<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><item href="/news/blog/2025/mehdi-mekni-fellowship.php" dsn="blogs"><type>Internal</type><external_link/><featured/><category>The Charger Blog</category><pubDate>04/18/2025</pubDate><title>Bridging Academia and Industry: How a Computer Science Professor is Preparing Students for Real-World Success</title><description>Selected for a prestigious national fellowship, Mehdi Mekni, Ph.D., is leading efforts to transform computer science education through industry partnerships, stackable credentials, and workforce-driven learning.</description><hide-description/><author>Caitlin Truesdale</author><author-details>Office of Marketing and Communications</author-details><hide-author/><date>April 18, 2025</date><image><img src="https://newhaven.edu/_resources/images/engineering/news/2025/mekni-game-design.jpg" alt="Mehdi Mekni, Ph.D. teaching students game design in UHN's Charger's Stable"/></image><image-caption>Mehdi Mekni, Ph.D. teaching students game design</image-caption><hide-image/><tags><tag>News</tag><tag>college-engineering</tag><tag>dept-cit</tag><tag>name-mehdi-mekni</tag><tag>news-all</tag><tag>news-blog</tag><tag>program-grad-artificial-intelligence</tag><tag>program-grad-computer-science</tag><tag>program-grad-cybersecurity</tag><tag>program-ug-artificial-intelligence</tag><tag>program-ug-computer-science</tag><tag>program-ug-cybersecurity</tag><tag>program-ug-game-design-interactive-media</tag><tag>year-2025</tag></tags></item>