Embedded Files
Engaged Learning Programs
Engaged Learning Programs
The Engaged Learning Office remains steadfast in its mission to integrate community collaboration as a core component of its educational offerings.
The ELO upholds this commitment by providing diverse community engagement opportunities, ranging from short-term projects to sustained multi-year partnerships, through initiatives designed to complement students’ academic knowledge while broadening their worldview and critical thinking abilities. Through targeted community-based learning programs, the ELO has been instrumental in nurturing a robust sense of social responsibility among UMSI students. The focus is not only on student growth but also on enhancing the work of valued community and civic partners.
The Engaged Learning Office facilitates several engaged learning programs for UMSI students including:
Civic User Testing (CUT) Group
The Civic User Testing (CUT) group program applies user testing to public apps to make them more accessible and valuable to city residents. These include tools for mapping, open data, government forms, issue reporting, and other forms of civic engagement. The CUTgroup model aims to involve citizens in the creation of the tools designed for their use by applying a “build-with” approach. CUTgroup’s motto is, “If it doesn’t work for you, it doesn’t work!”
Student Organization Engaged Learning Leaders (SO-ELL)
The SO-ELL program helps student organization (SO) leaders set up or improve upon a process to manage student-led projects within their organizations and implement this process through client-based projects. SO teams are assigned real-world information projects, giving students the opportunity to ethically engage, practice skills, and suggest or effect positive change. Leaders, including officers and project managers, are supported through a series of informational sessions, catered resources, project management workshops, and regular peer-to-peer and mentorship opportunities that expose them to a wide variety of industry and civic real-world challenges associated with information.
Study Abroad
UMSI partners with universities worldwide that offer information courses taught in English that are directly applicable to the UMSI curriculum. UMSI offers semester-long and spring-term study abroad programs in various locations.
Alternative Spring Break
UMSI annually hosts an Alternative Spring Break (ASB) program where students take part in a professional development experience while providing capacity-building services to nonprofit, cultural, governmental, and educational institutions during the week of spring break.
Design Jams
Design Jams
A design jam is a short-term learning experience (two to five hours) at which students from the School of Information and U-M respond to real-world, societal, and industry challenges presented by sponsoring organizations.
Exposition
Annually, UMSI students share posters, presentations, and videos of course and co-curricular projects, internships, and research. This event provides an opportunity for the external community to learn more about UMSI students' work and the possibilities this might present for external organizations to submit a project proposal to or hire UMSI students.
Co-Curricular Project Outcomes
Co-Curricular Project Outcomes
(SO-ELL) The Future of Collaboration: Leveraging Behavioral Styles Report for Better Teamwork
Student(s): Rayoun Choi, Marzhan Nurdauletova, Ellie Haist, Alana L Zhang
Project Overview:
We redesigned the Behavioral Styles Profile (BSP) graphics—originally complex and training-heavy—into intuitive visuals that clarify behavioral insights, broaden access to soft skill development, and reduce reliance on workshops for practical workplace application.
This work advanced understanding of how behavioral frameworks can be scaled digitally without losing the depth typically achieved through in-person workshops. The project highlighted strategies for building accessible, visually-driven information structures that engage a broad audience. It also explored how soft skills—often undervalued yet increasingly essential—can be supported through design, making development opportunities more equitable.
Beyond visual clarity, the redesigned report encourages individuals to reflect on their communication styles and behaviors across various contexts, creating space for meaningful conversations around growth. A positive workplace culture stems from shared effort, not only from individual employees but also from the systems that support them. The manager-facing tool developed through this project plays a key role in fostering a stronger team culture and more effective team management. By enhancing awareness and improving communication, our new BSP report and manager side tool contribute to increased productivity, more cohesive collaboration, and a healthier work-life balance.
(ASB) Strengthening Social Infrastructure for the Future of Work with NHA Mobile Connect: Connecting You to the Support You Need, When You Need It.
Student(s): Ayesha Hakim, Alina Faisal, Sandhya Srinivasan, Alexander Cetinel, Jamal Hassunizadeh
Project Overview:
We created a mobile app to help people experiencing homelessness find shelters, food, medical help, and other support services in Southern Nevada.
This project taught me a lot about the real challenges people face when they don’t have stable housing. I learned how important it is to design technology that is easy to use, respectful, and helpful for everyone—especially those in crisis. It made my education feel more meaningful, and I believe this app can be a tool that helps communities better support people in need.
Other Project Outcomes
Other Project Outcomes
Building a Community Health Hub: A Scalable Model for Expanding Telehealth Access, XR Wellness Activities, and Specialist Care in Rural Michigan
Student(s): Emily Lin, Sarah Rachel Canlas
Project Overview:
Rural Michigan communities often face the greatest healthcare challenges but have the fewest resources to address them. Community Health Hubs can bring care directly to the people who need it in ways that strengthen their existing systems.
"Our project was selected as a winner of the Michigan Health Equity Challenge, awarding $50,000 to our partner, the Michigan Center for Rural Health (MCRH), to implement the initiative.
As students at the University of Michigan School of Information (UMSI), we explore how can promote equity and address complex human challenges. Through this work, we recognized that many digital health solutions reflect urban-centric biases. Supporting underserved communities requires more than expanded access, it requires community-first solutions that align with local systems and context.
We are applying a participatory design framework to co-create a Community Health Hub for Roscommon County's aging population, developing a pilot that can inform statewide health equity efforts. In the short term, the project will focus on building community capacity to implement a telehealth access point at the Roscommon County Commission on Aging Senior Center. Key activities include improving digital literacy and confidence, conducting a community needs assessment, and running participatory design and usability studies with older adults to explore how they engage with next-generation health tools. Leveraging MCRH's statewide network, the project team will work closely with residents and local healthcare stakeholders to co-design the structure, services, and integration pathways of the future Health Hub.
The resulting framework will guide future implementation in Roscommon and serve as a reusable model for MCRH and other community-based organizations seeking to expand digital health access in underserved areas, advancing equity across Michigan's rural healthcare systems.
By involving residents early and increasing their confidence with tools like telehealth and virtual reality, we lay the groundwork for proactive accessibility, ensuring communities like Roscommon not only benefit from next-generation health solutions but play an active role in shaping future healthcare technologies.
With Michigan receiving a $1.5 billion allocation through the Broadband, Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program to bring high-speed internet to every rural home, this initiative builds on that momentum and paves the way for future innovations in rural healthcare delivery. Once implemented, the model is intended to scale statewide and serve as a framework for other underserved communities in Michigan and beyond."
Snapmusic: Turning Images into Personalized Playlists
Student(s): Biju Baek
Project Overview:
There are thousands of playlists in music apps, but very few feel 'just right'. Listeners today are drowning in choice yet starving for resonance.
Snapmusic wasn’t just about fixing choice frustrations but also helped me dive deep into ethical AI design, put my UX research skills into practice, and explore how we can make music feel more personal and emotionally connected to our everyday moments.
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