Scholarships Fellowships etc
http://scholarships.fatomei.com/

Women in Computing
http://www.awc-aa.org/scholarship.aspx (deadline is April 1 so next year for incoming students! )

ALA Spectrum Scholarship
(This is a library org but b/c SI is a library accredited school you can swing your essay
to apply to libraries as well as work related to your specialization. I won the scholarship and I'm an HCI student. SI also
matches this funding source as well as the Women in Computing monies.
http://www.ala.org/ala/aboutala/offices/diversity/spectrum/spectrum.cfm

GEM Fellowships (minorities)
http://www.gemfellowship.org/

Sandia Labs Masters Fellowship (for minorities)
http://www.sandia.gov/employment/special-prog/oyoc/

Global Change Education Program
http://see.orau.org/ProgramDescription.aspx?Program=10125

Blogs about funding:
General funding by Mary Ann an alum

Funding Info by Laura Elgas

Part-time jobs by Wei an alum

GSIs
GSI info by yours truly
GSI info by Megan

Michigan Funding Resources
Rackham Merit Fellowships
https://umich-rackham.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/umich_rackham.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=1563

Fellowship Finder
https://secure.rackham.umich.edu/Fellowships/ff/index.php

GSI Info from Rackham
http://www.hr.umich.edu/acadhr/grads/

Other funding sources suggested by Rackham
https://umich-rackham.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/umich_rackham.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=1551

Part-time work @ the U:
www.studentemployment.umich.edu
Also check iTrack/career services for jobs once/if you accept and create your umich account/user name.

I tried to find funding available specifically for international students but this was tough...will keep a look out.

Types of Questions asked:

1. What (usability) method (the kinda stuff you'd learn in SI682 or 622) do you like the best and why?
2. What method did you find most helpful/informative?
3. Tell me about X project? (Include the final outcome not just the context/ problem statement.)
4. How do you deal with a coworker/ team member/ manager who does not see the need for UX design/usability evaluation or your recommendations related to it? (lots of questions about persuasion.)
5. How would you structure a testing session? (Include key features about it.)
6. Tell me a time when you've lead a project.
7. Questions regarding conflict within a group and how you handled it.
8. Often there is a question about an area of weakness or maybe a response shows a weakness...which is okay (so I hear) as long as you tell how you are improving on this weakness/learned from the experience.
9. Multi-tasking/ How you deal with conflicting priorities and limited time.

...my friend (a recruiter) told me for behavioral interviews to have two or three instances from your work/school experience prepared in advance for each type of behavioral interview question (conflict, persuasion, leadership, weakness, regret, successful experience etc) so that they easily come to mind and you can choose the best situation based on the context of the interview.

One recruiter told me to quantify work as much as possible, either by listing the number of people you've worked with, time or other measurement saved as a result of work, .... (this goes for resumes too)

For behavior questions structure your responses as such:
- The problem
- Your role and how you addressed the problem
- The outcome

Resumes/Cover Letters:
Include your GPA (if its a good one) for undergrad or other graduate programs. (I've found they always ask.)

Include any study abroad experiences. They tend to ask questions about this especially since industry is so globally connected and its generally a good talking point.

Also try to structure your job summaries to include the results of your work. Work resulted in 2 second time savings for the 5,000 users...etc.

My friend with lots of corporate experience said keep your cover letters short and to the point (mine were like a FULL page and crammed with stuff LOL) but include information about the company and how your skills fit what you know about them. This shows your letter isn't generic, you've actually thought about what the company does and your "fit" within it.

Just some thoughts for ya...I plan to talk about my experience looking for employment in the current job market next. Stay tuned :)

So first I would say the level of intensity depends on your specialization and the classes you take. If you are a well practiced programmer then you are likely to pick up programming much easier then others. Yet, some SI courses will allow you to either practice your skills and introduce you to new languages.
The Information Analysis and Retrieval specialization (IAR) is inherently more technical and allows for this. Dragomir Radev is the main faculty member for this specialization and students in this area would take courses like SI650 Information Retrieval or ...
Fellow recruiting assistant Malhar Gupta can speak directly about the IAR & HCI specializations and comes from a tech background.

