GLEN MILLS, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Last week, IT professionals from Axalta Coating Systems (NYSE: AXTA), a leading global supplier of liquid and powder coatings, served as judges for the Information Technology and Informatics (ITI) Showcase held by the School of Communication and Information at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey. Presentations from more than 40 student teams featured IT-based solutions to business challenges faced by organizations. The majority of participants came from Rutgers’ ITI Capstone course, which challenges small teams to create IT products.

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Pictured front, Axalta's Clayton Beale serves as judge during the Information Technology and Informatics Showcase at Rutgers University. (Photo: Axalta)

Karla Viglasky, Axalta Chief Information Officer-North America, Chris Davis, Axalta IT Operations and Technology Manager-North America, and Clayton Beale Jr., Axalta Enterprise Resource Planning Applications IT Manager-North America rated the students’ projects and offered advice and feedback.

“Axalta is committed to supporting Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education efforts and the ITI Showcase is a great event that puts students to the test to find solutions to twenty-first century business problems,” said Viglasky. “All of the judges were impressed by the maturity and thoughtfulness of the projects. It was great to support the education of tomorrow’s IT leaders.”

The ITI Showcase event was conceptualized by Assistant Teaching Professor Sharon Stoerger, who is also the director of the ITI Program and co-founder of Women in Information Technology at Rutgers.

“Like many courses, the Capstone and Management courses included a group project, final report, and presentation components,” said Stoerger. “However, presenting for classmates and instructors in the classroom lacks that professional, ‘real world’ element. We wanted to raise the stakes for students in the Capstone and Management courses and make the presentation component similar to an event they will likely encounter in their IT careers. We wouldn't be able to do Showcase without people like Karla, Chris and Clayton making time in their busy lives to share their expertise and advice with our ITI students."

About Axalta Coating Systems – Celebrating 150 Years in the Coatings Industry

Axalta is a leading global company focused solely on coatings and providing customers with innovative, colorful, beautiful and sustainable solutions. From light OEM vehicles, commercial vehicles and refinish applications to electric motors, buildings and pipelines, our coatings are designed to prevent corrosion, increase productivity and enable the materials we coat to last longer. With 150 years of experience in the coatings industry, the approximately 12,800 people of Axalta continue to find ways to serve our more than 100,000 customers in 130 countries better every day with the finest coatings, application systems and technology. For more information visit axaltacoatingsystems.com and follow us @Axalta on Twitter and on LinkedIn.

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