Iain Middleton is based in the Learning Technology Unit at the University of Aberdeen where he is currently working on a 3-year JISC-funded project to develop Web teaching and learning packages around the Museums and Special Collections, having previously been Web Editor at The Robert Gordon University where he played a leading role in the comprehensive redevelopment of the institution's Web presence. He holds a degree in Human Computer Interaction from Heriot-Watt University and a Masters in Information Analysis (Distinction) from The Robert Gordon University where he also spent 5 years in research at the School of Information and Media, specialising in help desks, online user support systems and communication on the World Wide Web. He is a member of the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP) and maintains his research interest in the co-ordination of Web sites and help desks in user support, and the role of the Web in Higher Education. Iain gave a joint presentation with Mike McConnell on "Centralised Control Or Departmental Freedom?".

Mike McConnell is the Web Team Manager of the University of Aberdeen's Web Design Unit and currently manages a team of 5 staff who are responsible for the University's central Web presence, and the maintenance of certain departments and sections across the institution. Mike has formerly worked at the Robert Gordon University as an Educational Development Officer, and as a researcher in Information Science. Prior to that he worked at the sharp end of IT user support in the oil services industry. Mike has published on technology issues in education, Web usability and produced a number of educational Web applications. Mike has an MA in English Literature and the History of Art, a Pg Dip in Information Analysis, an MSc in Information Science, a PgCert in Tertiary Level Teaching and is a member of CILIP. Mike gave a joint presentation with Iain Middleton on "Centralised Control Or Departmental Freedom?".

Scott Wilson works for CETIS. He was initially responsible for turning the CETIS site into THE portal for learning technology standards. Scott is an Assistant Director of CETIS, and has a special interest in standards for infrastructure and enterprise integration. Scott spoke in a panel session on Web 2.0. Scott can be contacted at s.wilson@bangor.ac.uk.

Iain Middleton is a lecturer in E-Business and ICT at the Robert Gordon University. He played a co-ordinating role in RGU's 2005 site-wide Web redevelopment - the second time he has done so, having previously been Web Editor when the site moved to a CMS in 2000. In the intervening years he worked at the University of Aberdeen's Learning Technology Unit, developing educational Web sites and project managing the development of staff and student portals. He has also been a researcher and a help desk slave. Iain is a writer for Faulkner Information Services and has published on help desks and user support, Web strategies and educational technology. Iain participated in a debate on "CMS: Challenging the Consensus". Iain can be contacted via http://www.imiddleton.com/?page=contact.

Mike McConnell is the Web Team Manager of the University of Aberdeen's Web Design Unit and currently manages a team of six staff who are responsible for the University's central Web presence, and the maintenance of certain departments and sections across the institution. Mike formerly worked at the Robert Gordon University as an Educational Development Officer, and as a researcher in Information Science. Prior to that he worked at the sharp end of IT user support in the oil services industry. Mike has published on technology issues in education, Web usability and produced a number of educational Web applications. Mike participated in a debate on "CMS: Challenging the Consensus". Mike can be contacted at m.mcconnell@abdn.ac.uk.

David Harrison is Assistant Director of Information Services at Cardiff University with responsibility for Strategy and Engagement. He had previously been a Director and a Head of Service at two other universities. He is also a past-Chair of the Universities and Colleges Information Systems Association (UCISA) and CEO of Welsh Networking. He has an interest in how emergent technologies from external providers (especially Web 2.0 tools) can be accommodated within traditional service delivery models but more especially he is interested in the cultural change agenda that needs to be considered in ensuring successful implementation and take-up of new technologies. In this, the role of enablement and education become of paramount importance, as does the concept of partnership working both within and outside the enterprise. David gave a plenary talk entitled "Servicing 'Core' and 'Chore': A framework for understanding a Modern IT Working Environment" with Joe Nicholls.

Debbie Nicholson has worked in Web and Learning Technology (WaLT) at the University of Essex for 8 years as a Web Developer, and more recently as WaLT Project Manager. Debbie is currently project managing the relocation of all the University Professional Service web content from individual office based sites, to audience based content incorporated in to the corporate site and design. Debbie chaired the day 2 morning session.

Chris Sexton is Director of Corporate Information and Computing Services at the University of Sheffield. Chris will be giving a plenary talk entitled "The Web in Turbulent Times".

Richard Brierton has been working in the Web team at the University of Sheffield since 2003 - initially as a Web Developer, and since 2007 as head of the web team. Since graduating with a degree in Multimedia Technology (video, animation, web etc), he has run through a wide-range of activities at the university - web development, design, usability, server setup and administration, improving resilience of systems, video streaming, collaboration tools plus a whole host of other things he cares not to mention. The team also spend a lot of time working with their Web Marketing team on cross-cutting work! Current fads are creating an editor community; training up the web editor community; upgrading/replacing their CMS; increasing user support and buy-in, most of which he'll be talking about at the conference. Richard will be giving a plenary talk entitled "Replacement CMS - Getting it right and getting the buy-in", part of the Doing the Day Job session.

