Students from data communications and e-commerce classes in the Colleges of Business and Library and Information Sciences and Department of Computer Science take part in a simulated electronic marketplace where information is bought and sold. The sellers gather this research and package it for sale on the Web. The program has more than 550 students buying information and more than 200 students selling it through about 40 companies. They learn by actually doing it. Buyers learn how to be savvy consumers, from discerning credible sources of information to negotiating prices online.
Sellers learn how to market and manage a electronic business while maximizing profits.
Both buyers and sellers benefit from the information they exchange to complete their class projects. Arjun Chopra, a recent UT computer science graduate who works for an Austin software company, said the program prepared him for his current job. It is hard to actually gain such experience, even in an internship, since, more often than not, there is much more at stake, and wrong decisions could possibly lead to financial ruin.