ITU Journal, Volume IV, Issue 1, 2014

International Technological University

Volume IV, Issue 1, 2014

A WASC Accredited Graduate School

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Connecting Education to Industry “Education is all a matter of building bridges.”

-Ralph Ellison

Getting Out there...

Career Fair Success

Future Planning and Brainstorming

By Hubert Chang

By Frank Aguilera, PhD

Completing assignments and passing exams are part of the university experience. For most students, their goals include not only the need to do well and graduate with good grades—but a better future.

Most of us are confronted with having to plan or visualize future directions, either as organizational leaders or for personal reasons. Future planning can be a challenging effort, but using PG. a methodology for planning can be very helpful.

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International Technological University

A WASC Accredited Graduate School

This issue’s theme, Connecting Education to Industry, resonates as the legacy and purpose from Dr. Shu-Park Chan, ITU’s founder. We understand the challenges graduate school institutions face in placing students in industry. Our university is committed to connecting students with the right skills, people and organizations.

Employers need individuals with transferable skills who can apply new ideas and insight to difficult business issues. They need educated and talented students, but also those with hands-on experience. To meet these work expectations, ITU conveys practical, results-oriented education, challenging student’s critical thinking and application skills.

ITU’s curriculum presents strong learning experiences, preparing students to become top company leaders. ITU backs its industry focus with foundational initiatives, such as our: - Industry Advisory Board that builds networks to employment opportunities, - Student Success Center for relevant career counseling, - Professional ITU faculty or ITU good neighbors, who open doors for internships, - Career Fairs allowing direct interface with top practitioners in industry.

Change is inevitable for companies to remain leading edge and competitive.

ITU course projects challenge students to apply their learning to organizational problems. By connecting education to industry, ITU: - Assists employers in recognizing and closing skill gaps, through education, - Creates valuable cooperation between education and industry, - Aligns certifications and credentials with educational programs.

We execute academic programs as a springboard to the global market. The university endeavor will continue to prepare students for successfully higher tasks in their careers. To achieve this goal, it is very important to design pertinent course content. Our faculties are knowledgeable industry professionals, creating educational opportunities for students to adapt themselves to current and future roles.

A collaborative environment expands the university educational outreach to the community. It’s imperative that ITU gives students real workplace experience, to develop their relationship with industry before graduation. Our professional faculties, with rich experience, foster higher educational standards that contribute to students’ life-long high performance.

What’s Inside Page 3.

• Why Did I Come to ITU? • Industry Relevant Research

Page 4.

• The ITU Difference

Page 5.

• ITU Faculty Voices: How do you bring industry experience into the classroom?

Page 6.

• ITU Students Publish Research • Working With Students On Work

Page 7.

• Students Find Success at ITU Career Fair • Career Fair Visit = Internship

Page 8.

• Getting Out There • Industry Leaders Share Career Advice With Students

Page 9.

• Doctoral Publications • Did You Know?

Page 10.

• MEMS Expert Forecasts the Future​

Page11.

• Future Planning and Brainstorming

Page 12.

• The Best of Silicon Valley • Mirror: Celebrating Norouz Amal Mougharbel, PhD Business Administration Department Chair Editor in Chief, ITU Journal

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Volume IV, Issue 1, 2014

Why Did I come to ITU?

By Karl Wang, PhD, ITU Electrical and Computer Engineering Professor

What relevant knowledge and skills does ITU offer to students that are important to the engineering industry success?

ITU offers the core knowledge and hands-on practical experience that are important to the engineering industry success. The courses that I teach use the most updated and innovative business tools and methodology. In addition, ITU teaches students critical thinking and independent research skills to participate in a fastpaced technologically advancing industry. At ITU, students are taught how to work in a team environment, to be prepared for engineers positions.

Dr. Karl Wang guided international R&D teams at Motorola, Silicon Motion, ARM, Texas Instruments and UMC. His team from Hitachi and ST Microelectronics developed an embedded microprocessor core for “system on chip” products. At Motorola, he developed the first generator of PowerPC microprocessors.