Phil Wilson is a Web Developer working at the University of Bath. He has been writing enterprise Java applications for the past five years and has previously delivered talks on Microformats, Wikis and extreme programming. In his free time he writes code for distributed syndication tools and exploring and sharing the social graph. His blog is philwilson.org: a geek commodity. Phil facilitated a workshop on "What's the Point of having Developers in a Web 2.0 World?" with Tom Natt.

Nicholas Watson is the media account manager for Corporate Projects for Learning and Teaching Solutions (LTS) - the media production arm of the Open University (OU). He is responsible for production of Open Educational Resources such as OpenLearn, iTunes U and YouTube. Nicholas facilitated a workshop on "Podcasting and iTunes U: Institutional Approaches to Scaleable Service" with Jeremy Speller. Nicholas can be contacted at n.watson@open.ac.uk

Debbie Nicholson has worked in the Web Support Unit (WSU) at the University of Essex for 6 years. As well as working as part of the Web Design Team, responsible for the maintenance and development of the University corporate pages, Web site design and Web related support and training for staff, Debbie is currently working as a project manager for the Unit. Debbie has just project managed the rebuild of the new University Web site, and is busy planning phase 2 which will look at delivery of web information from departments and sections and the introduction of new Faculties. Debbie facilitated a workshop on "Hands Up if You Haven't done Yours Yet..." with Keith Brooke.

Kwansuree Jiamton is the ICT Manager at the Health Sciences and Practice Subject Centre; part of the HE Academy. Working at King's College London since 2000, she has an active role in Web site development and interoperability, e-learning projects and strategic planning. Kwansuree facilitated a workshop on "The Real Information Environment" with Martin Poulter.

Dan Jackson is the Web Team Leader at City University London. He is part of a small team responsible for the maintenance and development of the University Web site, CMS and related systems and applications. During his time at the University Dan has overseen a site redesign and an accessibility audit. He has over 7 years experience in Web development, and his interests include Web standards, usability, accessibility, client-side coding and PHP. Dan facilitated a workshop on "Coping with Forms: Implementing a Web Form Management Application".

Tony Hirst is an itinerant academic in the Department of Communication and Systems, and member of the Socialearn core project team. He blogs regularly about educational Web technologies and RSS feed powered mashups at http://ouseful.info/ (although most of his readers would being admit to being confused by most of the posts, most of the time). Tony will be facilitating a workshop on "Introducing Socialearn".

Claire Gibbons is now the Web Manager for the University of Bradford (previously the Web Officer since September 2000), working within the department of Marketing and Communications, and responsible for the management of the University's new Web Team. Claire is responsible for the University's 'corporate Web' and works closely with departments and Schools to ensure consistency of University brand and message as well as compliance with standards and legislation, such as SENDA and the University's own Code of Practice for Web Based Materials. Claire is nearing the end of the Chartered Management Institute Diploma in Management - which has sparked her recent (and slightly obsessive) interest in organisational culture, 'people' and 'behaviours'. Claire has been a member of the Web CMS Project core team since October 2005. Claire facilitated a workshop on "Web CMS and University Web Teams Part II - the Never Ending Story?" with Russell Allen.

Steven Warburton is an e-learning ICT manager at King's College London with a wealth of experience in the implementation and evaluation of learning technology within a variety of educational settings. He has managed both technical and pedagogically driven e-learning projects that have included work on personal publishing tools, social software, virtual learning environments, and the development of blended teaching programmes. Steven gave a plenary talk on "What does 'Community of Practice' mean for Institutional Web Managers?".

Alison Wildish is Head of Web Services at Edge Hill University where, for the past seven years, she has led a team responsible for the development of the corporate Web site(s), intranet sites and Web services. Prior to joining Edge Hill, Alison was developing Web applications in the commercial sector. Alison has an active interest in the opportunities offered by personalisation and user owned technologies and gave a plenary talk on "Let the Students do the Talking...."

Dr Miranda Stephenson was heavily involved in establishing the National Science Learning Centre which is based on the University of York campus. Miranda welcomed delegates to the University of York at the start of the Institutional Web Management Workshop 2007 event.

John Harrison is the CEO of Maxsi. Maxsi are developers of eVisit Analyst, a range of advanced Web site analysis tools used by universities such as Northumbria and Exeter. John participated in the panel session on "Dealing with the Commercial World: Saviour or Satan?"

