The institute, located at UNC Charlotte, draws heavily from the resources of UNC Charlotte's College of Information Technology. The goal of the institute is to provide students and I/T professionals with access to laboratories, faculty members, other IT professionals and students to help them develop new e-business solutions across a variety of industries.

The institute is governed by an advisory board, comprised of representatives from the partner organizations; laboratories focused on specific e-business problems and a service division responsible for external communication and training.

Laboratories address issues of data security, privacy and cryptography, a priority for financial institutions and others that conduct commerce via the Internet. Other early labs will study applications for intelligent data analysis, and other innovative uses of technology. These "LITs" will serve as incubators for new ideas relevant to an array of industries and emerging business processes.

"The E-Business Technology Institute will provide a means to connect the IT expertise of UNC Charlotte with technology partners like the critically important financial institutions like Bank of America and Wachovia Bank," said Mirsad Hadzikadic, dean of the College of Information Technology.

"The institute will offer a testing grounds for novel technologies and give companies access to faculty knowledge and student creativity. At the same time, our students will learn through participation in hands-on, market-driven projects. Such experience will make our students upon graduation a valuable human resource to our institute partners," Hadzikadic added.

The idea for the institute grew out of conversations and meetings between university leaders and officers from the banks. The purpose of meetings was to introduce the college and to learn how it might work together with companies to solve IT problems.

"With the establishment of this institute, the College of Information Technology at UNC Charlotte is taking a bold step forward into the future of education," said Jim Woodward, former UNC Charlotte Chancellor. "Our goal will be to share our research and maintain currency with the "State of the Art" technology to help ensure that those who come through the institute have a rich understanding of the e-business world, helping them succeed in the digital economy."

The alliance creating the institute was formed in late November of 2000 after discussions between former Chancellor Woodward; Ken Lewis, president and COO of Bank of American; Ken Thompson President and CEO of Wachovia Bank; and Hadzikadic. More corporate partners are expected to join the institute.

The institute is be housed within the facilities of the College of Information Technology and later will be within the planned Charlotte Research Institute complex at UNC Charlotte.

For information call Olin Broadway (704)770-0077, or email at ohbroadw@uncc.edu.

Mailing address:
Olin Broadway
UNC Charlotte
9201 University City Boulevard
Charlotte, NC 28223-0001