Why are you involved in teaching at ITU? I like to share the more-than-30 years of experience that I have as an engineer. I find training my students to be the next generation of successful engineers is personally rewarding.

Dr. Wang held a position of professor of electrical engineering practice at Harvey Mudd College. He published 22 technical papers and holds 20 patents. He chaired 2 IEEE International Electron Devices Meetings and a VLSI Circuit Symposium.

How do you bring your industry experience into the classroom?

I focus my teaching and conduct research on relevant topics.

For example, I use a project-based teaching method to give my students hands-on experience in embedded system design. That way they acquire the skills and knowledge that are expected of professionals working in this field. The research topics chosen are closely related to important potential products. Therefore, my students are excited to do the research work, and the research results are interesting to potential employers.

Dr. Wang earned his Bachelor’s degree from Rice University and his Master’s and PhD degrees from MIT, all in electrical engineering. He speaks Mandarin Chinese in addition to English.

application programming, and IP (intellectual property) design ecosystems. Industry relevant research are those that exhibit innovations and significantly advance the state of the arts in these technologies.

Industry Relevant Research Dr. Karl Wang gave a colloquium on Industry Relevant Research to the PhD students on 12/11/2013. He said in order to conduct Industry Relevant research, students need to know what are the “hot” product markets. Today mobile products - e.g. smartphones and tablets, internet-connect TV’s, Smart Grids and Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI), and Internet-of-Thing (IOT) used in energy management, health care, and surveillance - are the products that drive the electronic product markets. The key enabling technologies are embedded systems that are microprocessor-based designs, SOC (system-on-a-chip), RF (radio frequency) communication systems, sensors, VLSI (very large silicon integration), IC (integrated circuit) manufacturing, software

Dr. Wang also gave some valuable advice on conducting PhD research. He emphasized students’ ownership of the research, encouraged students to ask questions, provide solutions, and present the solutions. In addition, the students should be good team players and exhibit leadership and professionalism in the research work. Above all, students should always strive for excellence and a balance between work and personal life. Of course, as often is the case when PhD research is pushing the frontiers of research, a lot of luck is sometimes needed to be successful.

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International Technological University

A WASC Accredited Graduate School

a computer science faculty meeting at a well-known university and hearing the following: “We know we have a really great computer science program because we flunk so many students!” I was quietly flabbergasted.

“The ITU Difference”

By Richard Riehle, PhD, ITU Computer Science Professor

In my experience as an instructor to industry, my goal was to prepare my material so as to guarantee the highest level of success. To quote a great line from NASA, “Failure is not an option.” When teaching in an industry setting, the instructor is expected to earn his fee by getting his students ready to carry out their tasks using the new information or skills immediately after the course is over.

From my perspective, with regard to ITU, our mission too includes a focus on success, not failure. We are not in the business of creating good students. We are in the business of preparing future professionals for challenges they will face in their future. Our focus must be preparation for success, not avoidance of failure. We are creating future professionals, not perpetual students.

We know that education changes lives and often changes the course of history. While we need to be humble about what we can actually achieve, we need to continue to recognize that one educated leader can emerge to become a driving force for good -- or evil -- in the future. We at ITU must hope that our contribution will be of long-term benefit.

When I, as an industry instructor, fail to adequately train my students in the skills they are supposed to learn, that failure is mine, not the students’. We as faculty, have an obligation to each of our students to plan, prepare, and deliver the kind of instruction that will satisfy the goal -- the ITU goal -- of preparing those in our classrooms for a high probability of success.

I have had the good fortune of visiting other schools and universities over my lifetime and observing how those schools view their own position in the world of education. I have also been privileged to deliver vocational education to a large number of prominent and well-known corporations during my life. From those two educational domains, I learned something about the differences between vocational/industrial education versus traditional, academic education.

