Connecting Students, Industry and Community: Inside the University of Arizona iShowcase

It's half past noon on a Friday in the Grand Ballroom of the University of Arizona Student Union, and the room is bustling. Video games are mid-demo, data dashboards are under discussion and a capstone project team walks judges through the app they built for a local nonprofit.

A judge leans in and asks a question. Students light up as they explain the decisions behind their design. 

This is iShowcase, the College of Information Science's biannual celebration of student work.
  

From Classroom to Community

iShowcase is where student projects move beyond the classroom and into the community, and alumni, industry representatives and community members are invited to see the students’ work, ideas and innovations firsthand.

This May, the event had its highest industry participation yet. More than 250 InfoSci students presented their work, showcasing how they’ve tackled real-world problems provided by industry and community partners. Every undergraduate and graduate capstone project at iShowcase received feedback from professionals who volunteered as project judges. 

At the May iShowcase the college also launched the iAlliance, a new network of alumni, industry professionals and community partners who care about the future of information and the students who will shape it.
  

Connecting Students with Industry

People attend iShowcase, judge student projects or join the iAlliance because they see something in InfoSci students that's hard to find elsewhere.

For Tucson's game development community, iShowcase is a chance to close the gap between students and industry before graduation.

“The iShowcase creates a valuable bridge between students and Tucson's professional and creative communities,” says Bob Glahn, game designer and producer with Biskette Games.

“Through my work as a game developer and with Tucson Game Developers, I have seen how much stronger our local industry becomes when students can connect with working practitioners early.”
 

Demonstrating Interdisciplinary Know-How

For some organizations, the draw is the same interdisciplinary breadth that defines the college itself. 

InfoSci students don't fit one mold. They study artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, data science, digital preservation, libraries, game development, extended reality and human-centered computing, often blending more than one in their approach to solving thorny problems. 

David Sidi knows this well; he's a 2022 graduate of the college’s PhD in Information and the executive director of We Build Networks, a convivial technology nonprofit working to improve access to private networked computing in Tucson.

“The iAlliance is appealing to our organization because information science students are a broad and interesting pool, specialized on topics from across computing and the social sciences that overlap with our mission. That makes these students uniquely valuable to our work,” Sidi says.
  

Turning Information into Insight

The interdisciplinary breadth of the college belies a common interest in turning information into impact, a theme in many InfoSci graduates’ careers. Ask alumni from different degrees what they took from the InfoSci experience, and the answers might be more alike than you'd expect.

Dr. Nicole Bylina-Streets, MLIS ’06, is a school librarian. She recalls her experience in the Master of Arts in Library and Information Science: “Without a doubt, the most valuable skill I gained was learning how to connect people with the right information—not just any information. That blend of research savvy and human-centered thinking is what I rely on every day as a school librarian, whether I'm guiding a student to the perfect book, helping a teacher build stronger resources or turning curiosity into confident discovery.”

Min Set Khant, a 2026 Master of Science in Data Science graduate, translates data into business strategy in Myanmar.

“Looking back, the most valuable skill I gained from the College of Information Science is the ability to turn complex data into clear, actionable insights,” he says. “Beyond technical skills like machine learning and statistics, I learned how to communicate results effectively and connect data to real business decisions. Today, this skill helps me bridge the gap between data and stakeholders, making my work impactful in the real world.”

Duo Bao, a 2021 Bachelor’s in Information Science and 2023 Master’s in Information Science graduate, today serves as a research technologist who supports interdisciplinary University of Arizona research initiatives at the intersection of data science, AI/machine learning and digital health.

For Bao, the ability to think across disciplines—understanding not only how to work with data and technology but also how to frame problems from human, organizational and real-world perspectives—is what sticks out as the most valuable skill he gained at InfoSci.

“This way of thinking allows me to translate between technical systems and research or stakeholder needs, which I rely on daily in my work,” he says.
  

In Service of Something Bigger

Information science is about connecting people, data and technology in service of something bigger. Judges, alumni and partners return to iShowcase because they see those connections take shape—in a demo, a conversation or a project developed for an organization facing a real-world challenge.

It’s what keeps them coming back.

The College of Information Science invites you to see for yourself at the next iShowcase: Wednesday, December 9, 2026 from noon to 2:30 p.m.