A Year in Review, 2023-2024

Colloquium Series

The UBC iSchool Colloquium Series continued this year with seven colloquia from a variety of speakers, including two events co-sponsored as part of the UBC President’s Excellence Chair in Network Cultures: Media and Misinformation Lecture Series. Thank you to all the speakers who took the time to come to UBC and present on their area of expertise, and to everyone who attended for the engaging and thoughtful conversations.

Dr. Kate McDowell.

Dr. Kevin Crowston

Dr. Syeda Hina Shahid

Media and Misinformation Lecture Series

• September 27, Media and Misinformation: A Conversation with Paris Marx
• October 10, Manufacturing Consent in Indian Media: A Conversation with Yusra Hasan

UBC School of Information 2023-2024 Colloquium Series

• January 18, Storytelling as Information Research: From Data Storytelling to Misinformation, with Dr. Kate McDowell (University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign)
• January 25, Folksonomies in Crowdsourcing Platforms: Three Tensions Associated with the Development of Shared Language in Distributed Groups, with Dr. Kevin Crowston (Syracuse University)
• February 26, Using Large Language Models to Assess Students and Code Qualitative Data, with Dr. Ryan Baker (University of Pennsylvania)
• March 28, Conceptualisations of Safe Spaces for LGBTQIA+ Folk in Libraries, with Dr. Cameron Pierson (University of British Columbia)
• April 11: Safeguarding Scholarly Integrity: The Role of Critical Information Literacy, with Dr. Syeda Hina Shahid (University of British Columbia/University of the Punjab)

Ping Pong Tournament

Students, staff, and faculty playing ping pong in the iSchool Gallery.

Different flavours of smoothies available.

Fruits, vegetables, and sandwiches galore!

2023 marked the inaugural year of the UBC iSchool Ping Pong Tournament, made possible by funding from UBC Thrive. The event brought faculty, staff, and students together for a break from the end of term madness with snacks, groovy jams (lots of K-Pop was played), and quick-fire rounds of ping pong.

Research Day

Dr. Tess Prendergast (left) and Linnet Chappelka (right) discuss Linnet's poster.

Dr. Eric Meyers talks to two students about his demonstration, "Amo's Sapotawan and the Design of Culturally-Responsive Narrative Media."

Dharani Persaud (left) and Dr. Elizabeth Shaffer giving their presentation on "Troubling the Violence of the Colonial Archive: Colonial Recordkeeping and Community Memory in the Caribbean."

PhD student Kristin Kozar presenting on First Nations Data Sovereignty.

Jiayue Zhao, presenting on "Behind the Keywords: A Research Design on the Generation of Author-Supplied Keywords in Asian Humanities Publications."

PhD student Trinh Nguyen presents on information governance in decentralized ecosystems.

PhD student Yifan Liu, "Designing the Presentation of Hyperlinks to Reduce Overload in Online Health Information."

Shirin Alamdari (left) and Nilou Davoudi (right).

In 2024, we brought back iSchool Research Day for the first time since 2018. Held in Green College’s beautiful Coach House, the iSchool gathered for presentations, posters, and demonstrations that showcased the excellence and breadth of research in the school. Dr. Heather O’Brien served as the keynote speaker, and Musqueam Elder Larry Grant gave a thought-provoking land acknowledgement to start off the event. Students, staff, and faculty alike all commented on the importance of Research Day as a chance to connect with others in the iSchool.

Alumni Night

A full house at Alumni Night!

(Left to right) Jocelyn McKay, Emily Larson, Zakir Jamal Suleman

The iSchool community networking at Alumni Night.

Panel discussion moderated by Communications Assistant Belinda Suen (far left)

In additional to Research Day, Alumni Night was also revived this year and it was a great success. Emily Larson (MASLIS ’20), Jocelyn McKay (MLIS ’17), and Zakir Jamal Suleman (MLIS ’22) comprised the panelists of the event, each bringing their own experiences and sense of humour to give insight into their careers after graduating from the UBC iSchool. Kajola Morewood (MLIS ’21), Elizabeth Fernandes (MLIS ’20), and Melissa Adams (MAS ’06) also joined the event to network with students. The mix of students, alumni, faculty, and staff filled the Pena Room with lively discussion.

Graduation Receptions

UBC iSchool hosted our annual May and November graduation receptions, to give graduates a final send-off before their convocation. 39 students graduated in November, and 73 students graduated in May.

Our PhD graduates include Alamir Novin, Michelle Kaczmarek, Nathaniel Payne, and Tristan Triponez. We hosted a Celebratory Tea for each PhD graduate on the successful defense of their dissertation.