A Central New York Business Journal article reported:
“A team at Syracuse University’s School of Information Studies will spend the next two years researching and developing training for a new breed of informational professional.
The team includes Associate Dean for Research Jeff Stanton, Dean Elizabeth Liddy, SU Chief Information Officer Paul Gandel, and professors Derrick Cogburn, R. David Lankes, and Megan Oakleaf. The group won a $244,000 grant from the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Office of CyberInfrastructure for their work.
The group will use the money to explore a type of emerging professional who can work on the specific computing and information demands present in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.
Research and work in those areas is naturally becoming more dependent on large amounts of information and complex computing systems that allow researchers to work with data in new ways and collaborate across long distances, Stanton says.
“The NSF is acutely aware of this because they fund so much scientific research,” he says. “They’ve come to realize that deep expertise in information management is crucial for the success for these scientific projects.”
The information demands of science research or engineering work are unique, Stanton adds. It helps if the information professionals in those areas have some knowledge or understanding of the science they’re supporting.
So the NSF grant will be used to research exactly that type of information professional and develop curriculum for them. The team is recruiting five master’s level students who will be the first test cases for the new instruction.
The students will also complete internships in scientific laboratories or other research settings, Stanton says. In addition to training the students, the team will also research their experiences and learn as much as they can about how information professionals work in science settings.
The project will eventually lead to a certificate of advanced study and possibly a degree program down the line, Stanton says. The project will last for two years.
One of the challenges the project will help overcome is the disconnect between researchers and information professionals, Cogburn says. While scientists may be experts in their fields of study, they don’t necessarily understand how to manage complex networks or computer systems.
‘We needed a new kind of person,’ Cogburn says. ‘We needed someone either with a science background or with an appreciation of the science and the ability to get up to speed quickly on the science and what the researchers are doing. Then they need to be able to marry that with information and communication skills.
‘There’s a unique skill set required to do that.’…”
Read the whole article here: http://www.cnybj.com/index.php?id=171&no_cache=1&tx_ttnews[tt_news]=9061&tx_ttnews[backPid]=1&cHash=892ad35d6e
