Clients are matched with a student group for a project that entails working directly with a local partner organization such as an archive, corporation, government agency, library, museum, nonprofit organization, or school in order to aid in the development of a new website, portable device, or user application or to drastically overhaul a current system. A team of four to five students works with each partner organization over the course of the semester. At the end of the semester, student teams prepare oral presentations and written reports. Clients are invited to attend the presentations, which will be held at the school in December. They will also receive a report detailing the student team's findings and recommendations. Clients will receive a hi-fi prototype (often a Flash demo) and possibly a new website in exchange for participation. Examples of Past Projects and Results The following are examples of projects completed by students: Emantis: Students designed a tool to help homeless shelters and volunteers find each other (and more!). They went on from our class to take second place in the 2008 International CHI Student Design Competition. MuseComp: Working with the Ann Arbor Hands-On Museum, this group designed a handheld computer interface to help children navigate, learn, and share the museum experience. CourseNav: Working with the Ross School of Business, this group designed a course recommender site. This project won first place in social computing at expoSItion 2008. altVerto: These students won first place in the 2007 International CHI Student Design Competition, designing an online tool to incentivize the use of public transit. MiTalkers: Working with U-M Counseling and Psychological Services, this group designed a website to help students with online mental health information and resources. Contact Kelly Kowatch
University of Michigan School of Information
Assistant Director, Career Development Office
kkowatch@umich.edu Last day to accept proposals: September 30