UND to host Midwest Instruction,Computing Symposium The Computer Science Department will host the 40th Midwest Instruction and Computing Symposium (MICS) April 20-21 at the Alerus Center. The conference theme, “A Celebration of Midwest Computing Heritage” has been chosen to reflect on computing achievements in the MICS hosting region. The conference format this year will include a Career Fair featuring representatives from companies throughout the region and beyond and feature an industry panel discussion with representatives from major computing companies in the region. The keynote speaker will be Drew Flaada, director of software development. This event will provide a unique opportunity for companies to present information on jobs, co-ops, and internships to more than 100 talented students from computing programs at dozens of small to mid-size colleges and universities in the Upper Midwest. The symposium is one of the longest-running conferences on computing in the nation. It held its first meeting at UND in 1967 and has been held each consecutive spring at an academic institution in the Upper Midwest. The purpose of the conference is to provide a regional forum for educators and students to present and discuss issues, methods, and research topics related to computing and the use of computers in education. The conference format includes presentations by faculty and students, panel discussions, and both a programming contest and a robotics contest for teams of students. Attendance in recent years has exceeded 250 with more than 150 student participants per year. More information about the conference can be found at www.micsymposium.org and www.cs.und.edu/mics07.