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Cybera Cyber Summit 2018

What we're looking forward to at the upcoming Cybera Cyber Summit in Kananaskis, Alberta.
By Rob Williamson
Marketing Manager

What we’re looking forward to at the upcoming Cybera Cyber Summit in Kananaskis, Alberta.

Mind the gap. That is the theme of this year’s Cyber Summit put on by Cybera. Cybera is a non-profit technical agency that helps Alberta to advance its IT frontiers. Like other research networks across the country, their original mandate was in connecting university research institutions but has expanded to support a much richer mandate around connectivity, cloud computing and security.

Their annual summit is always a highlight for us, and not because it is a chance to visit beautiful Kananaskis country but because we get to connect with Canadian leaders in a very well-run conference. The conference really puts the end goal in focus so while we get to hear about the amazing technology people are implementing, how it is being used by members of the network is what matters.

Here are the top things we are really looking forward to at Cybera.

Andrew Keen: keynote on strategies for fixing the future

Andrew can be seen as a bit of a curmudgeonly visionary in technology writing but his latest book, How to fix the future actually takes an optimistic view of the path we appear to be going down. It is a prescription combining five key strategies—regulation, innovation, education, consumer empowerment and citizen engagement—for fixing the future.

Talk on the responsible collection and use of student data

Sandra Climenhaga, Assistant Manager of Data Services, Greater Saskatoon Catholic Schools will be speaking about how to responsibly collect and use student data. How data is managed is under the microscope more than ever in the wake of recent PIPEDA changes, that are designed to help protect personal data used in the private sector.

Schools continue to increase connected learning to take education beyond the classroom. This presentation will touch on how they are using information to make decisions, outline the need to protect student data and give some examples of problems.

Panel: Security Measures in Canada’s Public Sector: Getting our Ducks in a Row

CIRA’s connection with research networks is mostly related to helping build IXPs in Canada and our cybersecurity initiatives, so of course we are keenly interested in this panel. The focus purports to compare how to balance shared resources with individual projects and how to coordinate efforts. This panel is bringing together a balance of CIOs and cybersecurity-focused experts and should provide a great look at strategic views and tactical implementations. Shout-out to our friend Jaymon Lefebvre, who sits on this panel, and has some really interesting implementations to support mobile learning but also a great vision for how we can work together.

Jim Ghadbane on the roles of different intelligence

Last but not least in our top three topics is Jim Ghadbane, President and CEO, CANARIE. Now lets be clear, we are a paid sponsor so we aren’t shouting out Jim as some kind of virtual attempt to get a discount on next years sponsorship. His topic is not only interesting, but something we are covering in a few weeks at our member meet-up in Montreal. He is going to discuss the roles of human intelligence, delegated intelligence and artificial intelligence in building a prosperous future for all. This outlook kind of brings the keynote talk full circle with some optimism, rather than fear of what the future has in store.

About the author
Rob Williamson

Rob brings over 20 years of experience in the technology industry writing, presenting and blogging on subjects as varied as software development tools, silicon reverse engineering, cyber-security and the DNS. An avid product marketer who takes the time to speak to IT professionals with the information and details they need for their jobs.

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