MANKATO — To say it’s been a good year for Maverick Software Consulting would be an understatement.

The software company, which was founded in 2006 by Minnesota State University alumnus Martin Hebig, started off on one campus with one client, Thomson Reuters. Now, Maverick Software has expanded to six offices and four partners on nine college campuses, setting a record in 2011 for yearly growth.

To top it all off, the company won the prestigious 2011 Innovative Collaboration of the Year Tekne Award from the Minnesota High Tech Association.

“Winning the award was pretty exciting,” said Chuck Sherwood, co-owner and vice president of Maverick Software, who manages the MSU campus location. “We thought we had a pretty good shot, but you never know until they read the name.”

Sherwood said the company has applied for the award for the past three years before finally winning it. He and his team have always applied for the Innovative Award, out of the Tekne’s 14 categories, because of the special partnership Maverick Software has with corporate partners such as Thomson Reuters and MnSCU students who want to pursue careers in software development and testing.

Right now, about 110 state university system students work for Maverick Software, testing and developing software for corporate partners. Many of these students go on to work for these partners once they graduate.

“It’s more about the partnership, not just us,” Sherwood said. “This particular category is right where we are.”

“For a small company to win an award of this stature is incredible,” said company founder and President Martin Hebig. “If your colleagues and people in the industry think what you’re doing is valuable, it validates what you’ve been doing for the past years.”

The students who work at Maverick Software are also proud of their company’s success.

“I know (Maverick Software) is kind of a new company, so this kind of recognition is great for Marty and Chuck,” said Mordy Nwanokwale. “Hopefully, it attracts more students and clients.”

Nwanokwale is a senior at Minnesota State University majoring in information technology. He said he was recruited during a class and has been working at Maverick Software for about a year.

“It’s been different than any other job I’ve had,” Nwanokwale said. “Now we get to work with real-world projects, so it’s kind of cool getting that experience.”

Sherwood said Maverick Software will continue applying for Tekne awards in the future. The company also has plans for more expansion, with Hebig hoping to double the company’s offices from six to 12 within the next three years.

“It’s busy, but it’s doable,” Hebig said. “We’ve got it down to a science. As long as the demand continues … I think that the growth will continue to happen.”