Other courses that would be challenging for you include:
SI 508 Networks: Theory and Application
SI 601 Data Manipulation (1.5 credits)
SI 618 Exploratory Data Analysis (1.5 credits)
SI 650 Information Retrieval
SI 649 Information Visualization (Program in Processing or other desired language to create an infoviz project)
there are typically taken by those with interest in SC/HCI/IAR

SI682 Interface & Interaction Design has a project requirement to create a prototype based on user research and findings from conducting user-centered methodologies. So as the technical person on the team you have to opportunity to lead the programming effort. For an example of what an end product might look like see my groups project site: http://mitalkers.interspike.com/
We had a guy with programming experience who used PhP and another team member with significant experience in web design/CSS/HTML who skinned out final hi-fi prototype.

542-1 Introduction to Health Informatics
This course also has the option of creating a working prototype to address an opportunity you research in health IT.

Other students have used their cognate courses to further improve their portfolio by taking classes that requires developing a functioning prototype as a key deliverable in the class.

Finally, I'd like to say that first, having the ability to program and understand SW development is SUPER valuable. A quick look at Interaction Design or Information Architecture job posts will illustrate that companies are seeking candidates with some programming background for these positions. Second, SI's focus on user-centered design is essential for creating usable applications that address relevant and necessary functionality of a system that is demanded by its users. Such principles are not always covered in CS or CompE degrees and so HCI is the perfect compliment (in my opinion) to your technical skills as you learn how to identify functionality relevant for the system, what usability is, how to evaluate it and integrate user-centered requirements into a design.

Hope this helps.

The forecast for the remainder of the week (according to weather.com) is
Tues: high 23 low -2
Wed: high 15 low 5
Thur: high 8 low 0
Fri: high 7 low 0
Sat: high 18 low 17

Yep cold. You get to a point where freezing feels warm and you pull out a lighter coat and maybe walk around without the winter hat on LOL. Seriously.

Anyway, the weather gets colder as winter progresses...so maybe the coldest period is in Feb I think. It begins to warm around end of March and April but it has been known to still snow in late April (that's what many have told me) and sure enough around April 24th last year we had a decent snow fall...right before school let out.

So how to deal. Well I suggest a long coat, around knee length, hat scarf gloves of course and if you really want to stay warm, long johns and winter boots. Personally, I hate being cold and I have ALL of thee above. I bought boots by the brand Sorel and they saved my life...waiting for the bus is far less torturous as my feet don't freeze and they actually look nice. I've gotten multiple compliments :) AND additional bonus, they are not Uggs! Nuff said.

I know this sounds unbearable but really it isn't. I'm from Portland OR...land of eternally mild weather but I've definitely gotten used to it. Plus, Ann Arbor does a decent job dealing with the snow by plowing the streets. Both apartment complexes I lived in were great at plowing the parking lot and walkways as well. The University ALWAYS clears the sidewalks and streets going through the U and buses still run regularly and the city stays functional.

Snow also presents an opportunity for fun outdoor activities like sledding! and there are relatively close places to go skiing as well.

The summer tends to be nice and sunny and often humid. I haven't been around for most of the summer and spring months but August is always full of sun and that transfers into September.

And if I can say one last thing, I would tell you that weather shouldn't be a big influencer on your school choice. Get the best program to support your professional interests. Your two years here will go by SOOOO fast. If you've never experienced snowy winters before this is your time to try it! It's a temporary situation with no obligation to stay after you graduate. It can actually be a good thing as you determine where you want to live after graduation...you'll be able to recognize those locations you want to avoid based on weather.

Hope this helps!

This is by NO means exhaustive! Cheers.

I was just reading an article for my Community Informatics Seminar (SI575) titled "Design Thinking" by Tim Brown (CEO & President of the design firm IDEO). Basically it talks about how companies are beginning to ask designers to participate upfront in idea creation such that the target audience's needs and desires are met in an innovative way. The result could be an increased competitive advantage, a more efficient business process or better service. The designers bring in what Brown calls "design thinking" which is a human-centered approach to problem solving.

Essentially, design thinking is an interative process key stages (Brown calls them "spaces" that help create an innovative, often outside the box end result informed by user input. Brown give the process the following "spaces":
Inspiration (brought on by the circumstance)
Ideation (generate, develop and test ideas)
Implementation (outlining a path to market)

Its interesting to note that the fundamental principles of design thinking spoke of in this article are essentially those principles taught in many SI courses (SI501, 622, 682 and others). What is interesting still is that this way of thinking not only provides you with skills that directly apply to HCI and more technical fields, but to many others. The limited examples Brown brought up ranged from health care to bike sales.

