Radford Data Engineering Students Share Cutting Edge Research with Technology Industry Leaders

Graduate students, Nicole Linkous and Caitlyn Robinson, studying Data Engineering at Radford University, traveled to South Carolina in October to present their research at The Southeastern Chapter of the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (SEINFORMS) regional conference. A significant component of the graduate experience is developing a capstone project working with at least one industry mentor.

Nicole presented her project “Leveraging Electronic Medical Records (EMRs) to Develop Predictive Models for Community-Level Influenza Transmission in Southwest Virginia” which uses EMRs to reveal influenza transmission patterns within communities.

She noted that classes at Radford University helped her feel ready to give her presentation. “With classes like Data Warehousing and Visualization, I felt like I was prepared to deliver my message to a crowd like this one” Nicole stated.

Caitlyn presented her project “Cyber RADaR” that crowdsources social media to create a dashboard alerting users to emerging cybersecurity threats and provides references to mitigation methods. The system is especially valuable for small organizations that do not have the resources to monitor social media.

She recognized that this experience was on another level from her academic pursuits. “It’s different from speaking in a classroom.” Caitlyn said. “I had to think about the type of questions that an experienced professional might ask me.”

Both students saw this conference as an opportunity to gain experience in public speaking. They presented their projects to a mixed audience of professionals, educators, and fellow students. The conference was an opportunity to receive valuable feedback while connecting and networking with peers, mentors, and potential collaborators from these fields.

The students saw the presentation as a valuable opportunity to get feedback on their capstone projects from these experts. The conference also served as an opportunity to connect and network with peers, mentors, and potential collaborators from these various fields.

The conference helped students understand how their capstone projects relate to the real world. It demonstrated the practical application of their research in various professional sectors, making the academic experience more tangible.

Nicole notes that classes at Radford University helped to prepare her for giving the presentation. “With classes like Data Warehousing and Visualization, I felt like I was prepared to deliver my message to a crowd like this one.” The conference gave both students the chance to gain valuable public speaking experience outside of the classroom and speak to a real audience.

Both students attended a variety of other presentations during their time at the conference on varied topics. They were exposed to other talks that inspired their own research. Nicole, who is currently working on her capstone with Carilion clinic, found that the talks focused on healthcare gave her even more insight into the field that she has been working with.

Nicole and Caitlyn's participation in the SEINFORMS regional conference was a pivotal moment in their academic journey. Not only did they gain valuable experience in public speaking, but they also networked with experts from diverse fields, learned about emerging research, and received essential feedback on their capstone projects. This experience underlines the significance of such conferences in the development of future researchers and professionals, reminding us that the journey of learning is a continuous one, enriched by the sharing of knowledge and experiences on platforms like these.