Carnegie Mellon University Master of Software Engineering Program Partners with Retail Technology Platform Surefront

The retail technology platform and the engineering program team up to develop innovative engineering and design solutions with market-wide impacts.

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Surefront, the retail industry’s only platform that unifies PLM, PIM and CRM solutions, today announced a multi-year and multi-program partnership with Carnegie Mellon University’s (CMU) Master of Software Engineering (MSE) and Masters in Human-Computer Interaction (MHCI) programs. The partnership solidifies an ongoing relationship between the retail technology platform and the CMU School of Computer Science since 2016, when the two began collaborating.

The partnership offers CMU design and software engineering students real-life opportunities to help hone critical skills in developing improved human-computer interactions in real business settings. Masters students participating in the program are led by program managers, and overseen by project faculty advisors.

Previous alumni of the partnership have been hired on as Surefront employees upon graduation from CMU in recent years. Surefront has worked closely with CMU’s Master of Software Engineering and School of Computer Science programs nearly every year since 2016.

“By any metric, CMU represents the best of the best in software engineering, human-computer interaction and user experience design,” said Doug Heckmann, Chief Solutions Officer of Surefront. “But you’ll only find this level of expertise across each of these at Carnegie Mellon. When it comes to talent and innovation, there is no better partner for Surefront than CMU.”

CMU and Surefront share a united goal of exploring innovative engineering and design solutions capable of making large market impacts. Recent projects between the two have built out new commercially-viable technologies that better allow software platforms to integrate with one another, and enhanced tools for merchandising and product development. The most recent projects from the 2023 cycle have already been incorporated into Surefront’s solution suite, and are being utilized by our global customer base. The success of this partnership strengthens Surefront, and adds further proof to CMU’s tradition of excellence as an innovative leader in computer science.

The retail technology platform is in esteemed company at CMU. Other CMU partners running similar programs include Google, Bloomberg, NASA and Bank of America. CMU’s Master of Software Engineering program celebrated the partnership with Surefront by dedicating a classroom on their campus to the company.

“Surefront projects are a popular choice amongst our students as they provide holistic software engineering experience,” said Swarnalatha Ashok, Associate Teaching Professor and Associate Director of the MSE program at CMU. “Besides providing good guidance in understanding the requirements, their existing infrastructure and code base, Surefront gives the students autonomy in running the projects and making design decisions. This balance is important for the students in practicing what they learnt in the class and delivering high-quality projects.”

“There is no overstating how valuable the research and work born from this partnership has been for Surefront, and for the industry as a whole,” said Luke Wang, Founder and CEO of Surefront. “The success of Surefront in this partnership brings further visibility to Carnegie Mellon University’s rich history of innovation and software development.”

To learn more about Surefront, please visit Surefront.com.

About Surefront:

Surefront is a unified product collaboration platform to drive efficiency and growth. Its patented PLM + PIM + CRM solutions streamline omni-channel sales, merchandising and product development, accelerating sales and amplifying margin. Surefront replaces antiquated tools like emails and spreadsheets, freeing up product development and merchandising teams so they can spend time on what they do best.

About Carnegie Mellon University School of Computer Science:

Carnegie Mellon’s School of Computer Science is widely recognized as one of the first and best computer science programs in the world. Our programs train the next generation of innovators to solve real-world problems and improve the way people live and work.