IBM employees will have an opportunity to earn a master’s degree in technology commercialization from The University of Texas at Austin through its IC2 Institute. Microsoft employees are participating in accredited graduate technology management courses from Oregon Health & Science University’s School of Science & Engineering.

In each case, Cenquest is working closely with an established university and the company to deliver graduate business education that augments a degree program’s core curriculum with company-specific content. Delivered online through Cenquest, the programs will allow corporations to gain unprecedented control over their investment dollars currently spent in tuition-reimbursed education programs.

“By placing The University of Texas’ leading edge curriculum within the context of IBM’s ongoing projects, we believe we will be offering our employees an education with value and relevance that is unprecedented,” said Bruce Aumack, a manager at IBM’s center of learning. “IBM clearly understands that the marketplace is continuously evolving. The custom degree program will help ensure that our employees are prepared to meet the challenges of a changing marketplace and help IBM lead the industry into the future.”

“We are interested in the flexibility this new education model promises in both content and implementation,” said Kim Robitaille, program manager of Higher Education at Microsoft Corp. about the OHSU offering. “As a leader in innovation, Microsoft is interested in the potential of this program.”

Company-Specific Degrees
Cenquest creates company-specific online degree programs by working closely with individual companies and established universities to offer curricula that are both academically rigorous and responsive to individual company needs. Companies are given several avenues for customizing the programs to meet their specific requirements. These may involve:

• Including assignments and group projects that focus on the company’s critical business issues.
• Integrating company-specific readings, discussions and examples within courses.
• Involving company executives and customers as online “speakers” or discussion moderators.
• Choosing specific course options.
• Designing a delivery schedule to fit the company’s calendar.

“The traditional wall between academia and business is beginning to crumble,” said LaVonne Reimer, CEO for Cenquest. “We are seeing the marriage of academic curricula and company-specific needs spark the imagination of CEOs looking to generate a more substantial and visible return on their employee education investment.”

While e-learning programs in general have afforded companies a new level of scheduling flexibility and geographic freedom, Cenquest believes the growing interest in company-specific degree programs delivered online is due to added benefits this learning model provides. These include:

• Employee recruiting: Offering a degree program from a prestigious college or universities has proven to be an effective recruitment tool.
• Employee retention: Since coursework addresses company-specific needs, the employee’s value to the company increases. When employees have the professional satisfaction of contributing to an organization’s success, they are less likely to be recruited away.
• Reduced consulting costs: Since real work projects and company issues are addressed in an academic setting with the mentorship of industry-experienced professors, the need for expensive outside consulting is reduced.
• Business relationship building: The online collaborative learning environment provides company employees with an excellent opportunity to build valuable relationships throughout an organization.

Cenquest has delivered corporate-specific degree programs and graduate courses for employees from a number of top technology companies. Intel employees are currently enrolled in a Cenquest-delivered company-specific MBA program being offered by Babson College. Cenquest is also providing the e-learning component for the highly acclaimed TRIUM international executive degree program that includes New York University Stern School of Business (NYU Stern), the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), and HEC, Graduate Business School in Paris.

About Cenquest
Cenquest is the only e-learning company to offer corporations university-branded degree programs and other university courses that are tailored to meet company-specific needs. Cenquest courses are highly interactive, instructor-mediated and event driven. They offer the interactive element of traditional classes through online discussions and collaboration between students and faculty. Cenquest also offers a full range of necessary support and delivery services required to enable e-learning events, including faculty support and training, student registrations and tracking and event management and hosting. For more information about Cenquest visit www.cenquest.com or call (503) 276-7900.

About The University of Texas at Austin’s IC2 Institute
The IC2 Institute is a strategic center for technology commercialization at The University of Texas at Austin. IC2 – which stands for Innovation, Creativity, and Capital – is a prestigious international, multi-disciplinary research and education institute that links technology, entrepreneurship, and education to foster sustainable social and economic development around the world. The Institute, founded by Dr. George Kozmetsky, former Dean of The University of Texas Business School and co-founder of Teledyne, is the home of the Austin Technology Incubator and the founder of The Austin Software Council and The Capital Network. The IC2 Institute also offers the world-renowned one-year Master of Science Degree in Science and Technology Commercialization. For more information, please see URL www.ic2.org/msdegree or call (800) 687-8532.

About OHSU
Oregon Health & Science University is a top research university focusing on medicine, engineering, nursing and dentistry. It is a national cancer research center, and the largest private research university in the U.S. Northwest. OHSU’s department of Management in Science and Technology attracts the best technical professionals in these fields, providing rigorous and relevant preparation for the management of technology-intensive organizations. For more information about the department, contact Victoria Tyler at vtyler@admin.ogi.edu or 503-748-1335.

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