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Each semester, undergraduate students in George Mason University’s Department of Information Sciences and Technology (IST) present their capstone projects—culminating work judged by industry professors and IST Capstone Professors. Student teams collaborate with local Virginia businesses to solve real-world challenges, applying classroom learning to high-stakes, community-focused problems.
This year’s projects covered a striking range of industries, including student data management systems, boutique fragrance retail, home-improvement services such as HVAC and general contracting, and even toy dispensers. Despite the variety, all teams shared a common goal: delivering practical, high-impact solutions for small businesses that often operate with limited staff and resources.
Professor of Practice Gail Therrien, who leads the IST capstone program, praised the students’ commitment and creativity.
“I am so proud of this year’s capstone competitors, who really tackled business problems holistically and offered real improvements,” Therrien said.
Capstone partnerships often involve single-owner or small-team businesses across Northern Virginia. These organizations benefit meaningfully from the outside perspective, technical expertise, and the type of fresh and dedicated thinking that George Mason students bring. Business partners go on to fully adopt the students’ systems or design recommendations after careful verification and validation, hands-on training, and transition support, creating lasting community impact.
This year there were two winners. "Pocket Full of Prizes,” named after the local toy dispenser, included a fully rebuilt website with integrations to customer relationship management system that manages the business’s clients, a delivery workflow, and a toy inventory management system with barcode scanning functionality.
Also a winner, "Your IT Degree Pathway Plan" project created an app for students to plan and validate their IT degree plan. The app they created as part of this project will be used by some 500 students each semester. Currently, there is no tool at George Mason that does this. The last session of the Capstone class IT293, students used this new app and found it was transformative.
“They really showed how much you can do in such a short time—and just how creative and innovative you can be,” Therrien added.
George Mason’s IST capstone program continues to exceed its own record for participation each year, with more than 130 projects completed in 2025—up from 120 in 2024. The steady growth reflects both rising student interest and expanding partnerships with local businesses eager to work with the university's next generation of technology professionals.