Baltimore, Md. � The University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) has taken its strong reputation of responsiveness to the needs of IT community online, thanks to a unique partnership with Baltimore-area technology firm, e.magination. Today marks the launch of TechPort, http://techport.umbc.edu, an online community providing easy access to UMBC faculty experts, student talent, employers and IT leaders in the Mid-Atlantic region and beyond.

As a top producer of IT graduates and a leader in industry-university collaboration, UMBC believes TechPort will enable the university to reach a new level of responsiveness to the needs of the IT community and the region. �TechPort will allow us to reach out and work directly with IT leaders, right at their desktop,� said Sheldon Caplis, Vice President for Institutional Advancement at UMBC. Users will have the ability to provide feedback via live chats and live customer support sessions.

�The partnership with e.magination is a perfect fit for UMBC,� said Caplis. �They represent the best that Baltimore's Digital Harbor has to offer � a fast-moving, entrepreneurial firm looking for ways to strengthen the Greater Baltimore area's IT workforce.�

For e.magination, the TechPort project presented an opportunity for the company to showcase its resources and products. �We see TechPort as a laboratory in which we can not only showcase our capabilities, but develop and tweak the applications we are currently offering to other clients,� said Syd Rubin, President of e.magination.

UMBC President Freeman Hrabowski will host the first chat session on Thursday, November 8, at 4 p.m. He will discuss and answer questions about preparing for an IT career, meeting workforce needs through business/university partnerships and other issues of interest to IT students and professionals.