The TICAL Thematic Meeting on Security and CERT, organized by RedCLARA as part of the collaborative activities of the Directors of Technology who form the TICAL Community, will take place this Thursday, April 9th.

The event will address the synergies between the collaboration of the CERT and the academic institutions through the Uruguayan experience, and the impact and challenges faced by the universities in the field of Security today. To reach it, representatives of the Universidad de la Republica (UdelaR) and CERTUy, both from Uruguay, will attend the meeting, telling about the collaboration experience developed in their country. Furthermore, the event will review the reasons why this type of initiative is a so valuable line of work to address the complex problems under Security.

Those interested in participating in the TICAL Thematic Meeting on Security and CERT through videoconference should complete the application form until this Wednesday, April 8th, and participate in the equipment testing session.

For more information about the event and about how to participate in it, please visit: https://eventos.redclara.net/indico/event/489

AGENDA

Thursday, April 9th, 2015

15:00 GMT | Welcome and connection adjustments
Marcela Larenas, RedCLARA, Chile

15:10 GMT | What is CERT (or CSIRT)? And what are its objectives and functions? The Experience of Uruguay
Eng. Ignacio Lagomarsino, CERTuy

15:30 GMT | The challenges of the University on Security today. Academic Vision / I+D
Dr. Eng and Eng Betarte Gustavo Alejandro Blanco - Faculty of Engineering, UdelaR

15:50 GMT | The technical aspects
Eng. Monica Soliño - SeCIU, UdelaR

16:10 GMT | Collaboration between CERT and universities: the experience of the University of the Republic and CERTUy in a mark of permanent collaboration and the challenges for the short and medium term
All panelists them

16:30 GMT | Questions and comments from participants in the classroom and streaming

After the brazilian Mauro Cesar Bernardes and the argentine Ernesto Chinkes, now is the chilean Nadja Starocelsky who answers our five questions about TICAL. In this interview, Starocelsky, who attended the TICAL 2014 as author and member of the Programme Committee, talks about the importance she gives to the event: "TICAL is the perfect opportunity to develop the cooperation".

Hello, Nadja! Tell us a little about yourself and your training.

Hi! I am a Civil Engineer in the Austral University of Chile, from those times when these careers were recently incorporated into the academic offerings of Chilean universities. Between 2010 and 2012 I did a Masters in Information Technology. Since 1990 I’ve been professionally working, starting this road in Telco companies. In 1995 I joint the Austral University of Chile as Head of Development Projects, aiming to modernize the Corporate Information Systems. After 15 years of developing different tasks as project leader and having implemented various systems at the University, I started working as Director of Information Technology.

Which was your first contact with the advanced networks and how do you evaluate its development since then?

I would say that around 2007 I had the first contacts with the advanced networks, when the Austral University of Chile implemented several Videoconferencing systems as a means of eliminating boundaries with other universities. But it was in 2010, when I started as Director of Information Technology, and in 2012, when I was appointed as the institutional representative to REUNA, when I really knew the true potential of the advanced networks. Universities that are attached to these networks have great advantages for collaboration between institutions both in the field of teaching and research, sharing knowledge, data, applications, among others.

In this context, what is the importance of TICAL for the growth of the networks and professionals in the field of ICT?

TICAL is a unique experience that allows professionals in the areas of IT in Latin America to share their experiences, build partnerships and establish or expand their networks; where issues associated with IT in teaching, research and liaison issues are widely discussed. In addition, TICAL is a space that allows us to recognize the potential of advanced networks for teaching and research.

You participated in the last two editions of TICAL, and in the last one in Cancún you were member of the Program Committee and author of a paper. What lessons did you get of these different experiences?

I have always considered that sharing work experiences among similar institutions generate important savings in terms of time and costs to organizations. When I knew about TICAL as a way of contributing to issues that involve the role and work of the Directors of Information Technology in Latin America, I could not pass up the opportunity to attend or participate in it. TICAL has allowed me to validate the fact that demands of IT in universities in the region are similar and therefore the Directors of Information Technology are confronted with similar problems. It gave me the opportunity to learn about experiences and innovative initiatives in other institutions, and forming links and networks with other directors and also to get proposals for universities from different vendors.

Personally and professionally, what are your expectations for TICAL2015? And why Chileans should attend the event this year?

I hope TICAL2015 exceeds the success of previous versions, a space where we –the ICT Directors- meet presentations of innovative initiatives and spaces to share enriching experiences. I have no doubt that my expectations will be amply met in this release. In Chile there are a variety of initiatives in Information Technology that can be shared with our peers and TICAL is the perfect opportunity to develop this cooperation!, especially considering that this year the distance should not be a variable that limits us to participate.

The General Coordinator of Information and Communications Technologies of the University of Buenos Aires, Ernesto Chinkes, is, for  the third time, the president of the Program Committee of the TICAL Conference, which will reach its fifth edition between 6 and 8 of July, in Viña del Mar, Chile. With this interview, we continue our series "Five Questions to" in which we will discover the importance given to the Conference by those who were its main characters in recent years.

Hello, Ernesto! Tell us a little about yourself and about your professional background.

Hello! I am Ernesto Chinkes, licensed in Information Systems of the Organizations at the University of Buenos Aires. Currently, in this career, I am an associate professor in charge of two cathedra (Data System and Business Intelligence), I’ve been continuously exerting university teaching for the last 20 years. In this context, I also worked in research and published three books. Professionally, for more than 25 years I've been working in Consulting and in Direction of Projects and of IT areas. In 2000 I had the opportunity to start driving ICT projects within the University of Buenos Aires and in 2009 it was created the General Coordination of Information and Communications Technology, for which I’m responsible until today.