We as faculty, administrators, and support personnel -- all of us -- at ITU, should be continually focused on student success. Our goal should be to achieve a record of preparing future professionals who are exquisitely prepared to meet the professional challenges of the present, as well as those of the future. When someone asks us about our mission, we should be proud to include in that reply, “Producing graduates who are ready for a career as successful professionals in their chosen field.”

The difference is that in vocational education, the focus is on preparing students for success. In academic education, the focus is challenging students to avoid failure. I recall visiting

Dr. Richard Riehle​has over sixty years of experience in software practice for both industry and academia in commercial and government applications. His career roles have ranged from computer programming to CEO. Dr. Riehle received his PhD from the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, CA, where he also has taught software engineering and computer science for 12 years. He is a member of the ITU Software Engineering Core Faculty. Even in his eighth decade of life, Dr. Riehle still practices his life-long hobby of Kodokan and Olympic-style Judo, and holds the rank of Fourth Degree Black-Belt in that sport.

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Volume IV, Issue 1, 2014

ITU faculty voices:

How do you bring your industry experience into the classroom?

Mark Gerhardt, PhD, ITU Computer Science Professor

Fel Anthony Amistad, JD, Business Administration Professor

My classes have two essential components. First, I provide an exposure and competence building activity, conveying the technical foundations from industry successes. Next I create a project, intentionally vague like all real projects. Students initially struggle to apply the technology to something ambiguous. Then through class, individual, team interaction and insight they gradually improve. Finally, they see their own growth and capability to apply technology to a problem for a successful engineering outcome.

My law, finance, business and diverse background allow me to “marry” the theoretical and practical. I concentrate on concepts and cases from the financial and real estate industries. As a business owner and nonprofit community leader, I discuss balancing humanitarian aspects of giving back to the community with optimizing corporate sustainability and profitability.

Ramesh Konda, PhD, ITU Business Administration Professor

I correlate my teaching with practical experience of my own.

This way, I explain the practical application of theory with real examples from industry.

Venkatesh Gopal, PhD, ITU Business Administration Professor

I bring my own business practices and examples to highlight the importance of data-driven decision-making. Sometimes the problem is unclear; students need to experience how a business environment doesn’t include directions in a textbook!

I like to interact with other faculty to develop cross-functional projects - say an electrical engineering student bringing the technology component for an ecological or a medical device problem.

Carmelita Omran, ITU Business Administration Professor

Relevant industry experience brings an experienced perspective to the classroom, providing valuable insight and a real connection between theoretical and practical. With my industry experience, I provide engaging learning experiences that enable students to put theories and concepts into practice.

Mark Cazem, JD, ITU Business Administration Professor

Ravi Sodhi, ITU Business Administration and Digital Arts Professor

I have many years of global and domestic law practice and business transaction skills. My life experiences include worldwide travel and living for a period of time in Milan (Italy), Madrid (Spain), Istanbul (Turkey), Manila (Philippines), Tokyo (Japan), Vancouver, BC, Canada, and Hong Kong. Further, I have been teaching international students at UC, Berkeley for nearly 15 years and CSU, East Bay for 13 years.

By sharing industry speakers and industry practices, we have changed our educational approach. It becomes a dialog- and conversation-rich environment; students participate and take greater involvement and engagement in their learning, outcomes and successes. We are grateful for incredible participation from our students and their feedback.

Magdy Hussein, PhD, ITU Business Administration Professor

As is common in scholarly practice, case studies are an effective research and teaching methodology. Sharing ITU professors’ experience provides a valuable, real-world illustration in action. I enjoy highlighting business-case examples and their implications on organizational theory in corporate America.

Kim-Yo Hsieh, DC, ITU Business Administration Professor

My approach includes all relevant data and information -current events, as well as past events - in the hope that it will bring light and certainty for future applications and problems.

Maria Elena De Guevara, ITU Business Administration Professor

I see my class as a laboratory to explore how course material translates into real situations. I bring my organizational experience with a goal to help students develop their transferrable skills.

