Kevin Vadnais
University of Lethbridge
Kevin has been working at the University of Lethbridge since 2009. An active member of the CUCCIO Information Security SIG, as well as other information groups, he is anxious to explore new ways to collaborate in the areas of information security, records management, business intelligence and overall information governance.
Jeff Oliver
University of Lethbridge
Jeff has been at the University of Lethbridge since 1990, first as as student and since 1994 as part of the IT Services staff. Jeff filled the role of Sr. Network Analyst for many years and is currently managing the Network and Telecommunications team within IT Services.
Working closely with Kevin for a number of years in the Network Security space, Jeff too is anxious to find new ways to collaborate within the IT Infrastructure spaces.
All of us in IT know what it is like to be constrained - whether it be time, people, skill sets, or the latest tech - all of it is in high demand. We are trying to stretch ourselves further and further, make do with less and... [ view full abstract ]
All of us in IT know what it is like to be constrained - whether it be time, people, skill sets, or the latest tech - all of it is in high demand. We are trying to stretch ourselves further and further, make do with less and less, and try to keep up with the Joneses.
Many of us in Higher Education IT roles face the same issues and have the same struggles. Streaming media, security awareness, wireless, virtualization, etc. The list goes on and on and is both exciting and exhausting. Every time we turn around there is something new or something else that gets added to the pile.
Years of speaking with colleagues has shown that there exists both a desire and a need for more collaboration between Higher Ed IT teams. While some of this collaboration is present in a few verticals, it is noticeably absent in others. We all claim we want to be involved but nothing seems to happen. When it comes down to actually sharing information, the desire seems to disappear and efforts are often met with a deafening silence.
How do we move from where we are today, where organizations are hesitant or unable to share with one another to a place where there is open and active communication. How do we move to culture where the communication consists of both the good things and bad things that go on in our daily activities, where the communication is bidirectional and vibrant?
Re-Introducing Special Interest Groups or SIGs. We all have gifted and passionate people on our teams who would be happy to chat for a bit and share some knowledge. Simple or complicated, the amount of tech knowledge that we can pass on to our colleagues is extensive and very much in need today.
Leaning on some lessons learned from other SIG’s let's look at some of the options available to us and explore them. In this interactive presentation we will discuss some successes, failures and lessons learned that we have experienced in our careers. We look forward to a lively discussion on how to change the collective culture among Higher Ed IT groups in creating a truly sustainable culture of of collaboration!
