ConvergeOne's CTO Mark Langanki heads up the Information Technology Infrastructure Program
Mark Langanki has been at the University of Minnesota for more than two-and-a-half decades, first as a student, then an instructor, and now as faculty director for the Information Technology Infrastructure (ITI) program.
A U instructor for 18 years, Langanki has lent his expertise to a number of courses, including CSCI4061: Intro Operating Systems, INET3101: C Programming, INET4021 − Network Programming, and INET4051: IT Operations. He also is the chief technology officer for the tech integration and consulting group ConvergeOne.
Says Michelle Koker, Director of Undergraduate Degrees for CCAPS, “Mark’s extensive experience, not just in the classroom but in the professional world as well, makes him uniquely qualified to help bring the ITI program to the next level.”
In service to the program's commitment to continuous development, Langanki and other ITI staff have created six tracks for the program. The tracks, which allow participants to flow between “interest areas,” are designed to reflect growing trends in the industry. They also allow those students who wish to elect an area of specialization to formally do so. The tracks as currently defined are Data Science, Data Management, Systems, Security, DevOps, and Networking. It is also possible to create an individualized track comprising elements of any of the tracks.
“They aren’t just for ITI students (or other undergraduates), either,” says Langanki. “We encourage working adults to check them out. Maybe they don’t want to do a whole new degree, but are interested in brushing up on the latest technology, or learning a new concept in a few courses over the course of two to three semesters.”
The connection to the “real world” is an important hallmark for the ITI program, he continues. Both the degree advisory board members, as well as many of the instructors, are individuals who are employed in the most emergent and relevant fields in the industry, so they have the hands-on, up-to-date knowledge of what is trending in the business and what is important to employers.
“One of the advantages of this program is that it employs instructors [and advisory board members] who go to work every day in the industry they teach courses in,” says Langanki. “So we’re bringing current trends and concepts to the students every week in lecture, which helps them hit the ground running with the needed skills/knowledge to be effective Day One in the workforce.
"By defining tracks that are tied to industry needs and trends, we’re giving students a way to focus their interests, aligning our instructors with their areas of expertise, and facilitating the best of all learning outcomes.”
If you’d like to learn more about earning a degree or taking coursework in Information Technology Infrastructure, or simply to discover more about the degree and industry, please visit the Bachelor of Applied Science in ITI home page or contact the ITI degree adviser.
