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The most effective means by which we can achieve our goals is through collaboration at multiple levels with multiple perspectives. Through engaging faculty, partners, and students, and enabling cooperation between all of these groups, the Institute will facilitate the:
- Sharing of information on interesting phenomenon. The sharing of data will help us make sense of complex phenomenon and avoid redundancies in problem investigations.
- Development of methods (i.e. combining data) through the sharing or co-creating of technologies. Data analysis methods and technologies can be shared so as to prevent reinvention of existing knowledge.
- Dialogue and sense-making about a phenomenon, generating new interpretations and insights (e.g. focus groups, discussion forums, etc).
- Engaging in projects that involve co-creation of products, services, and knowledge (e.g. student projects, student internships, consulting, etc).
I3M hosts two symposia per year. These symposia are used to bring together I3M members, faculty, students, and the practitioner community for creative dialogues around current and cutting-edge information management problems. One of the two yearly symposia is industry-led. The goal is to learn from industry practices and leading practitioners. The focus is to foster the development of industry networks and sharing of best practices between industry and academic representatives. Industry experts are invited to present on topics of interest. One faculty member gives a keynote address to set the stage for the industry presentations. The industry-led symposium is championed by, and constructed by, the I3M partners. The second symposium is academia-led and research-focused. The goal is to learn from academia and the development of industry-academia collaborations. I3M invites faculty members to present on I3M funded research. I3M invites an industry executive to give a keynote address at this event. I3M faculty members champion and develop the research-focused symposium.
To best capitalize on the wealth of experience and insight of the I3M members, partner-led roundtable discussions are held every two months. These are enabled by using web-based conferencing technologies, and focus on topics of mutual interest. These roundtables are a perfect venue for I3M partner organizations to share best practices, review solutions to difficult problems, and engage in dialogue on critical management challenges faced by their organizations.
I3M supports student projects and internships based on partner need. Partners may have problems that can be examined by student teams. Problem statements are drafted by I3M partners. I3M works with the partners to arrive at a concrete problem definitions, deliverables, and project schedule.
I3M then works with the iSchool to select a faculty member to supervise the effort and establish a student team. Students work with partner representatives to complete the project under the supervision of a faculty member. Upon completion, students write up a brief report for I3M.
Traditional consulting arrangements are also available to individual partners to enable inquiry and action focused on the specific needs of an organization. The Institute also enables research projects conceived and executed to fit the needs of a specific partner.
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