Tom Tafolla, JD, ITU Business Administration Professor

Overall, my 30-year experience in Silicon Valley has focused on engineering product development and legal support services for executive management. This exposure has given me a broad understanding of technology development for entrepreneurs, who form the foundation of Silicon Valley.

From this source I am able to share my experience with students and contribute to their professional development and training.

Frank Aguilera, PhD, ITU Business Administration Professor

I have over 35 years of experience in engineering, management and leadership. That experience allows me to provide a wealth of first hand examples and stories for students to see directly how the knowledge they are learning is applied.

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International Technological University

A WASC Accredited Graduate School

ITU Students Publish Research

By May Huang, PhD, ITU Electrical Engineering Department Chair

Another research paper, “High-speed and Accurate Laser Scan Matching using Classified Features”, was presented by Lei Shu at the 2013 IEEE International Symposium on Robotic and Sensors Environments (ROSE 2013). The abstract of the paper is shown here:

Two Electrical Engineering students Aaron Xu and Lei Shu, under the supervision of Dr. Eric Chen and Dr. May Huang, had papers accepted for publication at IEEE prominent conferences.

Laser scan matching algorithm plays a key role in robot localization and mapping. In this paper, we propose a classified feature-based algorithm that matches laser scans in a closedform manner called Classified Feature-based Scan Matcher (CFSM). Based on a geometric observation, our classified features are defined as rotational features and translational features separately to improve matching accuracy.

Experimental results demonstrate that CFSM can produce better accuracy for scans with large angular displacement, without increasing running time. Indoor robot can take advantage of this algorithm in performing fast and accurate pose estimation.

The paper “Planning Paths with Fewer Turns on Grid Maps” was presented by Aaron Xu at the Sixth Annual Symposium on Combinatorial Search (SoCS 2013). The abstract of the paper is featured below: In this paper, we consider the problem of planning any-angle paths with small numbers of turns on grid maps. We propose a novel heuristic search algorithm called Link* that returns paths containing fewer turns at the cost of slightly longer path lengths. Experimental results demonstrate that Link* can produce paths with fewer turns than other any-angle path planning algorithms while still maintaining comparable path lengths. Because it produces this type of path, artificial agents can take advantage of Link* when the cost of turns is expensive.

Lei Shu is a researcher in the Artificial Intelligence Lab with an International B.S. from University of Science and Technology of China and an M.S. from ITU. She has been focusing on robotics research for four years. Her research-interests are robotics, artificial intelligence, distributed systems, computer vision, cloud computing and machine learning.

Aaron Xu received his M.S. degree in electronics and communication engineering and computer engineering from Peking University and International Technological University (ITU) in 2009 and 2011. He is currently an AAAI student member.

His research involves robot path planning, motion planning, localization, mapping, FPGA design and compiler design.

when it comes to discussing internship plans. Amy encourages students to connect to the faculty and staff. She reminds them of report deadlines and makes them aware of the next semester dates. Amy wants students to feel like she is an internship partner during their overall ITU journey.

Working with Students on Work

By Patricia Wiggin, ITU Business Administration Professor

What if a first year ITU student has an opportunity to work on an internship? Who do they contact?

They contact Amy Chaung, Student Records Specialist, and begin their internship experience here at ITU. Meeting with Amy starts the process to track where students work, their job titles, the number of internships they’ve had, and if they are working in accordance with their degree pursuits. Sometimes the discussion ensures that they know the policy and receive clear guidance.

Amy Chaung, Student Records Specialist, received her MBA from ITU in the summer of 2013. She has an undergraduate degree in history from San Jose State.

Very often Amy is amazed to hear about the student’s experiences; she appreciates being the first point of contact

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Volume IV, Issue 1, 2014

Students Find Success at ITU Career Fair

By Hubert Chang

Continued from page 1

With so many personal and professional obstacles, and limited time, students thrive in an environment of support—especially one that helps them achieve their dreams.

