International Forum on Expert Finder Systems
Charting the Informational Universe
September 16-18, 2025
Cleveland, OH

SPEAKERS

Akash Shah

Assistant Vice President for Academic Systems

Indiana University

Description

As a strategic leader at Indiana University, Akash provides university-wide direction in the design, development, and support of faculty and academic systems. He leads the Academic Systems team and works closely with campus leadership to ensure IT initiatives align with both campus-specific and university-wide strategic goals.

His role bridges technology and academia, he collaborates across divisions within Academic Technologies and University Information Technology Services (UITS), as well as with faculty governance committees, to drive innovation and continuous improvement. He champions the development and enhancement of applications that streamline faculty workflows, support academic advancement, and elevate institutional effectiveness.

In addition, Akash serves as the Data Steward for Faculty Data and contributes to the University Data Management Council (UDMC), where he helps shape strategic planning, governance, and oversight of institutional data across IU.

Sessions

Implementation of Symplectic Elements at Indiana University

September 18, 2025
2:05 pm - 2:35 pm

PRESENTATION

Indiana University (IU) has embarked on a significant transition from the DMAI (Watermark: Digital Measures Activity Insight) system to Symplectic Elements for faculty activity reporting. Prompted by faculty feedback, IU selected Elements through a competitive RFP process in spring 2024 and successfully launched the new system across all nine campuses by the end of the year.

The implementation team reimagined faculty activity reporting from the ground up—migrating years of historical data, integrating with multiple platforms across IU's technological ecosystem, and providing training to thousands of faculty members. This ambitious effort was deeply collaborative, involving faculty and administrative stakeholders at every stage. The focus remained on enhancing user experience, streamlining workflows, and ensuring the seamless and accurate transfer of existing data.

In this panel, key decision-makers and stakeholders will share insights, challenges, and innovative strategies from this transformative journey.

Speaker