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New student group supports Muslim Informatics students

Friday, March 7, 2025

Students Safa Jamal, Zareen Tasnim and Naiyyra Abdel Aziz met at the iCommunity Kickoff and Breakfast at the beginning of the 2023-24 academic year. Over fruit plates and bagels at the Husky Union Building, the Informatics majors were inspired to form a new student group. At that event, Anind Dey, dean of the University of Washington Information School, spoke with the crowd of newly admitted students about the importance of welcoming people of all backgrounds.“We got to hear a lot of leaders at the iSchool, such as Dean Dey and Cynthia del Rosario, talk about diversity initiatives,” J

iSchool's first TA and Pre-Doctoral Lecture awards announced

Thursday, March 6, 2025

Teaching assistants and pre-doctoral lecturers play a crucial role in shaping students’ academic experiences. The Information School recently recognized two of them — Ph.D. candidates Erin Beneteau and Mandi Harris — for their contributions in the classroom. Nominated by students, they are the first to receive iSchool TA and Pre-Doctoral Lectureship awards.Beneteau (pictured at left above) has long been involved at the iSchool, working as a TA, a research assistant and as a pre-doctoral lecturer, she recently received her Ph.D at the end of 2024. Her research focuses on the quality of li

Summit speakers call on online MSIM students to innovate responsibly

Thursday, March 6, 2025

Dozens of online students and several alumni from the Information School’s Master of Science in Information Management program gathered at the University of Washington campus for the third annual MSIM Online Student Summit to discuss responsible innovation and artificial intelligence. The Feb. 20-21 summit began with a Friday evening reception at Kane Hall, where iSchool Dean Anind Dey led off with remarks stressing the importance of designing responsible �첥���� that are secure and values-driven.“The speed at which the tools have increased have made it so that a

Grant funds MLIS students' work in community archives

Tuesday, March 4, 2025

Community archives are an important way of preserving knowledge and making it accessible, including for historically marginalized groups whose stories are often ignored or misrepresented. Such archives, however, rarely have the resources they need. A new grant will help address some of that problem while giving iSchool students a chance to gain hands-on experience working with community archives.Marika Cifor, an associate professor at the University of Washington Information School and the principal investigator on the project, has been awarded a $850,000 grant from the Mellon Foundation. Cifo

Museology student group aims to strengthen bonds

Tuesday, March 4, 2025

Museums play an important role in learning, storytelling and community, and UW Museology students have fostered a place on campus for just that.The two-year Museology master’s program features a cohort model to connect students with peers in hands-on learning scenarios. To help build a sense of community and engage with the iSchool more broadly, students recently formed MUSER, a registered student organization.The RSO’s primary mission is to foster an inclusive and supportive environment, providing opportunities for professional growth and meaningful connections with the UW network at larg

MSIM graduate named Presidential Management Fellow

Wednesday, February 26, 2025

MSIM ‘24 graduate Adrian Lavergne was selected as a Presidential Management Fellow (PMF) finalist. Until recently, the PMF was a prestigious leadership development program for advanced degree holders, offering a pathway into careers in the federal government. Lavergne’s interest in public service was shaped early in life – his father served in the Air Force, and he later followed a similar path by joining the U.S. Army. While studying law and policy as an undergraduate, he was deployed in the Middle East for a year. When he returned to complete his bachelor's degree, Laver

Where kids and tech collide, Katie Davis helps guide parents

Friday, February 21, 2025

To post, or not to post? That is the question.Or rather, that is one of many questions facing young people, their parents and their teachers in today’s fast-paced digital world. For educator Melissa Chittenden, who has worked at multiple elementary and middle schools, the list of questions she hears is long:  When should young people post online? Which social media sites are suitable? Which apps are safe for young children or teens? How much screen time is OK? “Families are seeking advice,” Chittenden said. “At every school I’ve worked, everybody is looking at how to n