On November 15, 2013, ITU’s Student Success Center (SSC) held its Fall Career Fair. Over 100 students attended this second-ever event and spoke directly with local Silicon Valley companies.

To help prepare students, the SSC offered a three-day “Navigating the Career Fair” workshop series. This workshop series provided vital information on making good first impressions and featured a resume critique. (Be sure to read below about Aarti Ramanan’s strategy and resulting success at the Career Fair.)

Mark your calendars for the next career fair on Friday, March 14th, 2014 in the ITU Auditorium!

My new role will revolve around analyzing the financial information for companies that have synergies with Kleenspeed, for potential mergers. I am extremely thrilled about this opportunity to work in my master’s degree area of emphasis.

This internship is a high point and will accelerate my learning curve. I am deeply grateful to ITU for this Career Fair. It provided me the chance to interact with people from various domains, build relationships and explore career opportunities.

Career Fair Visit = Internship

By Aarti Ramanan, ITU MBA Student

The ITU Career Fair was a phenomenal success for me. I was seeking an internship in the financial field. However, I networked proactively with every company at the Fair, not limiting myself to banks or financial companies alone. All the companies shared their contact information, which helped me establish connections.

Aarti Ramanan is pursuing a General Management MBA degree at ITU. She likes Finance courses, research, current affairs and debates.

One company representative was from Kleenspeed Technologies, Inc., a clean-tech company that manufactures environmentfriendly Lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles. They sought Information Systems graduates at the Career Fair.

Her hobbies include blogging/ writing, quizzing, teaching and dance. She also finds cryptic crosswords very intriguing and fascinating.

I discussed the company with its representative and explained my financial interests. She was overwhelmed with my experience and recommended me to Kleenspeed’s affiliate company, SRA Capital, which is responsible for evaluating their financial dealings: mergers and acquisitions, and joint ventures.

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International Technological University

A WASC Accredited Graduate School

There is no better teacher than real, practical experience life in the field. And who would have dreamed up a better educational arena than Northern California? Here we have the migrating whales, the elephant seals of Ano Nuevo, Redwood Forest, Sequoias, Golden Gate Bridge and many other incredible attractions. Many such expeditions are possible – let the Digital Arts Program at ITU be your gateway.

Getting out There...

What does it take to be a great photographer?

By Anthony C. LoBaido, ITU Digital Arts Professor

There is no limit to the range of photographic options available to ITU students living in Silicon Valley. Last semester in MMM 870 (Digital Image Manipulation), our students took a wide range of photographs in and around Silicon Valley. This gave the students a hands-on learning experience in which they could demonstrate their own creativity as well as technical proficiency. There’s nothing like “getting out there” and having the freedom to photograph what you find most appealing and beautiful.

Although the final results are indeed subjective, the students were able to capture a wide range of items in their assignment -ranging from people to places to events and activities.

Anthony C. LoBaido is a journalist, photographer and teacher. He has lectured at the University of California at Berkeley, Texas A&M and Baylor.

As a journalist, he has published 348 articles in 48 national publications.

Anthony was recently contacted by National Geographic to purchase a photo of elephants from Southeast Asia.

ITU boasts a brilliant cadre of students. Some of the students in our class already have degrees from universities like Cal Tech and Stanford. They hail from various nations including Mainland China, India and Bangladesh. They form a strong core of solidarity that are willing and eager to learn, achieve and expand their horizons.

Photography and other digital arts provide a broad architecture and educational space for ITU students to unleash their creative potential. As such, these types of assignments have proven to be invaluable.

Industry Leaders Share career advice

Event hosted by the ITU Chinese Student Association on December 17, 2013.

What does it take to be a great photographer? I would point to a broad knowledge of the fundamentals. There’s the “Rule of Thirds,” the “Golden Mean” and a certain knack for framing your shot. The very best photographers are instinctive and know how to move around to capture the best lighting possible. Ansel Adams took amazing black and white photographs at Yosemite National Park which is not far from Silicon Valley. ITU might indeed produce the next Ansel Adams through the Digital Arts Program.

