Message from the AIS SIGED President Vasso Stylianou

Connect More, Achieve More!

Warm greetings to all current and prospective SIGED members!

We have great news to share with you this month. SIGED has been recognized as an Outstanding SIG 2022! It is a recognition that we have been receiving for several years. Such recognitions should make all of us, the members of SIGED, feel very happy that our efforts are being recognized and appreciated by AIS! A big thank you to everyone for their small or bigger contribution towards this achievement.

In 2023, we will focus our efforts on enabling our avenues of communication as a community. Moving in that direction, we have already celebrated in April the first issue of the SIGED Community|Newsletter, which was received with interest by our community members. 

At the same time, we would like to offer more services to the community, and we are very excited to announce the organization of the first SIGED Community|Workshop. This exclusive, virtual, and free workshop title is: Unlock the Secrets to Success in CAIS-IS/IT Education. It will be delivered to us by the renowned CAIS Editor in Chief, Fred Niederman, and the Associate Editors: Blooma John, Craig Van Slyke, Mary Granger, and Toon Abcouwer. More information regarding this workshop and the link to register are following. Certificates will be issued to all participants.

Also, starting in this May issue of our AIS SIGED Community|Newsletter, we are introducing a section we label SIGED Community|Connect: Meet our Board. It will be a series of short interviews with the SIGED Board Members that aim to bring us closer by getting to know one another better.

Our first SIGED Community|Connect activities are on the way for the coming months, so watch out for new happenings in the forthcoming issues of our newsletter.

We are excited about the new actions we implemented to become more active as a community. Your feedback and suggestions on achieving our motto: Connect More, Achieve More! are most welcome at our email, info@ais-siged.org.

Be Healthy! Be Happy!

On behalf of the SIGED Board

Vasso Stylianou (President SIGED)

Meet Our Board: Toon Abcouwer,

Past President 2022 

Toon Abcouwer worked for the University of Amsterdam for forty years until his retirement. His research interests are about how organizations deal with dynamic and disruptive changes. In this context, his main interest is the information's role in necessary organizational change processes and how we can help people fulfill their role herein through education.

What is your involvement in SIGED?

I am involved in the SIGED for quite a number of years, after being President of the SIG, I now contribute as Past-President. Within SIGED I worked on the broadening of our focus from Education of IS to Education of and with IS. 

What is your vision of current society?

In contemporary society, we see an alarming increase in divides in many areas. We can think of economic, racial, gender, educational or generational divides, to name a few. We believe in a society where a growing need is for awareness on this issue. It can often be traced back to an overemphasis on individual well-being. 'What is in it for me?' is an all-important question in society. The current concern for humanity is to deal with today's challenges differently.

How should we deal with this development?

We should look for a paradigm shift in which we try to find a new balance between individual happiness and realizing a world for all of us in which everyone, now and for generations to come, can sustainably pursue a happy future.

To partially flesh this out, we focus our research on what we call the 'Me-We-All' approach. We define a new role for organizations that not only pursue the interests of shareholders and owners. A vital driving force must be to contribute positively to a more sustainable society, now and in the future.

Do you trust in the developments currently taking place?

It is reassuring that the younger generation is much more aware of this development. Encouraging this is a massive challenge for contemporary education, mainly as shaping a sustainable future is still being determined. Cooperative learning and mutual inspiration are essential elements that education will have to provide. I see an important role for SIGED to contribute to that.

https://ais-siged.org/officers/

The ‘Me-We-All’ Approach: cooperative learning for a sustainable future. Pre-ECIS 2023 Workshop

Norway, 12 June and online. 

Note: Virtual participation is available. Also, open to non-AIS members.

In a world where dynamic changes force organizations to be better prepared for unforeseen future(s) a paradigm shift is needed. The current focus on individualistic well-being is to be replaced by a (more) balanced focus on both individualistic and societal perspectives. We must enhance our worldviews to opt for long-term sustainable organizations, improve resilience and adapt to future challenges. The workshop discusses techniques for understanding the role of information (management) and systems to deal with challenges to enable long-term mindful visions in a collaborative setting. The explored approach considers the information management of organizations (We), its members (Me), and the environment in which they operate (All). In this workshop, we intend to adapt our visions for the future in a co-creative setting.

For information, please visit: https://ecis2023.no/program/workshops-and-ancillary-meetings/workshop/?GUU4l9nwemn@V6Fy9IXYjQ==

Free online participation: https://forms.office.com/e/EVcWGFWReV