About the Center
Our Mission
The mission of the Collaborative Center for Computing is to achieve local and regional prominence in computing by educating the next generation of computational scientists, developing innovative research and products, and stimulating cutting-edge products and practices by industry partners. The mission is reflective and supportive of the Mercer University Mission:
To teach, to learn, to create, to discover, to inspire, to empower and to serve.
Our Purpose
The Collaborative Center for Computing provides a framework for promoting collaborative and multidisciplinary computing activity across the University. The Center strives for excellence in teaching, research, and consultation across the spectrum of theoretical to applied areas of computation. This purpose is reflective of the broad definition of computing as provided by Techopedia.com.
Computing is the process of using computer technology to complete a given goal-oriented task. Computing may encompass the design and development of software and hardware systems for a broad range of purposes – often structuring, processing, and managing any kind of information – to aid in the pursuit of scientific studies, making intelligent systems, and creating and using different media for entertainment and communication.
Our Goal
A primary goal of the Center is to foster synergy between two classes of computing activity: (1) the design and analysis of computational systems, and (2) user application from a variety of areas. The Collaborative Center for Computing aims to be a “thought leader” on issues of computing by harnessing the intellectual capital of faculty, students, and industry partners toward contributions to computational discovery and innovation.
As a comprehensive university, Mercer consists of multiple academic units each providing distinctive educational opportunities consistent with their academic focus and structure. The Center serves to foster collaborative thinking and efficient delivery across departmental and academic unit boundaries. The Center provides direct academic and administrative oversight and support to the following programs and affiliated faculty:
- College of Education | Admissions
Computer Science Endorsement - College of Liberal Arts and Sciences | Admissions
Computational Science, Computer Science, Cybersecurity, Data Science, and Information Science and Technology - School of Engineering | Admissions
Computer Engineering, Cybersecurity, Software Engineering, and Software Systems - School of Business | Admissions
Business Analytics, Supply Chain Management, FinTech - College of Professional Advancement | Admissions
Applied Data Intelligence and Machine Learning, Health Informatics, Information Technology and Informatics, and Software Application Development-Human Computer Interaction
The Center facilitates and promotes communication, collaboration, and cooperation between departments and academic units concerning their computing needs and academic delivery. In addition to providing guidance and oversight to the programs listed above, the Center assists all academic units in identifying natural computing connections that could be coordinated to become mutually beneficial, and to promote being relevant in today’s technologically driven world.
The Center seeks to strengthen existing and build new computational and technical connections within the Mercer community and between Mercer and the surrounding community.
Within Mercer, the Center seeks to build academic and scholarly bridges with MERC, serve as a feeder for the Mercer Innovation Center and provide consultation with Information Technology. Externally, we seek to establish firmer structured relationships with Robins AFB, the Atlanta Technology Village, and a host of local businesses, governments, and community partners.
A long-term goal of the Center is to build a technological hub along the Mercer corridor and in downtown Macon.