Welcome to the 2023-24 academic year.
I’m so happy to be appointed interim KMDI Director this year. It’s been a pleasure to serve as the Director of the KMD Collaborative Specialization over the last three years, and as we complete the self-study for the CS, it will be great to turn my head to consolidating and building on the work that outgoing KMDI Director Sara Grimes has so ably put in place. I am looking forward to building on the vibrant research and knowledge-sharing agendas of the Institute developed by Sara, working with the Lab and project leads, the Makerspace, staff, and the many students whose research interests bring them into the orbit of these spaces.
As the term begins, we are seeing renovations to the KMDI space in Robarts to facilitate the work of the Labs, and hiring a new group of work study students as well as a new co-ordinator of the Makerspace. Patrick Keilty and the GLAM Incubator advisory have been busy reviewing proposals and will share recommendations soon. Already existing GLAM Incubator projects are starting to gear up for the fall. The team working on this year’s Ursula Franklin Lecture is already ahead of schedule on booking an exciting speaker (that news to come soon!). Thanks to the Faculty of Information practicum program students, we are in the final throes of revamping the website – watch for a relaunch later this fall. And I’m working with Amplify, a new network of academic podcasts, to see how we can connect the KMDI podcast across North America.
Got an idea for how you would like to connect? Or some research news to share? Be in touch.
Warmly,
MaryElizabeth (M.E.) Luka