University of Michigan School of Information
Future of Work will be yearlong theme at UMSI
Monday, 09/16/2024
By Abigail McFeeStudents, faculty and staff at the University of Michigan School of Information will explore the forces shaping the future of work — from technological advancements to societal shifts — during the school’s 2024-25 theme year.
“The way we do work, how well we do it and how much we enjoy it — these are all deeply influenced by the technologies we use to do work,” says Andrea Forte, dean of UMSI.
With the rise of generative AI and hybrid and remote work models, “it’s the perfect year for UMSI to focus our attention here,” Forte says. “Who better to imagine the future of work than UMSI students?”
Through Future of Work courses, events and projects, UMSI community members will be challenged to envision their own roles in the rapidly changing landscape of work: the challenges they can help solve, and the opportunities they can embrace.
“Using what we know”
For Pedro Pazmino, a Master of Science in Information student on the UX research and design track, imagining the future of work quickly became literal. Pazmino designed the logo for the theme year as part of a schoolwide competition. He had to decide how the phrase “Future of Work” should appear on the page or screen — bright and bold? Minimalist and modern? — and how it should make people feel.
Robots at desks, strings of code and virtual reality headsets were recurring images Pazmino found as he researched how the future of work has been portrayed elsewhere. But for UMSI, he was hoping to capture something more human-centered — more connected to his peers’ experience of their coursework and careers.

“The Future of Work theme, for me, is interesting because it sort of aligns with what UMSI stands for,” Pazmino says. “It’s that interaction between people, information and technology. How can the future of work be explored in the context of real-world problems or real companies that are facing issues? And how can we, as UX designers, become a part of potential solutions?”

Before starting graduate school, Pazmino had a decade-long career as a graphic designer in his hometown of Quito, Ecuador. He eventually took a remote position as head of design at a software development company based out of Houston, Texas. Many turns in his journey — from finding a job in the U.S. because of the flexibility afforded by remote work, to returning to school to expand his technical skills — are representative of the evolving landscape of the modern workplace.
Conversations about these changes are often dominated by dread and dismay, but the core emotions Pazmino wanted to evoke through his theme year logo were optimism and curiosity.
He and his classmates don’t know how the nature of work will change in the next few years, let alone the next decade. But they’re facing this uncertainty, he says, by “using what we know, using the tools and resources and methodologies we are being exposed to here at UMSI every day.”
His logo creates a unified phrase from individual parts. The “o” in “work,” formed by a cog symbol, references early technology, while the “t” in “future” resembles a stick figure to capture the role that people play in creating and applying technology, including AI. Three dots, meant to resemble WiFi bars, form the side of the letter “r.” They symbolize connectivity to the internet and to each other.
“To give more concepts around the future of work for people to connect with, to gather around,” Pazmino created extended iconography to accompany the logo on school-branded swag. The set of 10 symbols includes references to technology — the internet, coding and computers — and values and concepts that shape our work, like collaboration, time and feedback.
“And we have a heart,” Pazmino says, pointing to the symbol he used to represent the concept of doing good. “Which is part of what I would like to think the future of work includes.”
It’s not all robots
Over the coming year, UMSI community members will have the opportunity to explore a complex set of topics related to the future of work, according to Kelly Kowatch, director of the Engaged Learning Office. “This includes how the increasing digital divide is shaping the workforce and the distribution of wealth in America, the challenges of remote work, and how AI is both enhancing and threatening our sense of purpose in our work.”
Three fall courses have adopted a Future of Work theme. In SI 305: Introduction to Information Analysis, co-taught by assistant professor of information Ben Green and assistant professor of information Rebecca Frank, students will look closely at workers and their rights.
In collaboration with the Center for Labor and Community Studies at the University of Michigan-Dearborn, the class will analyze data related to union membership and elections. The goal is to study patterns in union organizing across time and place, and to see how government policies and court rulings affect union growth.
“Unions are an essential component of ensuring that the future of work is equitable for workers and communities,” Green says. “As a union organizer and union member during my PhD, I’ve seen firsthand how unions stand up for worker rights, benefits and protections. In recent years, unions have been on the front lines protecting workers from being replaced and surveilled by AI systems.”
Frank says the course “will encourage students to think holistically about the future of work, linking historical data with contemporary issues and topics.” An alumna of UMSI’s MSI and PhD programs, Frank researches digital curation and preservation. She says digital repositories make it possible for existing information to find new uses, connecting the past to the future.

In SI 307: Introduction to User Experience Design, taught by lecturer Jim Rampton, students will pitch redesigned versions of U-M’s own generative AI tools: U-M GPT, U-M Maizey and U-M GPT Toolkit.
Each student will select one tool and use the principles of UX to redesign its interface. Michael Hess, director of IT systems and services, challenged students to address core needs like accessibility and enabling users to report problems. He also invited them to “think beyond the design,” Rampton says, “about helping users understand how to use these tools effectively.”
Meanwhile, graduate students in SI 500: Problem-Solving with People, Information and Technology will investigate varied challenges related to the future of work, including rural broadband access, workforce development and workplace wellness. Over the course of the semester, they will work in small teams to scope an issue and propose recommendations for a client. This year’s clients range from the Rural Broadband Association to workplace wellbeing organization Mindful Techie to software development company Atomic Object.
“We are very excited to see the outcomes of students' deep engagement with this theme in the coming year,” Kowatch says.
The entire UMSI community will have the opportunity to participate in theme year events, including an October 17 keynote by Ben Marchionna, Michigan’s first-ever chief innovation ecosystem officer. A U-M alumnus, Marchionna has held leadership roles at aerospace technology and clean energy startups. He will speak about attracting and retaining talent in Michigan. Following Marchionna’s talk, UMSI will host a schoolwide case study focused on the keynote topic.
Additional theme year events include guest lectures on the future of work by UMSI advisory board members and a second-semester kickoff at Ford’s Newlab in Detroit in January.
“For a long time, UMSI has been studying changes in the design and use of technologies,” says associate dean for academic affairs Cliff Lampe. But he emphasizes that, beyond leveraging existing expertise, the goal of this theme year is for UMSI students to develop new skills — and new solutions that benefit society.
This year, the UMSI community won’t just await the future of work; they’ll help create it. They’ll do so, as Pazmino says, with heart.
Video by Jeffrey M. Smith, multimedia producer
LEARN MORE
Visit the Engaged Learning Office's theme year website for additional information, including a full calendar of Future of Work events.