Jia Zhou, Software Developer at Yahoo!

Yu Tian, Hardware Engineer at Marvell Semiconductor Inc.

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Yi-Hen Wei, Director of Semiconductor Manufacturing at Qualcomm

Sophie Li, Account Manager at MA Labs Inc.

Volume IV, Issue 1, 2014

Did You Know?

Doctoral Publications

By Frank Aguilera, PhD, ITU Business Adminnistration Professor

Students at International Technological University (ITU) are required to publish as part of their doctoral studies.

The requirement for publishing academic research articles includes both journal articles and conference papers.

Aside from the university requirement and mechanics of writing a publishable paper, one might ask, why it is important to develop a topic and write for a journal or a conference? The short answer is that it provides the student with an opportunity for growth and development in critical thinking and scholarly work.

So, where to start? What should the topic be? Typically, most doctoral students have written papers for courses along the way. That is a good starting point for potential topics to consider. Along this path there should have been much practice in research skills and spending time reviewing literature sources as part of the scholarly research. These literature reviews should have included published journal articles.

The conference or journal selected must be targeted to the student’s topic area. This takes time to investigate. Some journals or conferences are aimed at narrow themes, while others are geared to broader or multidisciplinary topics. Students must work toward finding those sources that are of interest and acceptable to ITU. Additionally, various academic societies have student chapters; these subsections of the society provide a good source of information and exposure.

Spring Online Courses

For the second trimester, ITU continues offering online classes. 19 courses are currently offered online in business, computer science, and electrical engineering. ITU has increased the offered online courses due to demand. For information on the online course policy, check the following site: http://itu.edu/?p=1119#onlinecoursepolicy​

ITU Celebrates 20 Years

ITU held its 20th Anniversary Gala on February 22nd, 2014 from 3pm to 7pm. This event celebrates ITU’s 20th year, operating since 1994.

Industry Advisory Board meets

On January 10, 2014 ITU held an Industry Advisory Board meeting, attended by industry leaders and ITU professional faculty. The topics presented to the Board centered on our industryfocused educational model, diversified student growth, student and employee success, institutional research and assessment capabilities. In addition, the Board reviewed and gave recommendations on the outcomes of the program review.

Academic Assessment Center

At the end of 2013, ITU established an Academic Assessment Center. The aim of the Center is to support quality student learning. Objectives include assisting academic programs in defining learning outcomes and developing assessment strategies. The Center will encourage a culture of competence-based education, and evidenced-based learning, to support successful student learning outcomes.

Graduation 2014

A doctoral student’s professional development takes time. And students can keep in mind that in the future, his or her publication accomplishments will be a valuable addition to both their resume and career.

Finally, students should remember that the ITU faculty constitutes a great resource for doctoral students to utilize as they fulfill this journey. We encourage students to consult with faculty for help in proceeding towards successful publication.

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Saturday, May 3rd From 10AM-12PM

Heritage Theater 1 West Campbell Ave, Campbell, California 95008

International Technological University

A WASC Accredited Graduate School

MEMS Expert Forecasts the Future

By Avid Farhoodfar, PhD, ITU Electrical and Computer Engineering Professor

Dr. Janusz Bryzek gave a presentation to students and faculty at ITU in December 2013. Dr. Bryzek has started 7 high tech Micro Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) companies such as Honeywell, GE, and Maxim. His broad experiences, in addition to advising over 40 startup companies, have established Dr. Bryzek as the Father of the Sensor.

He estimated that ITU PhD students’ projects, based on biotech and medical devices, are well positioned for success, and may overtake the software industry.

Dr. Bryzek discussed the philosophy of Abundance Vision, introduced by Peter Diamandis in 2013. These future-forward thinkers are working towards solving major global problems within the next 20 to 30 years, through:

Sensors are involved in many innovations in the world. The sizes of sensors have changed, moving from acceleration sensors used by Honda, to recent use in heart operations, where three sensors can fit on the tip of a pin.