The Institutional Repository (IR) had a meteoric rise to fame. In a brief blaze of glory, it was heralded as the facilitator of a free exchange of information within the academic research community - a faster, cheaper and more effective way to conduct scholarly communications in the twenty-first century. Then, just as quickly, fame changed to infamy. The technology, the ownership, and the very ideal of the IR has been called into question by many and varied voices in the wider academic community and beyond. I would like to explore the really controversial aspects of the IR, and ask my audience to consider that perhaps, just perhaps, there was something useful there all along.

Rob Bristow, JISC as Programme Manager for e-Administration gives a plenary talk on Institutional Responses to Emergent Technologies - What JISC is Doing. As users of all sorts become more familiar with new technologies (including both Web 2.0 type software tools and user-owned devices) and become used to, and expectant of, managing their own data through 'self-service' applications and systems, questions are asked of institutions as to how they will respond to these new demands. JISC has been investigating this area through strands within its e-Learning and Users and Innovation programmes which have been focussed in the main on the learners' and users' experience. JISC has recently funded a further series of projects that address the way that institutions are responding to these new challenges, looking at organisational policies, practice and strategies, as well as funding pilot projects that demonstrate actual institutional responses. This work is in its early stages but the scope of the responses to the call for projects and some of the early results of the landscape study will provide some interesting real life information about institutional responses from across the sector. This talk will describe the work that JISC is doing and relate it to the Institutional Web Manager world.

Starts: Mon, 16 Dec 2024 19:00:00 -0500
'Tis the season to celebrate with your alma mater!<b>&nbsp;</b>The <b>McGill Alumni Association of Boston (MAAB)</b> invites you to a festive holiday party to ring in the festive season with your fellow Boston-area alumni.&nbsp;<div><br /></div><div>Don your favorite festive attire and join us at <b>Street State Provisions</b> for an evening of good food and socializing in their private lounge. If you haven't had the chance to attend a MAAB social yet, this is a <b>perfect opportunity to meet your local McGill community</b> before the year is over.&nbsp;<div><br /></div><div>Your ticket includes your first cocktail, non-alcoholic beverages, and an array of hors d'oeuvres. You will also have the chance to win one of our fabulous door prizes. Space is limited; get your ticket today!</div><div><br /></div></div>
Location: Boston, U. S. A.

Smart planning policies and room for expansion is ensuring Melbourne keeps its affordability and acclaimed quality of life as it becomes Australia’s biggest city over the next few decades. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, Melbourne will overtake Sydney in population by 2053, projected to be home to over 7.7 million people. Currently 4.35 million people live in Melbourne compared to 4.76 million in Sydney but more people are moving to Melbourne than other Australian capital city, drawn by a vibrant and cosmopolitan culture, great public amenities and transport infrastructure and a geographical location that allows the city to expand outwards to accommodate new arrivals at lower cost than other major Australian cities.

President Bill Clinton, founder of the Clinton Foundation and 42nd President of the United States and artist / activist Sir Bob Geldof will be among the high-level speakers who will join thousands of the world's top AIDS researchers, scientific and community leaders, people living with HIV and policy-makers at the 20th International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2014) taking place on 20-25 July in Melbourne. Their presence is set to further enhance the very strong program that has been put in place for AIDS 2014. President Clinton has a very strong track record in advocating for HIV/AIDS treatment in disadvantaged communities around the world. Sir Bob Geldof has the ability to motivate millions of people as we have seen over decades of activism. His music and such events as Live Aid and Band Aid have raised global awareness of famine and poverty.

International consumer management company, Gigya, has opened an office in Melbourne as part of its expansion into the Asia-Pacific region. The move comes after strong growth in 2013 for the US-based company, during which it processed more than 800 million logins for clients in 46 countries, including Tommy Hilfiger, the Independent, the Globe and Mail, KLM, L'Occitane, Next Media, Japan Airlines and Canon.

Fonterra has opened a new A$6 million ricotta manufacturing plant in north central Victoria that will deliver global opportunities for the Victorian dairy industry. Built with $250,000 grant from the Victorian Government, the Perfect Italiano Ricotta project demonstrates Fonterra’s ongoing commitment to maintaining a presence in northern Victoria and boosts the company’s Stanhope workforce to 126.

Australia’s world ranking for biotechnology innovation jumped from seventh to fourth on Scientific American’s latest ‘Worldview’ scorecard. The publication’s scorecard provides a balanced assessment of biotechnology innovation around the world and indicated that Australia’s biotech market is undergoing a resurgence.

The new Japan-Australia Economic Partnership Agreement (JAEPA), signed on 8 July 2014, will strengthen economic ties between the two nations. Japan is Australia’s third largest direct foreign investor with A$130 million worth of investment stock in Australia in 2013.

A new wearable pressure sensor has been developed which could be used to monitor people’s health at anytime and anywhere. Researchers from Monash University’s Departments of Chemical Engineering and Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, and the Melbourne Centre for Nanofabrication, produced the new sensor by sandwiching ultrathin gold nanowire-impregnated tissue paper between two polymer sheets.

