Head of His Class

Extension School Awards First
ALM in Information Technology

Aamer Manzoor, ALM 2000

"When I joined the ALM in Information Technology Program at the Harvard Extension School, I was euphoric. But this feeling of great happiness was quickly interrupted by an endless cycle of hard work, junk food, irregular hours, and sleep deprivation," said Aamer Manzoor, ALM 2000, the first person to graduate with an ALM in IT. But walking across the stage at Commencement this past June, he noted, made all the hard work worthwhile.

"Having received an MBA and having started a software development house and an internet service provider before pursuing the ALM in IT, I confess I was a bit skeptical about whether this degree would add anything to my background," said Manzoor, a native of Pakistan. "After the full year of intense work, I now realize that I was quite wrong. . . . The program provided the opportunity to learn a broad range of IT-related technologies. And more surprisingly, I am a far better manager," he said, "one who is able to understand the needs and problems of the technical staff and as a result design more efficient and responsive systems, and manage my company more effectively."

"I was very impressed by Aamer from the moment he first stopped by my office seeking advice," said Dr. Henry Leitner, assistant dean for information technology at the Harvard University Division of Continuing Education and a senior lecturer on computer science. "We had just started the ALM in IT program, and he was attempting to pursue the degree on a full-time basis. When I reviewed his excellent academic background in mathematics and management information systems, I realized this young man was capable of successfully working under intense pressure for an extended period of time."

Shortly after completing such diverse courses as Communication Protocols and Internet Architectures, Artificial Intelligence, and Theory of Computation, Manzoor began working on his supervised software project--an international money transmitting system, which is essentially a robust database application that uses a client/server-based architecture with a user-friendly graphical front-end. His thesis, several hundred pages in length, is an impressive mixture of systems analysis that features elaborate entity-relation models and actual program code.

In the four months since finishing his degree, Manzoor has developed a detailed business plan on the feasibility of setting up an offshore software development office. Recently, his company's investors showed their confidence in him and his education by trusting him to open and run an office in the United States, to be located in the Greater Boston area. "I plan to start our operations in the USA in December 2000," Manzoor concluded. "Thank you, Harvard Extension School!"

Dr. Henry Leitner credits the ALM in Information Technology Program, begun in the fall of 1998, as a major catalyst for the doubling of enrollments in computer science courses at the Extension School in the past four years. "That a very substantial fraction of the ALM in IT courses are available via the Internet has greatly contributed to increasing participation in this program." And this participation is not only local, Leitner said. "I regularly receive inquiries from prospective students located in every region of the United States and also from a number of individuals living abroad who wish to pursue all or part of the program without having to attend class in person."

At present more than 40 students have matriculated into the ALM in IT program. One such individual is Victoria Powers, who will receive her ALM in IT degree in November. Powers, who graduated from Boston University with a major in both environmental science and international relations, was working as an environmental research analyst at the Stockholm Environment Institute prior to joining the IT program. Her supervised project, titled "The Poet's Assistant," facilitates poetry writing through the use of clever linguistic algorithms. Whereas much work on automated linguistic tools focuses on such areas as grammar, Powers's work is a powerful utility for poets, comprising an intelligent rhyming dictionary, syllable counter, synonym finder, and other tools.