Spotlight - Salma Kirsch-Soudagar, ICME's New Director of Affiliate Engagement

I am excited to join ICME as the Director of Affiliate Engagement.

My academic background is rooted in computer science engineering and over the years I had the opportunity to work in research and development in the semiconductor and software industries as well as management consulting.

Throughout my career, a common theme has been the development and strengthening of key collaborations. Whether connecting academia with industry or promoting internal relationships, my focus was on fostering innovation with the ultimate objective to develop solutions to resolve the challenges companies face. These solutions ranged from video and image compression algorithms for multimedia communication, to natural language processing platforms for analyzing sentiments in news, internet patrolling solution for fighting counterfeit sales of product, and tracking of objects using near field communication.

While working in the industry, I initiated several industry-academia collaborations and experienced first-hand the significant impact of academic advancements on the success of many projects I was involved in. These collaborations encouraged a fruitful exchange of knowledge for both industry and academia and were crucial for helping companies address their increasing talent needs.

In my recent position at Stanford's Industry Contacts Office, I have been facilitating and negotiating diverse collaboration models with industry collaborators. This role has also given me a deeper understanding of university policies, ensuring collaborations are both innovative and aligned with our overall mission.

I firmly believe in the potential of the ICME Education Affiliate Program. This program serves a dual purpose, allowing industry collaborators to gain insight into cutting-edge academic research, while simultaneously giving our students and researchers exposure to real-world industry challenges. This alignment paves the way for research that is not only academically significant but also industry relevant.

I look forward to engaging with the ICME community to further develop the affiliate program.