Hundreds of students, alumni turn out for iSchool Career Fair

Friday, February 14, 2025

Despite the morning’s sparkle as snow covered the UW Seattle campus, iSchool students and alumni gathered for the 2025 UW iSchool Career Fair.The annual iSchool Career Fair offers the community the opportunity to network with employers that are particularly interested in recruiting UW Seattle students and alumni for part-time, full-time and internship positions. In the HUB Ballroom on Feb. 6, 455 students and alumni arrived with their resumes and portfolios in hopes of connecting with representatives of the 13 employers in attendance, including Accenture, ChildCare Careers, Costco Whole

As she teaches kids, Ph.D. student learns from them too

Thursday, February 13, 2025

In a complex world, educating children about adult issues like climate change may present a daunting challenge. However, for iSchool Ph.D. candidate Itza Carbajal, equipping youth with the skills to understand these topics is second nature.This winter, Carbajal is spending her Saturdays teaching 3rd-5th graders about fashion and the environment through the University of Washington Robinson Center for Young Scholars. The Saturday Enrichment Program offers extracurricular learning opportunities for students in grades K-8. Now in her third year with the Robinson Center, Carbajal is teaching a cla

Study finds strong negative associations with teenagers in AI models

Wednesday, February 12, 2025

A couple of years ago, Robert Wolfe was experimenting with an artificial intelligence system. He wanted it to complete the sentence, “The teenager ____ at school.” Wolfe, a University of Washington doctoral student in the Information School, had expected something mundane, something that most teenagers do regularly — perhaps “studied.” But the model plugged in “died.”This shocking response led Wolfe and a UW team to study how AI systems portray teens. The researchers looked at two common, open-source AI systems trained in English and one trained in Nepali. They wanted to com

In times of crisis, count on iSchool students and alumni

Monday, February 10, 2025

As last month’s devastating wildfires raged in Los Angeles, the city’s residents faced a barrage of falsehoods on social media along with erroneous evacuation alerts from official sources. In search of timely, accurate information, millions turned to Watch Duty, a free and nonprofit app that tracks wildfires and firefighting efforts. The app shot to the top of the charts on Apple and Android stores.In a public emergency, in the corporate world, or in our day-to-day lives, people need quality information to make decisions. That underpins what we teach across all our programs at the Informat

WINFO hackathon pushes boundaries

Monday, February 10, 2025

The HUB ballroom buzzed with the sounds of typing, conversation and event organization as 255 students teamed up for the 13th annual WINFO Hackathon. Over the course of 12 hours, students developed and submitted 70 unique projects, all with the collective goal to push boundaries and have real-world impact.The beginner-friendly hackathon is geared toward underclassmen and welcomes students from both Informatics and other majors, providing an opportunity to meet peers, develop skills and explore the field of technology.A total of 343 attendees, including 255 participants, 26 WINFO volunteers, 47

iSchool scholars play key roles in launch of UW Society + Technology

Thursday, January 30, 2025

Researchers from the Information School joined scholars from across all three University of Washington campuses and various disciplines recently to celebrate the inaugural convening of Society + Technology. The initiative is dedicated to advancing research, teaching and learning centered on the social, societal and justice dimensions of technology. The Jan. 9 event included rapid talks from UW researchers and a panel discussion moderated by iSchool’s Jason Young.Born from the 2022 Society + Technology Task Force formed by the UW president and provost, the program aims to create opportun

Researchers prompt generative AI to help with firearms study

Wednesday, January 22, 2025

Researchers studying firearm-related incidents face significant challenges in gathering relevant data. Critical resources, such as police and hospital records, are often left incomplete, inconsistently filled out or lack necessary detail for thorough analysis. In a previous study, University of Washington Information School researchers used machine learning methods to scour those records. Now they are working with large language models (LLMs) to see whether they can produce better results. More accurate data on firearm-related incidents can play a crucial role in informing policy and

Amid soaring demand, Informatics stretched to the limit

Monday, January 13, 2025

The phone buzzed the same moment the email arrived last spring. Vikram Puri answered the call first.Puri had landed a prized summer internship in software development at SanMar, an Issaquah-based company that is the largest supplier of wholesale imprintable clothing in the U.S.Then, Puri opened the email from the Information School. He received his second — and final — rejection from the Informatics program, a major that he had set his heart on since arriving at the UW.State Impact Report: Learn how Informatics and other Information School programs are making their mark on the state workfo