GSLIS master’s students and representatives from the corporate sector gathered at the iHotel on Friday, February 28, for a meeting of the Corporate Roundtable and the Fourth Annual Applied Project Poster Session.
Master’s student and former W. W. Grainger intern Kelsey Heffren and Erwin Cruz, Grainger’s director of intellectual property strategy and management and GSLIS adjunct lecturer, presented to their respective peers on the role of and need for information professionals in corporate information management.
Heffren, who will begin work in a full-time position at Grainger following her graduation in May, offered advice to iSchool students in attendance on topics like networking, selecting a mentor, and facing professional challenges. Cruz urged his peers to bring information professionals into their ranks and to advocate for further growth in the field of corporate information management. 
The Applied Project Poster Session, held each spring in conjunction with a meeting of the Corporate Roundtable, features presentations by students of projects that have potential corporate applications.
Master’s student Katie Schmitt presented, "ClimoBase: A Data Rescue Project," which highlighted her work to rescue approximately 7,000 files of climate data that was collected in 1999 in a format that was on the verge of inaccessibility by 2013. She discussed lessons learned from migrating and preserving the information, as well as her recommendations on best practices and workflow. 
Master’s students Sean Gordon, Taylor Kirch, and Adriel Flores-Pagnani presented, "Usability and Design Analysis: Google Hangouts." The team explained their approach to a redesign of Google Hangouts, which employed qualitative usability testing and rapid prototyping. 
Read more about student and alumni work in the area of corporate information management.