In fact, I am taking a course in the business school called (BIT646) Solving Societies Problems. We are doing lots of readings on "social entrepreneur" type organizations that partner with communities to devise creative solutions to meet some crucial need while making a profit (if modest) for the company. The specifics of the class I won't get into here but its interesting to see that the successful ventures use "design thinking" to find a viable and sustainable undertaking that meets the community and the business needs.

I guess my epiphany today is that I feel more confident that I can take these principles and seriously provide value to any number of organizations...in a wide range of fields...particularly community development (my interest although not my official SI specialization). This gives greater flexibility in how I choose to market myself to an employer and helps broadens my career choices. That, in the eloquent words of the beloved Paris Hilton, is hot.

For the majority of the summer, I worked as a usability specialist for an internal application called ThinkPlace (TP). TP is basically a venue for employees to submit ideas to implement cost savings, culture improvements etc for IBM as a whole or specific to their work environment. You can view an overview of my Internship on the career services intern portfolio website.

IBM has a great culture of mentorship and development and I worked with my mentor and another experienced UCD-er to review and help conceptualize my designs and help with any difficult situations that arose. This was helpful for me because I was asked to really act as a the lead usability person for TP because my team was short staffed and could not assign a regular full timer to the project.

I'll focus on classes with a considerable class project. Classes with a project component are wonderful because you actually get to practice what you are learning...immediately. Projects help cement your learning, you are better able to ask more educated and insightful questions to your professor as well as building a relationship with your team and finally....you are building your resume! Can it get any better??!

Why yes it can...!
Projects also allow you to learn a lot about your peers in SI and they provide an opportunity to learn from them (your peers I mean). If you are in Human Computer Interaction, Social Computing or Incentive-Centered Design, you will have more opportunities for in-class projects (compared to Library Sciences or Archives) and you'll probably want to get involved in projects outside of class (see Student Projects - Part 1). Team projects expose you to the motivations, skills and quirks of your team members. Successful work has as much to do with the skills of the team as with their relationship with each other. Being able to calmly and effectively communicate, recognize working and communication styles (including the strengths of your teammates) will take you far...oh going out for a drink or ice cream after a productive...or non-productive meeting won't hurt either ;) ...I brings a different level of understanding!

My philosophy is first assume no harm... So your group member sent you an email that just lit your fuse and you are about to go off!
Wait!...STOP right there...explain the situation to a neutral party and get their opinion. Consider what they might have been trying to say...its surprising how easy it is to take things out of context in email. Your group member may have written in the most loving yet unclear way.

I digress!!!! Here is a list of classes with cool project opportunities!

SI requires 6 (at minimum) Practical Engagement Program points (PEP) in order to graduate. Classes that have PEP points associated with it
allow the student to apply course concepts to real world settings via projects.

Three example of this include:
SI682 Interface & Interaction Design, SI501 Contextual Inquiry (this
course is a a foundations course and it is required for all incoming MSI students...so you're taking this one buddy!) and SI622 Evaluation of Systems and Services.

Each have semester long projects where the students work with a client from the real world and develop an end product for them based on the principles learned throughout the semester. Generally, these courses are based on incorporating the user into the design of product.

Contextual Inquiry is a development methodology based on bringing the
user into the development process. The course steps the student teams
through this methodology so that we can apply it to the project we are working on. SI500 is well known to companies who recruit out of SI and they seem to respect the knowledge and experience that the students gain as a result of it.

Interface & Interaction Design incorporates contextual inquiry as well as other methods (personas, scenarios) to gather requirements for a project (The design of the interface is the focus) develop a prototype, test it and provide the prototype and any report/recommendations back to the client.

You can check out the website my team created for this class here.

Both of these courses translate directly to tasks I would encounter in the HCI field.

Evaluation of Systems & Services Is also a great class taught by Mark Newman - a very good professor. SI622 is a far more cut and dry then SI682 but uses many of the same usability methodologies. I say that because you have multiple assignments back to back almost on a bi-weekly basis so that includes completing work for the method (such as Heuristic Evaluation or Survey Design) and then writing a report (rather detailed) about how you carried out the work and what your findings were. You will be sooooo tired of writing reports by the end of the semester ;) BUT! you will have some marketable skills that will help land you that fab internship/job.

