High tech took over the historic Nittany Lion Inn yesterday for the sixth annual Junior Technology Symposium (JTS).

The event was directed toward students in engineering and science and technology-related fields and sponsored by Accenture, an international management and technology consulting organization.

Frank Stone is a products market unit manager with Accenture and a Penn State alumnus. Stone said when he graduated with an engineering degree in 1995, he looked for an engineering career that allowed him an alternative to a desk job where most days were spent in front of a computer in a cubicle. He said that he found that at Accenture.

The symposium is designed to expose students to opportunities in tech fields but is not a "head hunting" agency.

"We're not recruiters," said Daniel Ressler, a partner with Accenture and a 1989 Penn State graduate in quantitative business analysis.

Although JTS is not an official recruiting event, Penn State alumni at Accenture would not be disappointed if current Nittany Lions joined the company's ranks.

Erin Taylor, a 1999 advertising and public relations graduate, said many of her co-workers are fellow Penn State alumni.

In its second year at Penn State, Accenture's symposium allows the company's Philadelphia office to maintain ties with the university.

Yesterday's symposium was split into two information seminars, during which Accenture staffers talked about their careers with the company.

Students were also given a chance to "consult" for a day. In groups, participants created a block structure that fit a potential client's specifications, while factoring in cost.

Students from a variety of majors, including management science and information systems, had to collaborate on the best way to complete their project. Through that assignment, the participants were better able to understand how their skills could fit into work at a consulting firm.

Following the construction exercise, students interacted with Accenture employees, asking questions and viewing some examples of the projects that the professionals have undertaken.

The World Wide Web Surfoff taught students about technology differences between search engines by challenging the participants to a Web-based scavenger hunt.

Some of the students at the symposium had glowing reviews for the event. "Anybody who's interested in applying IT (Information Technology) to real-world solutions should come," Matthew Leahy (senior-industrial engineering) said.

However, some students thought the amount of time required for the event was too much. "Four hours on a weekday is quite a bit," Vineet Aggarwal, (graduate-industrial engineering) said.