Student groups learning through experience

Students who get involved in the EDGE Center are able to build a tremendous amount of professional experience, ranging from website development and graphic design to research, marketing, event planning, and many more areas. 

Since EDGE works directly with clients, both in the Quad Cities community and beyond, students also gain experience in client communication and project management. There are many opportunities for students to expand their skillset, as they can take on a variety of projects.

EDGE students can leave with experiences that are valuable in the evolving workplace: communication (written and verbal), deep level problem solving, leadership, project management, and a big variety of tactical skills. Those skills include web design, strategic marketing, client communication, event planning, social media management, website development, video production, Adobe Creative Suite, and business plan development.

Put simply, students who come through EDGE get cool jobs and have cool careers making a difference in the world when they graduate. For more information, visit the ÖйúÌå²ÊÍø Web Guild's website.

Advertising Developers (ADs)

This group competes with about 150 colleges and universities in the NSAC (National Student Advertising Competition) each year.

The group develops a complete strategic marketing communication plan for a real client (past clients have included the NFL, Pizza Hut, Coca-Cola, AT&T and Adobe) using research, strategy, and design.

The written plan is submitted, scored, and then taken to a regional competition to present to the client. Students often use these plans in their portfolios for job interviews and are often told they got the job because of their ability to talk about the strategic plans they helped create. Students from any major may participate as early as their first year and may participate all four years if desired.

Her Campus

HerCampus is a group dedicated to empowering women and giving them a voice on campus. This group publishes a weekly online magazine. They also have events and run their social media. They are looking for writers, editors, social media managers and event planners. Membership is open to both women and men.

Web Guild

The ÖйúÌå²ÊÍø Web Guild is a student organization that was started in 1997 to promote the use of the web. The group began to train students in website building as well as learning to operate their own web development business.

The guild is self-funded and is run primarily to help students build skills and a strong professional portfolio by allowing them to work with 225+ clients on an annual contracts. Through the Web Guild students can gain knowledge in client communication, web development, and project management.

Photography Club

Photography Cub¡¯s purpose is to help students with an interest in photography to learn more about how to take good photos including the elements and principles of design and to give them opportunities to have hands-on experiences to put their new knowledge to the test.

Entrepreneurship

Opportunities include an Experiential Minor in Entrepreneurship, business plan creation, a fund to help top business ideas to get started, and a business plan competition (with cash prizes). The Experiential Minor includes some coursework along with experiences in EDGE.

EDGE Design

The graphic designers work on building their skills and professional portfolios. They work on many projects for outside organizations, ranging from logos to websites. They also do much work for the ADs team. 

Event Team

There are often multiple event teams working out of the EDGE Center, with one team to help entry-level planners learn their skills and an advanced team that runs an international conference. This unique experience goes well beyond a resume listing. The team requires a wide array of skills in event planning, web development, scheduling, and logistics.

Innovation Competition Team (ICT)

This group is focused on national business challenge competitions. Many of these competitions include teams from elite institutions and ÖйúÌå²ÊÍø is a strong competitor. Students learn critical thinking and deep level problem-solving skills.

Google Developers Group

Students grow their knowledge through peer-to-peer learning. The group holds workshops and is open to all students. They run a big annual hackathon where students from around the country come to campus for a two-day challenge event.