Sandy Chan
2008 Day Alumna

I've benefited from my time in the MSIM program in so many different ways. Courses provided me with the knowledge, skills and vocabularies that you need to work with information professionals. The diversity of the cohorts makes for great in-class discussions: students draw upon their different personal and professional experiences, and the program is a great portal to events and working information professionals. The faculty are always there to answer questions, and as a MSIM student, you get access to invaluable technology resources, including an excellent computer lab.

Gints Salaks
2008 Day Alumnus

The iSchool has great, approachable professors, responsive student support staff and exceptional students. All this contributed to two years of unforgettable memories which I will cherish for life. The program has created opportunities and broadened my understanding of technology in many organizational settings, and it demonstrated how business and IT should work hand in hand to support innovation and efficiency. I will never forget the visit a professor organized to Microsoft to see how what we are learning in the classroom is being applied in real time to the technology of the future. I feel I can take on any challenge and complete it with high confidence because I know what I learned at the iSchool is up to the highest standards in the field.

Tracy Henderson
2008 Executive Alumnus

I applied to the MSIM program to either find a new career path or strengthen and diversify my skill set. Two years later, I have met both of those goals, through my individual efforts and through my cohort's shared desire to learn and succeed. We all made sacrifices-we've balanced full-time careers with full-time graduate studies and endured thousands of pages of literature-but the payback has been the insights gained from my cohort along with the diversity of courses, professors, speakers and activities I experienced. Professionally, the MSIM program has provided me with a clear direction and with both stronger and more diverse skills which I can apply immediately and in future roles. A subsequent promotion, due to the program, has positioned me to apply what I've spent the last two years studying. Personally, my cohort's breadth of experience, unique personalities, and dynamic backgrounds will always be the best part of the MSIM culture.

The MSIM program encourages personal growth, the development of expertise and mastery of subject material. The research focus of the iSchool faculty reflects the difference they believe people can make in businesses and their local and global communities. This concern for people and the world that we live in is also reflected in the faculty's interactions with students. They take their roles as mentors very seriously, by offering encouragement and introducing students to other faculty while also overseeing research project and teaching students new ways to approach the design of information systems. My research project in the program focuses on the information needs of homeless young people who access services in Seattle's University District. This project has allowed me to apply my new knowledge to help members of the University community who are at risk.

Phillip Endicott
2007 Day Alumnus

"MSIM Candidate Helps New Olympic Sculpture Park Throw Open Its Virtual Gallery" (read full article)

Phillip Endicott is no stranger to the Seattle-area arts and culture scene, having held strategic jobs with successful endeavors including the Columbia City Farmers Market, Consolidated Works (a multi-disciplinary arts center), the Seattle Men’s Chorus, and On the Boards, a theater group. He’s also worked in the high-tech arena while at Festivals.com and habit.com. But it took a graduate internship and one of the biggest arts events in Seattle’s recent history to finally combine his experience in the arts with his interest in technology.

The Seattle Art Museum’s Olympic Sculpture Park, which opened Jan. 20, 2007, at the north end of the Seattle waterfront, has transformed a nine-acre industrial site into a beautifully landscaped space for outdoor sculpture with incredible views of the Space Needle, downtown, the Olympic Mountains and Puget Sound. Read More

Karen Foley
2007 Day Alumna

The biotech industry continues to generate data at an exponential rate. How do we manage that data to be easily searchable by people with varying backgrounds and needs? How does a biotech company maintain the knowledge of their knowledge workers? How does a biotech company increase collaboration and knowledge sharing to increase innovation and efficiency? I left the biotech industry to attend the Day MSIM program in order to help find the answers to these questions and more. My goal is to be able to make access to data and information more efficient and effective within a biotech organization. The iSchool MSIM program’s mission and connection to industry is what drew me to the great NW to pursue my graduate education.

