To highlight the contributions of another valued faculty member, we are proud to shine the spotlight on Jinan Lin, Assistant Professor for the Wisconsin School of Business in the Department of Operations and Information Management!
Blending Technology and Economics
With a PhD from the University of California Irvine in information systems, and research experience focused on digital platforms and the sharing economy at Amazon, Microsoft, Nokia Bell Labs and DiDi (rideshare similar to Uber), Jinan has honed his expertise and passionately shares his knowledge with students. Each of his roles and research areas blend to create his sophisticated perspective on technology and its public policy implications. In the course he teaches on data technology for analytics, Jinan explains how his role blends the perspective of both a technology professor and an economics professor. “I combine both to understand the business value of technology and what type of broader impact that might have on society,” shares Jinan.
The Draw of the Wisconsin Idea
While students undoubtedly benefit from Jinan’s skillset, his genuine passion for the industry and how it impacts lives around the world stands out. Growing up in China, Jinan became witness to the rise of ecommerce company Alibaba and its impact on the area’s individuals and families. Seeing how a digital platform could change lives by creating the opportunity for anyone to build their own enterprise became his inspiration for developing expertise in the field. Following in the footsteps of his lineage, Jinan took after both his father and grandfather in choosing to teach. His deep-rooted passion for creating change himself extends to motivating others to also see the value in powerful platforms that uplift society. Its reputation for research and innovation as well as the Wisconsin Idea drew Jinan to the Wisconsin School of Business. His perspective is clearly reflected in the Wisconsin Idea’s principle that “education should influence people’s lives beyond the boundaries of the classroom.”
Start with the Source
While building better platforms for users can look many different ways, Jinan believes it starts at the source with understanding the needs of those directly impacted. When conducting research on Uber, he conversed with drivers directly to understand their motivations and what they valued about the flexible work model. “For me as a researcher, I need to understand the impacts and implantations of things in order to inform either the policy maker or the stakeholders in the company to build better platforms,” he shares. He encourages his students to do the same to inspire thoughts of how technology can be used to improve user experience and drive thoughtful innovation of digital platforms. This mindset helps students zoom out and understand the “why” before they design back-end storage systems for data and interact with it using APIs.
Valuable Advice
For students eager to enter the industry, Jinan shares valuable advice. “I hope when students start their career, they embrace AI rather than avoid it.” Learning to properly prompt and leverage artificial intelligence as a tool is integrated into Jinan’s course to ensure students are comfortable with a technology that is likely to stay. He also emphasizes the importance of discovering the area of focus you are passionate about, whether that be healthcare, gaming or fintech, and becoming an expert in it. With such a variety of options available, Jinan encourages students to be curious and ask questions often. “For example, when I was working at Amazon, I would schedule weekly meetings with different teams,” Jinan says. The teams sharing their unique technology needs introduced a new angle and inspired him to dive deeper into his research or improve his work.
Jinan spends his time outside of WSB with his two recently adopted cats, Momo and Mashi. Aside from providing companionship, the two have occasionally become a source of inspiration for the students’ assignments, adding an element of fun to the classroom environment. We can’t wait to see how Jinan continues to make an impact both in and beyond the classroom while inspiring students to do the same!
Categories: