Kalamazoo -- Congratulations to two students majoring in integrated supply management for being named 2009 ISM Services Group Scholarship winners. Matthew Smith and Michael Hankamp and were among 11 students from 5 universities to receive awards. Each winner received $1,000 plus sponsored registration and travel allowance to attend the ISM Services Conference in early December in Phoenix. In addition to attending the conference, scholarship winners participated in a supply chain case competition with students from the other four universities. Smith and Hankamp along with students from Rutgers University and Michigan State University teamed up to win the competition.
“The conference was an eye-opening experience,” says Smith. “We saw how service concepts are applied to industry and how industry responded to issues such as the downturn in the economy. The conference sessions also paralleled the case competition in which we were required to create a scorecard to evaluate supplier performance and quality. It was a fun experience and we were able to use knowledge from the classroom and apply it to real issues.”
"The scholarship program provides financial support to ISM students, and offers them the opportunity to attend the services conference," says Dr. Bret Wagner, associate professor of management and director of the ISM program in the WMU Haworth College of Business. "Our scholarship winners demonstrate the very best in educational achievement and are the future of the supply management profession. Their knowledge and experience made the conference especially valuable to them.”
The ISM Services Group is one of several groups comprised of ISM members with common interests in education and networking in various topics. Members are either in service industries or are supply management professionals who buy services. ISM Services Group's University Relations efforts focus on four main areas: mentoring, internships, scholarships and on-site activities.
In addition to student recognition, the ISM Services Group recognizes university programs in supply management that will take a leading role to integrate the latest thinking on services procurement into the curriculum. The WMU ISM program is one of five programs recognized.
Photo Caption: Pictured at the ISM Services Conference are Matthew Smith, Dr. Bret Wagner, director of the ISM Program, and Michael Hankamp.
