NC hosted the first OCCCIO Conference in 2009. This year, 450 IT professionals from colleges across Ontario will flock to Niagara once again to learn, network and collaborate.
June 9 to 12, Niagara College will host the 9th annual OCCCIO (Ontario College Council of Chief Information Officers) Conference. The OCCCIO is a member-run organization made up of Information Technology (IT) professionals from Ontario colleges. The conference is an opportunity for information-sharing and networking. The theme for 2019 is “ITS not magic, IT’S IT.”
“The theme alludes to all of the hard work that IT professionals do behind-the-scenes which students and the public don’t see,” said John Levay, chief technology officer (CTO) at NC. “Cyber security and social engineering are central themes of this year’s conference, as well as ensuring technology is accessible to all students across Ontario. It’s also about finding new ways to work together across the colleges.”
World-famous hacker and cyber security expert, Kevin Mitnick, will deliver the opening keynote at the 2019 OCCCIO Conference at Niagara College.
Pre-conference sessions will be held during the day on June 10, and the conference will kick-off in the evening with keynote Kevin Mitnick at the Niagara-on-the-Lake Campus. Mitnick is widely considered the world’s most famous hacker. He’s also a trusted cyber security expert and global bestselling author. Once on the FBI’s Most Wanted list, Mitnick hacked into more than 40 major corporations for the challenge and is now a trusted security consultant to Fortune 500 companies and governments worldwide. Mitnick’s presentations are described as akin to technology magic shows, fitting right in with the theme of this year’s conference.
Theresa Payton of the CBS TV series Hunted, and former White House CIO,
will speak at the OCCCIO Conference on the impact of the internet of things and securing big data.
On Tuesday morning, keynote Theresa Payton will take the stage. Payton was the former White House CIO under the George W. Bush administration and the first woman in the role. She is the star of the CBS TV series Hunted and is the CEO of her own cyber security company, Fortalice Solutions. Payton will identify emerging trends and techniques to help combat cyber threats.
The 2019 conference will feature over 60 sessions, the majority led by college IT staff.
“The aim is to have college staff share their experiences – their successes, failures and teachable moments – so that others don’t have to reinvent the wheel,” said Levay.
Over forty vendors will also be part of the conference in the marketplace setting and leading sessions and training. NC staff from ITS will lead a variety of sessions, including:
- ‘IT Security – Azure Cloud based Multi-factor Authentication’ led by Colin Bissell, network systems administrator;
- ‘Business Analysis within Higher Education’ led by Claire Rosati, associate director, Project Portfolio Office;
- ‘Niagara College’s OCAS XML Implementation’ led by Brandon Friesen, programmer/analyst;
- ‘Will Artificial Intelligence have a symbiotic or parasitic relationship to a Programmer/Analyst’s job?’ led by Lucia Nigro Stefanchuk, programmer/analyst;
- ‘The Data Governance Journey at Niagara College’ led by Levay, CTO;
- ‘CIO Roundtable’ moderated by Levay, CTO.
“This year’s conference is made possible thanks to NC staff in ITS who have worked tirelessly to coordinate logistics for an event of this caliber,” said Levay. “Senior Vice President Corporate Services, Pam Skinner, has been a huge champion of the conference and NC’s ITS department.”
In-line with the magic theme, attendees will enjoy the best of Niagara Falls entertainment at the Greg Frewin Magic Theatre on Tuesday evening.
NC’s own student-crafted beverages from the Canadian Food and Wine Institute will be served to attendees at the Monday evening reception, and many attendees will stay in Residence at the Welland Campus.
