Methods: survey personal interview case study

Theories: learning theory

The ACM/AIS IS2020 Competency Model for Undergraduate Programs in Information Systems: A Joint ACM/AIS Task Force Report

2022 | Communications of the Association for Information Systems | Citations: 0

Authors: Leidig, Paul; Salmela, Hannu

Abstract: The Association of Computing Machinery (ACM) and the Association of Information ... Expand

Abstract: The Association of Computing Machinery (ACM) and the Association of Information Systems (AIS) along with the ISCAP EDSIG, recently released a joint taskforce report IS2020: A Competency Model for Undergraduate Programs in Information Systems. In this paper, the co-chairs of IS2020, the latest Information Systems curriculum guidelines, provide their insight on the problems presented with existing guidelines, illustrate the issue, and share their opinions that led to the release of these latest guidelines. Collapse

Topics: IT job IT career analytical information system IS curriculum

A Curriculum Mining Method for Clustering Study Modules and Assessing their Uniqueness

2022 | European Conference On Information Systems | Citations: 0

Authors: Matthies, Benjamin; Koch, Julian; Maassen, Kathrin; Coners, André

Abstract: Curriculum development can pursue several pedagogical goals. One is to design a ... Expand

Abstract: Curriculum development can pursue several pedagogical goals. One is to design a curriculum that is attractive in comparison with other competing universities. To contribute to such a comparative assessment and, thereby, to the targeted development of curricula, the idea of a curriculum mining method is presented. Here, study modules are divided into homogeneous groups by means of a document clustering procedure. The generated knowledge improves the comparative assessment of curricula in two ways: First, depending on the context, it can be used to assess either the extent of the "uniqueness" of a module or its "consecutiveness" with other modules. Second, by supplementing the modules with metadata (e.g., region), a competitive analysis is provided in terms of modules offered by competing institutions. An exemplary case study demonstrates how this improves the evaluation of a specific IS curriculum. In conclusion, the current limitations and next steps of the research project are summarized. Collapse

Topics: database system IS curriculum website

Methods: case study cluster analysis term frequency–inverse document frequency hierarchical clustering machine learning

Alternative Approaches to Data Architecture and Data Governance: Graduate IT/IS Curriculum Considerations

2022 | Americas Conference on Information Systems | Citations: 0

Authors: Murphy, Diane; Liu, Michelle; Vera, Laura

Abstract: With data architectures evolving from data warehouses to data lakes to data fab ... Expand

Abstract: With data architectures evolving from data warehouses to data lakes to data fabric, there is a pressing need for organizations to upgrade their data management and data governance strategies. A workforce gap appears inevitable as knowledge and skills in these emerging technologies is currently not emphasized in the IT/IS discipline. From an educator's perspective, the question becomes whether we are preparing our students for this increasingly significant workforce need. A strategic curriculum model to determine when and how to incorporate new technology coverage into the curriculum was applied to the potential implementation of these emerging concepts into our curriculum. The authors examined the alternative approach to data architecture, data management, and data governance, and proposed a new certificate in Data Architecture and Governance to be inserted in the graduate IT/IS curriculum at their school. Collapse

Topics: data governance analytical information system database system IT workforce IS curriculum

Methods: data modeling design science

The State of Information Systems Education Research in Africa

2022 | International Conference on Information Systems | Citations: 0

Authors: Mwalemba, Gwamaka; Mashingaidze, Kenneth

Abstract: Africa is well known as the continent with the largest youth population. Digiti ... Expand

Abstract: Africa is well known as the continent with the largest youth population. Digitisation of the continent is an essential part of making sure that its youths can actively participate in the digital economy. Efforts to digitise various sectors of the economy have encountered several challenges including that of skills shortages. The Information Systems (IS) discipline, as one of the computing disciplines, has a role to play in addressing the skills shortage. However, there's limited research that provides macro analysis of the state of IS education research in the continent. To address this gap, we conduct a systematic literature analysis of publications focusing on IS education. After applying inclusion and exclusion criteria, 25 publications were analysed. The findings highlight some interesting discussions on issues such as context, model curricula, skills, stakeholders, geographical focus, theoretical lens, pedagogy, role of IS and education level. Collapse

Topics: IS education IS curriculum

Methods: structured literature research synthesis literature sample qualitative content analysis literature study

Building the Workforce of Tomorrow: Blockchain Curriculum in Higher Education

2022 | Americas Conference on Information Systems | Citations: 0

Authors: Plachkinova, Miloslava; Vo, Ace; Smith, Tim; Chapman, Thomas

Abstract: Although blockchain is a relatively new concept, it has become an important par ... Expand

Abstract: Although blockchain is a relatively new concept, it has become an important part of various industries such as fintech, healthcare, real estate, and supply chain. Thus, it is essential to educate the workforce of tomorrow on this new technology to ensure that students are prepared for the challenges of the competitive job market after graduation. This study aims to start a dialogue on curriculum innovation in higher education by examining current trends and course offerings. We analyzed 266 R1 and R2 institutions in the US and found that only a small number of them offer such courses. Thus, our next steps would be to provide some guidance for curriculum innovation, as well as pedagogical strategies that can reflect the dynamic nature of the IS field. Collapse

Topics: blockchain website innovation management cloud computing database system

Addressing the Dynamic Information Technology Landscape: A Course Reflection

2022 | Communications of the Association for Information Systems | Citations: 0

Authors: Mitchell, Alanah

Abstract: The field of Information systems (IS) is dynamic and rapidly changing due to te ... Expand

Abstract: The field of Information systems (IS) is dynamic and rapidly changing due to technology innovation and emerging technologies. The changing nature of this field poses a significant challenge for educators trying to stay up to date in their preparation of future technology leaders. Despite this challenge, the IS2020 model curriculum, as well as organizational leaders, are calling on IS educators to find ways to develop and deliver student competencies related to innovation and emerging technologies to meet the needs of the IS workforce. Therefore, the goal of this paper is to present a plan for the teaching and learning of these topics within an IS program. This paper outlines a framework for course delivery based on foundational topics that can be utilized for mastering the technology innovation challenge in the classroom and be adapted in response to the changing nature of the discipline. The course plan focuses on theoretical foundations and connects with practice for exploring the application of concepts so students can be introduced to what is really happening in relation to technology in business and the discipline of IS. The course model was tested in-person and online and can be adapted depending on university schedules and teaching modalities. Collapse

Topics: innovation management IS curriculum digital innovation marketing management IT career