Spring Forward Story
Innovation in Action: UCI's Work Reimagined 2.0 Pitch Competition Crowns Winner
Tracy Charles Takes First Place with DocuSign Idea
Photo credit: Elizabeth Beach for UCI
By: Office of Data and Information Technology
On June 4th, the ANTrepreneur Center was abuzz with innovation as UCI held its much-anticipated Spring Forward Campaign Finale, a featured event of the Work Reimagined 2.0 initiative. This initiative is a testament to UCI's commitment to fostering an environment where every employee feels encouraged and empowered to propose ideas that enhance efficiency across departments, units, and schools. Work Reimagined 2.0 focuses on various avenues such as saving dollars, avoiding costs, saving time, and generating revenue.
The Spring Forward campaign challenged the UCI campus to submit their time-saving ideas, and throughout the course of the campaign, 108 ideas were submitted. The Campaign Finale provided a platform for the top three finalists to present their solutions in an exciting, Shark Tank-inspired competition. The afternoon saw presentations filled with ingenuity, creativity, and a shared goal of making UCI more efficient.
The star of the event was Tracy Charles, a Graduate Affairs Analyst for the School of Social Sciences. Tracy's innovative idea involved utilizing DocuSign to digitize and streamline the process of sending written notices of approvals to student workers, a process many UCI offices must complete quarterly. Her department transformed what was previously a labor-intensive task into an efficient digital process using DocuSign Webforms and Document Generation. For her winning idea, Tracy was awarded a $1000 STAR Award and a trophy, commemorating her efforts to boost efficiency at UCI.
Marianne Smith, Senior Director of Corporate and Foundation Relations, and Kim Sadler Abbey, Director of Financial Operations, were recognized as runners-up. Smith's pitch focused on increasing efficiency in corporate and foundation relations, while Abbey championed the adoption of a new budgeting tool for the campus. Both received $500 STAR Awards and trophies, highlighting their valuable contributions.
The event was hosted by Work Reimagined 2.0 sponsors Tom Andriola, Vice Chancellor for Information Technology and Data, and Ramona Agrela, Vice Chancellor for Human Resources. The panel of judges included Pramod Khargonekar, Vice Chancellor for Research, Kate Brigman, Associate Provost and Chief of Staff for Office of the Provost, Errol Arkilic, Chief Innovation Officer, Patty Morales, Vice Provost for Enrollment Management and Louis Gill, Senior Director for Undergraduate Housing Residential Life. Their insights and thoughtful questions underscored the pioneering spirit that UCI is known for.
As the event concluded, the excitement for future competitions was palpable. The Work Reimagined 2.0 team promised continued support for all proposals and announced a forthcoming competition in the fall, leaving the audience inspired and eager to contribute to UCI's ongoing journey of innovation.