McMaster IT connects at Connectivity – the 2018 IT Forum!
On October 11th, over 200 McMaster professionals gathered for the second annual Connectivity – McMaster’s IT Forum. Participants enjoyed a full day of interactive sessions tailored to sharing knowledge and information relevant to McMaster and the higher education IT landscape.
The 2018 agenda was developed based on feedback and input from participants. Watch the 2018 Welcome Video to learn more about what was in store for the day.
Following inspiring opening remarks delivered by University Librarian Vivian Lewis, McMaster AVP and CTO Gayleen Gray presented the draft McMaster IT Strategic Plan. With the final plan set to launch in January 2019, engagement for the McMaster IT Strategic Plan will continue over the coming months as Gayleen looks to address all related questions submitted at the Forum and those that may be forthcoming. Watch this space for further updates!
Connectivity attendees were invited to submit questions via an interactive polling tool. Questions about the McMaster IT Strategic Plan were then addressed by a panel moderated of McMaster representatives including: Sue Becker, Professor, Department of Psychology Neuroscience and Behaviour (PNB); Gayleen Gray, McMaster AVP & CTO, Rocco Piro, Director IT, Faculty of Health Sciences and Ranil Sonnadara, Executive Director of Research and High Performance Computing Services (RHPCS). The panel discussion was moderated by: Director, Finance & Administration, DeGroote School of Business.
Other highlights from this year’s Forum included a robust speed learning session, experiential breakout sessions on topics such as
Design Thinking and importantly, numerous opportunities to network and connect with colleagues from across the organization. In the words of one participant; “Overall the IT Forum was great! I got to network and find out what other people are doing and what we can harness in our department.” Presentation materials and information from this year’s event are available on Confluence. Further feedback and interest in being involved in the 2019 IT Forum Organizing Committee can be sent to itforum@mcmaster.ca.