• Exponential technologies. There are eight exponential technologies and networks, including sensors; he predicted 45 trillion networked sensors within 20 years.

• DIY (do-it-yourself) revolution: individual innovators empowered to achieve the “impossible.”

• Advent of a “technophilanthropic force”: philanthropic organizations funded by billionaires.

• The rising billion: billions of poor people connecting to the global economy through a global transportation network, Internet, microfinance and wireless communications.

Dr. Bryzek discussed different current and future sensor-related products.

As part of the Abundance Vision movemnt, Dr. Bryzek sees a new version of smart sensors. We may not be aware of it, but currently smart sensors in applications, such as the ones in iPhone 4S, have connected us to all daily functions and transformed our lives. The new smart sensors, called TSensors (which stands for Trillion Sensors, representing a hyper-fast sensors) will result in applications or products that we can’t even dream of. Amazing sensors technology will create industries and applications beyond our expectations and will impact every aspect of life.

He reviewed Venture Capital (VC) funding by region and by industry for the third quarter of 2013. He addressed the growth of industries related to biotech and medical devices that today receive about 18% of total VC funding.

A few quarters back, these two segments dominated the software industry in total VC funding. The software industry dominates these segments today.

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Volume IV, Issue 1, 2014

Future Planning and Brainstorming

The process should encourage each participant to dream what is conceivable, because there is a tendency for individuals to use linear thinking rather than imagined possibilities.

continued from page 1

To optimize the process, bring together individuals from diverse academic backgrounds including nontechnical people (i.e., artists) to generate scenario details that are diverse and innovative.

By Frank Aguilera, PhD, ITU Business Administration Professor

Most of us are confronted with having to plan or visualize future directions, either as organizational leaders or for personal reasons. Future planning can be a challenging effort, but using a methodology for planning can be very helpful.

Prior to bringing a group together, the facilitator should develop or identify external environment forces information.

That information is a good discussion starting point; it sets the context to address the problem and objectives. Examples might be economic growth or downturn, demographic change, or sustainability concerns.

Often times we start with a linear approach to planning, using the current situation or problem as the starting point from which to make changes. This linear approach suits some planning requirements, but may only provide an incremental path to change.

So you may be asking at this point, exactly what is scenario based planning? To me, it is generating stories of future imagined states, identified by the brainstorming group, that address the issues or objectives identified.

The approach that works best for me focuses on limiting the number of possible scenarios to two, three or four. With limited time or resources, generating stories in this approach is very effective.

This article introduces a future planning methodology called “scenario based planning.” Scenario based planning looks at developing imagined possible future circumstances to encourage innovation and solve planning needs.

The next set of questions are very important: when does the future state being imagined need to materialize in order to effectively address the issue or problem at hand? Is the time frame is realistic? For example it may be realistic to imagine that a future state will happen 5 or 10 years from now. This future state should plan for the amount of time needed to develop technologies that currently may not exist.

Imagining a future state is the most important element.

To begin, clearly state the issue or problem that is being addressed. This reduces the likelihood of developing scenarios without an intended focus, and ensures we are addressing the correct problem. Characterizing the problem is accompanied by developing objectives, which also clarify understanding of the correct issue or need.

After identifying the time frame, the facilitator can graphically depict the scenario(s) on a time-line. The group should imagine themselves as existing in the future, deciding what is actually needed to make the planning real. Once that takes place, the group must work back from the future to ask specifically what needs to be developed today in order to realize the future scenario.

Before an individual rushes into solving problems or making changes, I recommend spending the necessary time to think it through. Peter Drucker cautioned, “The most common source of mistakes in management decisions is the emphasis on finding the right answer rather than the right question.”

The facilitator must remember that it is not easy to have a group come together and begin to think freely. He or she must set the stage for proper problem definition and future thinking. The activity takes patience and stamina, as characterizing the problem establishes the foundation for envisioning what could be.

