Neumont University Collaborative Project Among Students and Instructor Results in the Development of New Open Source Technology

Neumont University today announced the development of PhpGedView (PGV), an Internet-based genealogy program through the collaboration of students and instructor, John Finlay. Anyone can use the technology for free to setup a genealogy website, edit data online and collaborate with relatives working on the same family research. Integrated into school curriculum, the PGV development is illustrative of the ongoing integration of Neumont's project-based learning in its accelerated Bachelors degree program.

"Neumont students are immersed in real-world projects that stretch their computer development and teamwork skills," said Neumont Senior Vice President of Academics, Eve Andersson. "Many of our corporate collaborative projects are confidential, but the PhpGedView project demonstrates the kind of experience our students gain in the growing open source web development arena."

The PGV program performs typical desktop genealogy program functions. The benefit of PGV is the program works via the Internet. It imports and exports GEDCOM files, making it compatible with other genealogy software. PGV may be downloaded for free at http://www.phpgedview.net. It requires users to have some technical knowledge to set up web-space supportive of the PHP programming language. To address this, several hosting services featured on the PGV website can assist family history researchers with set up for a nominal fee.

Neumont takes great pride in the broad range of real-world systems in which Neumont students participate. These occur in the classrooms, on enterprise projects, and in quarterly career fairs that attract employers to the University's campus. Recent graduates have accepted employment from global on-campus recruiters like IBM and from start-up companies like RemedyMD(R).

Neumont University instructor John Finlay graduated in Computer Engineering from Brigham Young University and worked in the BYU Harold B. Lee Library Information Systems Department for three years as a web developer. In June 2002, he founded the Open Source genealogy project, PhpGedView.

"Collaboration with Neumont University students has greatly accelerated the PGV project," said Finlay. "Neumont is attracting some of the nation's best web development talent who are serious about getting their degree and advancing their careers as software developers. Project-based learning for these types of students greatly enhances their ability to learn rapidly."

The Degrees

Neumont University's accelerated 30-month Bachelor of Science in Computer Science (BSCS) distinguishes itself with an integrated, project-based curriculum that focuses on the skills most valued by today's employers. Computer Science projects and coursework are designed to provide Neumont University graduates with a strong foundation in technical skills and standards, an understanding of the business environment, and the ability to communicate and function well as members of teams.

Upon completing the instructional and project hours, Neumont graduates can earn a Bachelors of Science in Computer Science and a portfolio of real-world, project work.

About Neumont University

Neumont University is educating the most sought-after software developers. The Salt Lake City campus offers a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) in one- and two-year formats. Neumont University is accredited by the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools (ACICS). Neumont University is committed to preparing students for today's demanding technology careers. Some of the careers in software development include software engineer, systems architect, web development, systems analyst, data modeler, and programmer/analyst. For information, visit http://www.neumont.edu .

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