In 1997, Hsueh was the director of the Digital Imaging Technology team at ITRI's Opto-Electronics and Systems Laboratories. As part of a joint project, she visited the globally recognized MIT Media Lab. She was stunned by the laboratory's open environment, the diverse backgrounds of the researchers, and the orientation of the research towards meeting human concerns. She hoped that ITRI could have a research operation like the MIT Media Lab.
1997 年，薛文珍還是工研院光電所數位影像技術組組長，因合作計畫來到全球聞名的美國麻省理工學院（MIT）「媒體實驗室」參訪，她震撼於實驗室開放自由的環境、成員多元化的背景，以及關心人性需求的研究導向，希望工研院內也能有一個這樣的研究角落。