At this point the facilitator can utilize the amassed information to plan directly for each requirement to make the future a reality.

Onward to vision creation!

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International Technological University

team Editor-in-Chief:

A WASC Accredited Graduate School

The Best of Silicon Valley A Poem by Albina Pereira, ITU MBA Student

Amal Mougharbel, PhD

Manager:

Hubert Chang

Editorial Board: Barbara Arnoldussen Patricia Wiggin Sophia Gu

Coordinator: Albina Pereira

Contributors:

Avid Farhoodfar, PhD Fel Anthony Amistad, JD Frank Aguilera, PhD Karl Wang, PhD Kim-Yo Hsieh, DC Magdy Hussein, PhD Mark Cazem, JD Ramesh Konda, PhD Richard Riehle, PhD Tom Tafolla, JD Venkatesh Gopal, PhD Anthony C. Lobaido Aarti Ramanan Carmelita Omran Maria Elena De Guevara Mark Gerhardt May Huang Ravi Sodhi Designer: Kathia Rubi

International Technological University “Global Development through Silicon Valley Education” 355 W. San Fernando Street San Jose, CA 95113 www.itu.edu

International Technological University is accredited by the Accrediting Commission for Senior Colleges and Universities of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges, 985 Atlantic Avenue, # 100, Alameda, CA 94501, 510-748-9001.

The views expressed in articles are those of the writers only and not of ITU. ITU Journal is not responsible for accuracy of information cited in the news and events. The Editorial Board reserves the right to edit submissions, with contributions capped at 300 words. Plagiarized submissions will be discarded.

Silicon Valley is Land of Super rich Culture, It offers jobs to ever seeking vulture, It’s a Little bit sweet, and a little bit sour, Sometimes it’s Changes by every passing hour.

There are people here from all around the world, They always smile and don’t care about the excruciating heat or cold, And any one you ask he always says “I’m super busy” Mate, life in Silicon Valley Is not so easy!

From early coffee whistles to the deadlines and targets, We have everyone here from Engineers to amazingly talented artists,

From the competition for colleges to intensifying internships, Theres always a rat race even to get scholarships!

There’s no time to spare for family or kids Everyone here are grilled on electric grids, The money is good and rewarding, That is the main goal that keeps everyone according, Here time just flies with no time to dine, However People done complain and always say “I’m fine” There are people traveling in cal train and Bart, Whatever the case Silicon Valley will always remain close to my heart!!!

Mirror: Celebrating Norouz

or Sin. The Haft-Sin has retained its symbolism of nature. Traditionally, families set as beautiful a Haft-Sin table as they can, to reflect traditional and spiritual values. This table is appreciated by people during Norouz visiting exchanges. The most common Haft Sin items are:

March is a month of celebration.

March 20 is when Winter becomes Spring. This transition of the season is the Spring Equinox, celebrated since ancient times, by people in many regions of central Asia and Middle East. These regions were once part of the Persian Empire. This celebration is called Norouz.

1-Sabzeh: wheat, barley or lentil sprouts growing in a dish - symbolizing rebirth 2-Samanu: a sweet pudding made from wheat germ - symbolizing affluence 3-Senjed: the dried fruit of the oleaster tree symbolizing love 4-Sir: garlic - symbolizing medicine 5-Sib: apples - symbolizing beauty and health 6-Somaq: sumac berries - symbolizing (the color of) sunrise 7-Serkeh: vinegar - symbolizing age and patience.

Although traditionally improper, a missing Sin is on occasion substituted with another item starting with an S. For example:

A symbolic illustration of Norouz is setting up a decorative table called Haft-Sin in every home (Haft means seven.) The Haft-Sin table includes seven items specifically starting with the letter S

Sonbol - the fragrant hyacinth flower (the coming of spring) Sekkeh - coins (prosperity and wealth)

By Avid Farhoodfar, PhD, ITU Electrical and Computer Engineering Professor

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ISSN: 2161-8054