And finally let me add...taking courses with a project component is NO JOKE. If you want to die feel free to take more than two courses with a project component. If you enjoy life and the ability to smile take no more than two.

Currently I am dieing. I naively didn't review the syllabi of my classes when I registered and I have three courses with considerable projects...Have you noticed that I failed to blog regularly like I said I would back in January... So have I. ;p

I must include this caveat...It is so hard to keep you group projects to two and under because so many courses have group projects (especially those HCI related ones)....soooo uuuhm you will be busy. I'm being facetious about "dieing"- you won't! ...and I'm not either! But if you are working part-time and have multiple projects you will be busy!

If I didn't mention it already, be sure to talk to more senior students to get their perspective on what to take and how to balance your courses.

Well...Hope this helps you out. As I say to those who I speak with via email...feel free to email me or reply directly through the blog tool (by posting a comment). It's a great way for all to see your question and my response!

Cheers!

First I'd like to introduce to you Mark Newman.
Mark comes to SI from...dun dun duuuuuun... The Palo Alto Research Center (PARC)! Quick side bar---PARC is pure innovative gold in the HCI and research world. If you didn't know, PARC is responsible for "30 companies and is celebrated for such innovations as laser printing, distributed computing and Ethernet, the graphical user interface (GUI), object-oriented programming, and ubiquitous computing" (PARC website). In my humble opinion, I think Mark gets multiple cool points, gold starts and IQ credits for contributing to the knowledge of that organization and we are fortunate to have him at SI!

Back to the intro... ;) Mark received his doctorate in computer science from UC-Berkeley, was employed by PARC for 7 years with a focus in ubiquitous computing and now has made his way to the School of Information.

His research still revolves around ubiquitous computing and he is actively participating in several projects. Here are two to peak your interest.

• Connecting home networks for collaboration and trouble shooting
  (Associate Professor Mark Ackerman is also working with Mark...er Newman)


• nDash
  Collaborative project with SI research staff Josh Palay and MSI student Tanuj Shah.
  nDash is a public visual display project that seeks aggregate data streams from blog posts, twitter feeds, research publications and even...you guessed it good 'ol Facebook pages to promote awareness of SI events and activities of SI folks. Challenges for this project include combining large amounts of data streams and organizing it within the limits of screen real estate all while keeping in mind the limits of human attention. whew! Challenging stuff right!? But what...what about the issues of adapting the display to the user? Yes, they are taking that on too!
  

In addition to his many research activities, Mark is the new professor of SI622: Evaluation of Systems and Services. This class is a required course for HCI students so you HCI-ers will be sure to make contact with him through this course. I'm currently taking SI622 and I think he is doing a great job! Why?
(I'm a list person so here comes the bullets)

• Feedback for our assignments is thoughtful and detailed. He gives constructive comments (both on the positive and negative) to help improve on your work.
• He developed a rather involved in-class exercise to simulate a user testing session. It was a pretty aggressive undertaking but after talking to students that haven't done testing and even myself that has done a bit. It provided a great introduction to what should and should not happen during such an undertaking.
• Personable teaching style. This class is relaxed yet full of information. SI622 presents a heavy workload - sometimes deadlines can be overwhelming in combination with the rest of your classes so having a prof that understands this and the hiccups that come from working with outside clients is greatly appreciated.

Lastly, Mark participates in the HCI reading group. Each week an article or two is distributed for your consumption. On Friday students come together to discuss its importance and impact in HCI.

For more information see the News of SI article here
or Mark's website: http://newmantaylor.com/newman/

Next!
More projects related to HCI:

MichiPoster
Led by Josh Palay, an alum of the MSI program. MichiPoster provides an environment for communal discussion (including the sharing of web sites, photos of SI events, questions for the SI community etc.) without clogging your inbox. You can access MichiPoster online (www.michiposter.com) or via the touch screen located in SI North and in the student lounge in West Hall.

Visualizing Course Paths
Led by Assistant Professors Lada Adamic and Mick McQuaid.
This is an excellent example of information visualization that is tailored to the interests of SI students. Lada and Mick have created a visualization of course paths followed by MSI students which is helpful when trying to determine your own path through the SI curriculum.

