Innovations for Industry is a class that allows students to solve information technology problems for local businesses. The class developed and implemented a system that allows for files to be transferred securely to and from a federal agency. Douglas Roth ’06, Centre Hall, Pa., explains further:

What was the purpose of your project?
The Information Technology Department has a class called Innovations for Industry, which serves as a capstone for information technology students. We find projects with companies and external organizations [that need information technology solutions] and go through the process of meeting with the organization, creating the solution, and applying the solution. The class is designed to emulate a real-world scenario.

What was the problem that the federal agency was having?
The agency needed a way to transfer files securely to and from other organizations because the information could be sensitive or personally identifiable. They also had issues with e-mail size; attachments were too big to send.

How did you develop the solution?
We got the requirements that the agency needed, looked at different vendors, and determined which solution would be best. We had to submit a request for change because it is a federal agency. We then acquired the system and had to work with customer service to set it up and get it tested.

How does the new system work?
An internal user will invite an external user to join, and the external user will create an account. The created account is a secure link, kind of like webmail, in which email attachments are uploaded to [and transferred through] a secure appliance. Internal users are the only ones able to access the attachments.

Was it a difficult project?
Getting through the documentation and receiving approval was difficult, but it was a pretty good project overall. Another difficult thing was that we had to have virtual meetings with the organization because the office was three hours away.

How widespread is the system used?
[The system] was deployed recently, so I don’t know exactly how many people use it, but there is much interest in it.

-Aaron Adams ’12, Juniata Online Journalist