What was your first contact with the advanced networks and how do you evaluate its development since then?

It was in 2002 that I first heard about these networks, but I got to know them better only in 2010, when I started to have direct contact with InnovaRed (the administrator of the Argentine Advanced Network) to evaluate the bandwidth that my university needed to hire. In the next year I participated in TICAL2011 and it was there that I really approached the network at the regional level and I took note of the progress in its development. From that moment, my impression is that the Argentine network is growing significantly, not only by the increase in bandwidth and in scope, but also because of the different strategies that encourage its use. It is currently a network with a great potential and we must have the intelligence to use it and strengthen the academic and research strategies. The advanced networks can offer to the various parts of the university community (researchers, teachers, students, etc. ) collaborative possibilities without geographical boundaries, besides the sharing and the exploitation of large volumes of data, access to tools and other opportunities that enhance the possibilities and capabilities that already exist in the institutions.

In this context, what is the importance of TICAL for the development of the networks and of the professionals in the field of ICT?

The Conference generated and occupied a space that, in my opinion, plays an extremely significant role to realize the full potential that the networks have to offer to the academic and scientific world. In this context, we, who are responsible for the ICT in higher education institutions in the region, have the opportunity to know which experiences are being carried out by other universities in this field, and, therefore, also in relation to the advanced networks. TICAL also allows us to relate to our partners, enabling joint projects, as well as establishing contact networks that are a substantial support to work on many of these initiatives.

You are part of the Program Committee for the fourth time and, for the third time, its president. Your participation in TICAL is very active and relevant. What lessons did you get in the different experiences?

When I hear this question it comes to my mind a multitude of lived moments that contributed to my professional and personal growth. That is why this question is not only working on my memory but also in a set of sensations inside me. TICAL is an unforgettable moment and I was fortunate to participate in its growth and evolution. However, I could say that all editions had to me the same common denominator: after TICAL, the professional that returned to Argentina was a different one. Someone with more ideas and projects, someone who felt part of a community with common problems and challenges, someone who grew up after sharing different cultures and realities, someone motivated and enthusiastic ... well, someone better.

Having participated in the four previous editions allows me to have, today, a lot of friends and colleagues distributed in the different institutions in Latin America. People with whom I know I can count. On the other hand, I also own a "reservoir" of experiences and projects which can use when needed.

Personally and professionally, what are your expectations for TICAL2015? And why the Argentines should participate?

My expectations are very high! TICAL has the virtue of evolving year after year and that is why I am convinced that the 2015 edition, in Viña del Mar, will exceed the previous edition. I know this means reaching a very high standard, but TICAL is a collective construction that has been consolidated and now has a whole community committed in supporting the initiative, where all those who will  add themselves in the future will contribute to empower it even more. So far, I hope we receive a large number of papers for the three open calls, that ends in April. This year we have also incorporated a new call to promote collaborative projects between institutions. In TICAL, the main actors are the participants and that is why these papers are the main fuel for the success of the event. I also expect a large number of participants for what it can bring in relation to the representation of countries and professional wealth. Finally, I hope that once again we have the support of industry-leading companies and that we maintain the high level of lectures given by guest speakers.

Susan Grajek, vice-president of Data, Research and Analysis of EDUCAUSE (USA), MS. Manuel Moreno Castañeda, rector of the Virtual University System of the University of Guadalajara (Mexico), and Eloy Rodrigues, director of the Documentation Services of the University of Minho (Portugal), are the first three international speakers to confirm their participation in the fifth edition of TICAL Conference, to be held between 6 and 8 of July of 2015, in the city of Viña del Mar, in Chile.

Susan Grajek is EDUCAUSE's vice president for data, research, and analytics. She also has programmatic responsibility for EDUCAUSE cybersecurity, GRC (governance, risk and compliance) and administrative IT programs.

Before joining EDUCAUSE, she spent over 25 years at Yale University. She served as deputy relationship manager in Yale's Information Technology Services (ITS) division. In that role, she oversaw ITS strategy, planning, relationship management, and project execution for the university's academic administration and general counsel. Before that, she held the position of senior director of ITS Strategy and Planning, in which she coordinated development of Yale's first IT strategic plan and led the creation and execution of the university's current IT security strategy.

MSc. Manuel Moreno Castañeda is Rector of the Virtual University System of the University of Guadalajara - which he also founded -, and Professor of History at the University of Guadalajara (Mexico). From 1964 to 1975 he was professor at all teaching levels and teacher trainer.

From the 90s to date, he is especially dedicated to research and teaching in distance education, advising projects of Mexico and of other countries; he has also been in charge of the organization of 17 international meetings of distance education.

Eloy Rodrigues is Director of Documentation Services of the University of Minho, the focus of his work has been the development of digital libraries, the training of librarians and library users, and the promotion of the open access to scientific literature through the institutional repositories. He is the author of more than three dozen of articles, books and book chapters on these matters.

In 2003, he led the creation of the RepositoriUM - the institutional repository of the University of Minho, directing the service ever since. In the late 2004, he contributed to the definition of the policy of free access of the University to its scientific production.

Registration

Remember that only until May 31 you can subscribe to TICAL2015 with promotional prices (payment can be made via PayPal and VISA). Register today, HERE.

Call for papers

In order to ensure the presentation of the papers that will be selected in the calls of TICAL2015, the author of each one (or one of them, in case of collective works) will receive round trip flight tickets to Chile, to attend the Conference.

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