Information School News

Returning to Sheffield after more than a decade has been a mixture of nostalgia and new opportunities. I first came here in 2011 to complete my MA in Librarianship, and now, I find myself back as a visiting scholar at the Information School. My time as a visiting researcher at the University of Sheffield has been truly rewarding. I am an academic staff at Harran University in Turkey supported for this visit by Tubitak (The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey). This visit has been a great opportunity for my academic and professional development. I am conducting research on artificial intelligence within GLAM (Galleries, Libraries, Archives, and Museums) institutions. I have especially valued the support of my supervisor Dr. Andrew Cox who has guided me through this process. He is an extremely helpful, supportive and understanding person. The University of Sheffield has provided me with an excellent working environment, surrounded by helpful staff and dynamic research...

Blog: My Year as a Librarianship Student By Bethan Morgan Bethan studied our Librarianship MA Whilst being in the midst of impending deadlines and the dread of job applications, I thought it would be a good opportunity to reflect on my year as an MA Librarianship student and a student ambassador for the Information School. Although it is fair to say that certain events (aka a global pandemic) have meant that my experience has been far from normal, it has nevertheless been a highly enjoyable and rewarding year.  I have to say that I was slightly perplexed to be given a box of lego during the first session of ‘Information Organisation’ in Semester 1. However, it very quickly became entirely natural to start arranging the bricks into different categories on a table in the library (probably resulting in a few strange looks). I think this best sums up what I liked most about the course, which is the range of teaching methods and assignments within each module. For example, for ‘Informat...

Blog: My Year as a Librarianship Student By Fernando Bravo  Fernando studied Librianship in 2019/20 Hello everyone, I am writing this text for prospective students interested in the University of Sheffield Information School. I’m a mature and international student who planned to study the MA Librarianship a long time ago after working some years in University, Public and National Libraries. The time here has been challenging, the overall course is one of the best in the world and with a very good reputation between the librarian community, certified for one of the most important professional associations in the world. U.K library information association: CILIP . During the course I have had the opportunity to assist activities related to my field, for instance, a Reference Training Session in the British Library in London, a session in Manchester with new professionals , also in Sheffield I visited the headquarters of the Children Library Service and the children book award , as w...

Blog: My Year as an Information Systems Student Ying Ji Ying Ji at the BBC I am an MSc Information System student this academic year, and also a Student Ambassador for the Information School. The year of living and studying in the iSchool has given me a very deep and beautiful memory. The Information School provides a variety of courses for student learning. In the two semesters, I have learned the knowledge related to information system modelling, planning and organization management, taken programming (JAVA), database design and business intelligence as my optional modules. In addition, I learned about the legal and ethical issues of computing and information systems in society, which expanded my background knowledge.  At University, we have lots of different learning methods such as lectures, seminars, lab classes and group meetings. In my opinion, most of these courses are based on the case of the enterprise work, so that students can be familiar with future real work tasks and...

Blog: My Year as an Information Management Student by Jie Dai Last year, I made my best decision to choose to study at The University of Sheffield as an MSc student in Information Management. In the year I have not only extended my academic vision and gained many technical skills, but stored a wonderful memory in Sheffield as well. Firstly, I have to say I believe that Information School is worthy of its ranking (World 2nd best). All the teaching staff in the School are experts in the academic field, using their understanding and experience, trying to illustrate complex concepts in a way that’s easy to understand. Some of them are very strict on students’ reading quantity, which means in your spare time, you need to read a lot and try to take a critical view on several topics. Others are patient in teaching trainees how to operate on programs. They go out of their way to meet the students’ requirements and make timely adjustments based on the feedback from students. I really appreciate...

Data Science knowledge provides you with a set of skills that is very much in demand by large and small organisations, and can land you a lucrative job. However, it does not need to be all about the money. There are also opportunities to use these skills to help other people. One such opportunity is provided by the group Sheffield Data For Good . They recently organised a data hack to help Roundabout , a Sheffield charity that tackles youth homelessness, and have already scheduled a second event for the 9th of March. I was at the first data hack on the 26th of January. Around 25 people, a mix of academics, data professionals and charity workers, came to the event. Amy Evans, data and finance coordinator from Roundabout, was at the event to explain the data that we were going to work on and what Roundabout was trying to understand about their data. I cannot provide details about the data due to data protection regulations, but what struck me the most was the atmosphere and the energ...

Last month University of Sheffield’s Information School was privileged to be the first University in the UK to host the prestigious iConference. Held at the end of March in Sheffield, in collaboration with Northumbria University, the iConference was attended by over 400 delegates from around the world and across the library and information field. This year’s theme focused on ‘Transforming Digital Worlds’ with keynote sessions from eminent figures in the information world including: Dr Lynn Silipigni Connaway (OCLC Research), Dr Susan Dumais, (Microsoft Research) and Professor Luciano Floridi, (Oxford Internet Institute). “The keynotes were real highlights of the iConference”, says Professor Gillet, Conference Chair and Professor of Chemoinformatics at the Information School. “We had three well-known figures in the field summarising their work and giving their perspectives on different aspects of the information field. The iSchools organisation often talks about the triad of in...

We are currently recruiting for one Research Associate post to support the Economic and Social Research Council-funded project ‘Regional Technology Foresight’ Focusing on the Sheffield City Region as an internationally recognised manufacturing hub, this 24-month project will generate procedural solutions concerning the enhancement of a region’s ability to identify and exploit technological innovations, in order to maximise competitiveness. The closing date for applications is 6 April 2018 and further details on the role can be found here . If you have any questions about the role please contact Dr Jorge Tiago Martins at: jorge.martins@sheffield.ac.uk

Dr Jorge Tiago Martins has been awarded £239,767 by the Economic and Social Research Council’s (ESRC) New Investigator scheme for the ‘Regional Technology Foresight’ project. The project will generate new knowledge and procedural solutions concerning the enhancement of regions’ ability to identify and exploit knowledge of technological innovations, in order to maximise competitiveness and sustainability. Focusing on the Sheffield City Region as an internationally recognised manufacturing hub, the project will be led by Dr Jorge Tiago Martins and supported by Prof Tim Vorley at Sheffield University Management School. “I am delighted to have received this ESRC New Investigators Award”, says Jorge. “Linking with industrial strategy, I believe the project will make an important contribution to better understand the processes of identifying, transferring and integrating technological innovations in UK regions”.

We invite contributions for iConference 2018, which will take place March 25-28, 2018 at the University of Sheffield. The iConference is presented by the iSchools organisation, a worldwide consortium of information schools dedicated to advancing the information field, and preparing students to meet the information challenges of the 21st Century. Affiliation with the iSchools is not a prerequisite of participation; and we encourage all information scholars and practitioners to take part in this, the thirteenth iSchools conference and the first to be held in the UK. The theme is “Transforming Digital Worlds” and the aim is to bring together thinkers and leaders from academia, industry and not-for-profit organisations, to discuss emerging challenges and potential solutions for information and data management in our rapidly changing world. The conference is being jointly organised by the iSchools at the University of Sheffield and Northumbria University and will include not only peer-re...

Current MA Library and Information Services Management student Billie Coxhead is cycling from London to Sheffield to raise money for Sheffield Hospitals Charity, along with her friend Gracey Power. The three day ride begins tomorrow, Wednesday 12th July. The Sheffield Princess Royal Spinal Unit looked after Billie's brother Keir after a car crash, so the funds from this trip are both a thank you to them and a help in continuing this work for others. You can read about Billie's ride and cause, as well as donate money, on her JustGiving page here .