Welcome to the Computer Systems Engineering Department web site at the Oregon Institute of Technology!

We appreciate the fact that you have chosen to visit our departmental website and hope that you find what you are looking for. If you are currently a student within one of our programs, hopefully you will take the time to read the latest news and events happening within the department. If you are just visiting or looking for a potential university to attend, we urge you to explore some of the links located on the left side of the page. The accomplishments of our department are clearly illustrated by the continual success of our graduates, with whom our faculty has tried to establish strong relationships. Within the CSET department you are much more than just another student – you become part of an ever growing family.

In addition to our Software Engineering Technology program and our Computer Engineering Technology program, the CSET department is excited to mark the beginning of the second year of our new Embedded Systems Engineering Technology program. We already have a number of students that have now declared the Embedded Systems program as their desired major and we expect many additional individuals to enter this exciting program within the next few years. Similar to our other offerings, the Embedded Systems program is designed to be completed in four years.

Over the course of the summer the CSET department received a number of different awards and grants from various companies. Microsoft for example, provided our SET program with one of six world-wide XNA Game Studio Express Innovation Awards for 2007. The grant not only provided us with 20 Xbox 360 consoles, it also gave us funds targeted toward curriculum development, free XNA Creator accounts for use by our faculty and students, and an opportunity to be able to talk directly with the XNA developers at Microsoft. Beginning winter term we will be offering a new course in the area of game development using XNA. Likewise, our Computer Engineering Technology program continues to receive software grants for various design tools from such companies as Altera and Mentor Graphics.

This is truly an exciting time for our students and new graduates. The job market in computing continues to demonstrate tremendous growth potential. Take a look at the this quote from ACM’s computing degrees brochure (http://www.acm.org/careernews/extras/careercolor.pdf) which lists a 38% to 56% growth rate across the spectrum of computing jobs in the US:

"Job growth rates for computing professions from the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics can be summarized with one word: big. Today’s market has big demand with big salaries for qualified professionals. Estimates for job growth in the United States range from 38% to 56% across the computing spectrum. With more choices and more opportunities, it’s a better time than ever to begin a career in computing. In fact, according to CNN/Money Magazine in 2006, software engineering is the number one best job for salary and opportunities! Want in? A college degree in a computing major will make it happen."

If you have any questions regarding any of the offerings within the CSET department, please feel free to visit us anytime. You are always welcome and we believe that you will find our students, faculty, and staff a very approachable, supportive, kind, bright, dynamic, and enjoyable group of individuals to work with.

Sincerely,

Professor Randal Albert