The purpose of this panel is to give academic professionals an opportunity to learn about opportunities to bridge the gap between teaching, research, and practice by contributing to the success of SIM academic initiatives. SIM, the Society for Information Management, is the professional organization for IT leadership in the United States. SIM has 37 Chapters and over 4,500 members. SIM offers a number of opportunities for academic professionals to connect with SIM IT industry leaders by participating in SIM academic initiatives. These opportunities include participation in the MISQE and SIM Academic Workshops, SIM-sponsored webinars, SIM-sponsored research projects, and SIM Special Interest Groups (SIG’s). These SIG’s include: SIM Work 4.0, SIM DigiRisk, SIM Re-Think Everything, and SIM Enterprise Architecture.