Manminder S. Parhar
2007 Executive Alumnus

The MSIM program is about doing something meaningful that would make a rock solid difference in people's lives, and making a true and sincere attempt to bridge the gap between information, people and technology. The program's blend of technical and non-technical course work makes it very interesting. In a given quarter, you could take a Database class along with a Competitive Intelligence class. Being a Product Manager in the dynamic New Technology Product Development group, MEdia Net at AT&T Mobilty, I use skills from MSIM courses on a daily basis as I define and shape user experiences, conduct requirements definition, partner with the Product Marketing team on go-to-market strategies, and coordinate numerous activities in preparation to the product launch.

Geoff Froh
2006 Executive Alumnus

I came to the Executive MSIM program after more than a decade working with Internet technologies in the non-profit sector. During that time, I witnessed both large and small organizations struggle to implement technology solutions, often because projects were not connected to strategic needs. Over the last two years, the MSIM program has provided methodologies and tools that will help me to identify where information can make the greatest impact in moving an organization forward. A core part of my experience came from the unique insights and diverse professional backgrounds of my fellow students. Our cohort has evolved into a community of learning within the larger community of the iSchool. I expect the relationships we have built amongst ourselves and with the program will continue to be an important part of our careers and our lives.

Harver, Chun-hao Yang
2005 Day Cohort

It was the most important decision I ever made to choose this wonderful program at UW. There are a lot of tangibles as well as intangibles that one stands to gain in this program. It has made me more confident going into the business world and given me the right set of skills - managerial, technical, presentation and, best of all, teamwork. It allowed me to compliment my undergrad background in business with practical knowledge of how technology can help drive business. Participating on different projects within the MSIM program was a particularly enriching experience because it provided hands-on exposure to a mixture of technological and managerial challenges. As a result, the MSIM program significantly increased my marketability and enhanced my career opportunities.

Agueda Sanchez
2005 Executive Alumna

Looking to switch careers, I searched for a program that would give me the knowledge and skills to move into the areas of business and strategic planning, while leveraging my experience in information technology. I chose the MSIM program because it integrates technology and business management with a human centered approach that is innovative and forward looking. The program was an experience of a lifetime. One of the highlights was collaborating on projects with outstanding classmates and faculty, a partnership that continues after graduation. Today, I work in business and strategic planning at one of the world’s most respected multinational companies where I get to further develop my interest in knowledge management.

Karen Semyan
2005 Executive Alumna

When I found the MSIM program, I realized it was a degree designed for me. I had worked in “information management” for a decade—I just wasn’t calling it that—having planned, managed, and built websites and online applications in the fields of financial services, e-learning, and humanitarian relief. I’m passionate about organizing information for everyday people to make it easier to find and use, and the MSIM’s unique blend of IT, information science, and business leadership was appealing. I learned the academic fundamentals of information science, gained a richer technical perspective, and deepened my skills at managing projects and teams. Finally, I’ve made connections and some wonderful friends with iSchool faculty and colleagues. My MSIM experience has opened up new doors of possibility for me professionally.

Tariq Alam
2003 Executive Alumnus

"MSIM alumnus Tariq Alam brings information technology to the businesses and villages of rural Bangladesh" (read full article)
 
Spreading the bounty and promise of the Information Age to the far corners of the world is a primary objective of the University of Washington’s Information School. One recent iSchool alumnus is putting that theory into action in his native country, the Asian nation Bangladesh.

Tariq Alam (’03), a member of the first cohort of the Masters of Science in Information Management (MSIM) program, is now the managing director of the Digital Equality Network (DEN), which is establishing information technology (IT) services for businesses and individuals in rural parts of his country. Alam, who also holds a bachelor’s in engineering from Khulna University of Engineering and Technology in Bangladesh, refers to himself as a “social business entrepreneur,” devoting his professional career to providing information technology solutions for business improvement and social development in developing nations. In 1999, he designed and implemented a Village Computer and Internet Program (VCIP) in Bangladesh that familiarized rural people with computers and the Internet by providing access and training. Read More