Greetings everyone,
I hope you have all had a fantastic May. As I look back on this past academic year, I feel an immense sense of gratitude about what the Michigan Technology Community has achieved for our beloved institution. This has been a year marked by both complex challenges and incredible milestones. Through it all, our IT professionals have stayed grounded in our values and committed to the people we serve. I am truly grateful to be part of this community.
There have been several announcements related to Google and the University of Michigan recently that I wanted to make sure caught your attention. First, I am excited to share that Google Gemini and NotebookLM are now available to all U-M faculty, staff, and students. Gemini is a powerful generative AI assistant that can help you write, brainstorm, and explore ideas, while NotebookLM acts as a research assistant, allowing you to upload and interact with your own documents. You can find more information about getting started with both tools on the ITS AI Services page. Google AI Services are approved to use with Student Education Records (regulated by FERPA), but may not be used with some other forms of sensitive university data. You can see a full breakdown of approved data for these tools on the Google AI Services data guide.
There was also an announcement about a new partnership between Google and the U-M Center for Academic Innovation, which will provide all U-M students across Ann Arbor, Dearborn, and Flint with no-cost access to Google Career Certificates through Michigan Online. These certificates and courses offer valuable job-ready skills in areas such as AI, data analytics, UX design, digital marketing, project management, and more.
Both of these developments solidify U-M’s place as the leading institution when it comes to promoting AI literacy in higher education. As AI continues to have a growing impact on the world economy, it would be a disservice to our students, faculty, and staff if we did not give them the tools and experience to survive and thrive in this new ecosystem. The ongoing work across our university is preparing our community for the future and providing our users with hands-on opportunities to learn about new technologies. I feel fortunate to be working with such an empathetic, forward-thinking group of technology professionals. Your work is making a real difference at our institution.
As we enter our summer season, I would encourage you all to keep an eye on the various activities and tours that the MTC has planned over the next few months. They range from the Communities of Practice Summer Social to tours of the Detroit Observatory–and there will be more events coming. I want to thank the MTC leadership for creating these opportunities for U-M’s IT professionals to gather, network, and connect with each other.
Please remember to take time for yourselves and check in on those around you. Your care, dedication, and presence matter deeply. Thank you for everything you do to support our university and the people who call it home. Please reach out to me anytime if I can be of assistance or add value.
With gratitude,
Ravi
Ravi Pendse PhD
Vice President for Information Technology and Chief Information Officer
University of Michigan
rpendse@umich.edu
