As a 2nd-year graduate student in the MS in Informatics program at SJSU’s iSchool, I believe making the most of one’s academic and professional development is crucial. Opportunities to develop as an aspiring professional in one’s field(s) of interest are abundant and come in various forms including participating in internships/externships; working in student assistantships, assisting with research, and being mentored.
Thus, I was enthused when I came across a mentorship opportunity provided by the Research Wing of the Special Interest Group for International Information Issues (SIG III), one of the 17 SIGs of the Association for Information Science and Technology (ASIS&T). Though I thought it would be a long shot of me being chosen as a mentee, I enthusiastically applied because I was excited about learning from a field expert and participating in research activities. When it came to selecting a field of interest, I selected Health Informatics due to my background in nursing and my brimming interest in technology.
In April 2024, I was pleasantly surprised to find that I had been selected as a mentee and paired up with a field expert whose expertise aligned with my interest in health informatics. So far, being mentored by Dr. Lubna Daraz, Assistant Professor in the School of Library and Information Science at the University of Montreal, has been an engaging and intellectually stimulating experience that has provided me with research and writing opportunities.
See below for more details regarding my mentorship thus far:
ASIS&T SIG-III (International Information Issues) Mentorship 2024-2025
· Meeting Frequency & Format: Monthly hour-long virtual sessions
· Mentor’s Research Themes: information needs, mis/disinformation, conspiracy theories related to COVID
· Research/Writing Opportunities: Short article and short paper
If you have an interest in being mentored by a field expert related to any of the SIGs and/or are eager to undertake research and writing opportunities, I highly recommend applying for next year’s SIG III mentorship program.