Use of Aesthetics in HCI Systems
Led by Jina Huh (doctoral student), Assoc. Professor Mark Ackerman, & Robert Douglas.
This research seeks to determine the additional impact decorative art can bring to HCI systems beyond its traditional use as a way to facilitate information visualization and decoration.

Social Computing Tools
Led by Professor Paul Resnick. Paul has initiated such tools as the SI Thank Yous which is an application that allows the SI community to post and display public thank you messages. The device is located on the 3rd floor landing of West Hall and the lobby of SI North. Look for it when you come to visit!

There are many more interesting areas happening within SI.
For more information you can view the complete news article or search the people and research pages within the SI website to browse current projects and research interests of our faculty and students.

International Recognition for HCI Student Projects!
I would be remiss if I failed to mention the THREE teams at SI whose projects were accepted into the semifinals of the Computer-Human Interaction international Student Design Competition. I might add that there were only nine other teams accepted...you do the math ;)

Our teams will present to CHI via a poster session in Florence, Italy in April. Four teams will then be chosen for the final round. These teams will give an oral presentation to a panel of judges.

Projects and teams include:

doGooder: Fostering volunteer communities to serve the homeless

doGooder connects people with service opportunities while fostering volunteer retention through community encouragement. By increasing volunteer involvement, doGooder enhances the capabilities of organizations that serve the diverse needs of homeless people.

Team members (Team Emantis):

• Jacqueline Cerretani


• Sameer Halai


• James Laing


• Joshua Morse


• Melissa Perez

Learn more:
www.emantis.com →

www.emantis.info/hifi/doGooder.html → (hi-fi prototype)

Portalis: Using an online game to support aid initiatives for the homeless

Portalis is a competitive online game that improves the flow of expert domain knowledge to case managers working with the homeless. The game also enables contributions from individuals who would otherwise not be able to volunteer because of time constraints.

Team Portalis members:

• Ayse Buyuktur


• David Hutchful


• Cheng-Lun Li


• Satyendra Nainwal


• Natasha Sant

QR-codes for the chronic homeless

This team is developing an information system with simple interfaces that uses quick-response codes to configure cell phones to perform basic functions that will improve the delivery of services to the homeless. These functions might include setting up reminders and augmenting current data entry methods used by homeless service agencies.

Team members:

• Ahmad K. Aljadaan


• Kumud Bihani


• Meseret Gebrekristos

I've never been a GSI but I have heard it can be demanding and includes at least 20 hours of work or more. Even still, the benefits can be well worth it. Generally a GSI position can cover full or partial tuition, health care, sick leave and possibly a stipend.

That said, if you are interested in seeking out GSI positions here are some tips:

1. 1. Often SI students receive GSI positions in other schools. If you received a previous degree (Bachelors or other) or have significant work experience in another area, then look for positions in a corresponding department.
2. 
   2. Positions are not often posted on job sites so start networking...now!
   
   • Email professors you're interested in working for
   
   
   • Browse department websites.
   
   
   • Speak with Joanna or Kelly in our career services department for leads and advice.
   
   
   • Become a member of other grad student organizations. Often they send announcements out to there listserv or the members have contacts they can pass on to you. Browse student orgs using MaizePages.
   
   
   
   
3. Check Rackham's website for more information, tips on applying and any postings.
   
   
   
   • General Info
   
   
   • Postings
   
   
   
   

There are projects associated with your classes. I will include this list in Student Projects - Part 2 because I foresee this blog to be a long one!

There are university and professional organizations that encourage student projects. Some even provide funding for you. Here is a list you can check out:

GROCS
http://www.dc.umich.edu/dmc/grocs/

Here is the official summary from their website:
GROCS awards cash grants to student-initiated research projects that use digital media in an academic activity. Project teams must be interdisciplinary, and one project goal must be to enhance collaboration.

This is a super cool opportunity. Currently I think there are two or three teams that have a few SI students in each. This stat is super impressive given that only 4-6 projects are chosen to be sponsored annually.

Example project: Some SI kids (and of course a few from other schools to create an "interdisciplinary group") Are working on making the campus more accessible to blind students...I think through the use of RFID tags. Want more information? Get at me.

http://www.si.umich.edu/about-SI/news-detail.htm?NewsItemID=591">
click here.