As USC Iovine and Young Academy’s new Research Assistant Professor of Technology, Innovation and Learning, Dr. SeoYoon Sung is on a mission to explore and analyze the ever-changing interactions of human practice, technology, and education. The future of work is continually faced with fresh challenges and opportunities. How can both individuals and organizations stay supported through this rapid evolution? Is there a way to facilitate learning for the better? How do cultures and communities cultivate creativity? In what ways is our behavior influenced by technology? These questions are at the core of Sung’s research, and at IYA, she’s discovered the ideal setting to delve into her meaningful work. 

Throughout her long academic career, Sung has demonstrated a probing interest in comprehending the mechanics of learning, aiming to strike the right balance between “industry-related research and school-related learning.” That’s where IYA comes in. 

“IYA is a great place to do research, because the place itself shows all the processes of new ways of learning and also new ways of engaging in work. And I think that should translate into the workplace also,” Sung says. “My current research focus is going to be, first of all, on theorizing or articulating the processes of how learning works. And this is definitely a very different approach from a traditional approach to understanding higher education.”

Sung has devoted her life to exploring everything from cultural infrastructures and organizational dynamics, and her educational expedition began long before IYA. Prior to completing postdoctoral research at Cornell University at the College of Computing and Information Science, she obtained a Master’s degree in Organization and Leadership at Columbia University. While pursuing a Ph.D. in Information Science in the iSchool at Rutgers University, her doctoral studies allowed for an immersive examination of tech culture for a dissertation that aimed to gain insight into the collaborative processes of promoting innovation.  

“I guess that's how I got into researching innovation learning and how technologies are kind of mediating those roles,” she explains of what inspired her to focus on a team in Silicon Valley. “I guess trying to demystify that certain ways of doing things immediately fixes the problems that you see from the past. And so where is the direction? How do we help organizations that are trying to innovate really quickly, and what's a good structure for organizing people and organizing the tools that they have?”

Sung explains that she’s always been curious about how technology shapes human behavior, and a practical mindset propelled her to dive deeper into how people and organizations can navigate effects like tech with the goal of positive change. She’s committed to a constructive effort to improve peoples’ experiences, at work or at school. Having accumulated a diverse range of experiences and knowledge, Sung is ready to collaborate with IYA’s community to understand how it engages with its own learning framework.

“Being in the field is very important to gather information and try to understand the culture of the place that I'm looking at. So I, working with students and talking with them or being part of their group project or their classes, kind of see what's going on, what they talk about and how they brainstorm ideas – all those things will be very important for research.”

When she looks at the future of work, she also looks at the future of education, and she hopes more institutions and groups explore alternate ways of working and learning as the world changes daily. At IYA, Sung is enthusiastic about exploring this type of intersectional innovation in action. 

“I'm excited to explore just the overall kind of culture and the spaces that they have and how that allows students to really engage in creative work and what kind of new knowledge they're able to create by trying to combine different areas – just learning about how innovation happens," Sung expresses.

Whatever the future holds, she’s got her finger on its pulse here. 

“IYA is a great place to do research, because the place itself shows all the processes of new ways of learning and also new ways of engaging in work," says Dr. SeoYoon Sung.

Dr. SeoYoon Sung Asks, ‘How Does Learning Work?’