Amazon Web Services (AWS) has grown its Australian service locations to Melbourne. The expanded company will roll out Amazon CloudFront - a content delivery Web service that offers both businesses and developers an easy way to distribute content with low latency and high data transfer speeds.

Ratings agency Standard & Poor's (S&P) has reaffirmed Australia's triple-A credit rating and stable economic outlook, stating that the sovereign credit ratings on Australia benefit from the country's strong institutional settings, its wealthy and resilient economy, and a high degree of monetary and fiscal policy flexibility. “These factors provide Australia with a strong ability to absorb large economic and financial shocks, as was demonstrated during the global recession in 2009,” S&P said.

Australia remains a top 10 global destination for foreign direct investment (FDI) for a third straight year after attracting US$50 billion in foreign direct investment in 2013, according to the UN Conference on Trade and Development’s (UNCTAD) World Investment Report 2014. Over the three years to 2013, FDI flows to Australia rose nearly 55 per cent to US$171 billion from US$110 billion over the previous three years. This impressive growth has expanded Australia’s share of global FDI inflows to 3.8 per cent in 2011-13 from 2.5 per cent in 2008-10. In contrast, developed economies’ share of world FDI inflows fell to 44 per cent in 2011-13 from 53 per cent in 2008-10.

San Francisco-based IT company, Zendesk, is expanding its operations in Melbourne to take advantage of Victoria’s strong information technology skills base. “Our head of product and engineering says Melbourne is the best place for us to hire right now because of the combination of expectations, talent and production,” said Mikkel Svane, co-founder and chief executive of US-based Zendesk.

Australia has achieved its highest ever ranking in the 2014 Global Innovation Index (GII). The GII 2014 surveyed 143 economies around the world, using 81 indicators to gauge both their innovation capabilities and measurable results.

Former US President Bill Clinton has told delegates at the 20th International AIDS Conference, AIDS 2014 in Melbourne, that finding more economically efficient ways to respond to HIV is vital to saving lives and preventing the spread of the virus. Mr Clinton’s speech was made to over 2,000 people at one of the most eagerly anticipated sessions at the AIDS 2014 conference in Melbourne.

New Zealand-based hydraulic equipment specialist, Transport Hydraulic Solutions (THS), has opened a large manufacturing facility in the Melbourne northern suburb of Campbellfield (26.5 km north of the city centre). “A growing number of Melbourne clients are located around this area, and for those who are based further away, our office is right near the freeway where the Western Ring Road and Hume Highway intersect,” said Managing Director of THS, Brenden Lyons.

US-based data visualisation software storage company, DataCore Software, has expanded its operations in Melbourne. The new marketing function located in Melbourne delivers demand-generation programs and better serves the DataCore Australia-New Zealand partnership.

The Victorian Government is calling for Expressions of Interest to develop Federation Square East – an iconic site in the heart of Melbourne. Global developers are invited to respond to the EOI which will be officially released to the market on Monday 15 September 2014, presenting an exciting opportunity to create a vibrant, mixed use development that may incorporate commercial components — including shops, bars and even accommodation.

La Trobe University in Melbourne will bring its world-class scientific expertise to the newly launched Olivia Newton-John Cancer Research Institute (ONJCRI).

Australia’s largest biotechnology company, Commonwealth Serum Laboratories (CSL), will invest A$210 million to expand albumin production at its Broadmeadows manufacturing site (25 minutes from Melbourne’s city centre) to meet increasing demand for its global ‘ablumin’ critical care therapy. The planned manufacturing facility for the Broadmeadows site is expected to create up to 200 jobs during construction, with a further 190 manufacturing jobs once the plant is operational.

Aegis Services Australia has announced it will expand its business processing outsourcing operations in Victoria, creating 550 new jobs over the next two years. Aegis is a global outsourcing and technology company. The expansion will mean a doubling of the company’s existing local workforce and a substantial investment in training and up-skilling of employees. The company’s announcement underscores Victoria's strong reputation as a destination for global investment and business services centre.

The Victorian Government has launched Australia's first web tool specifically designed to help Victorian communities locate mining and exploration activities in their regions quickly and easily. The Mining Licences Near Me web tool ensures greater transparency for communities regarding industry activity in their region, both onshore and offshore, including minerals, gas and quarries.

Applications are now open for the second round of the prestigious A$1.8 million Victorian Postdoctoral Research Fellowships Program, being delivered by veski. The fellowships aim to strengthening Victoria’s innovation capabilities by enabling talented young researchers to work at world leading research centres before returning to Victoria. The Victorian Government offered six fellowships in 2013 and is again offering up to six fellowships to begin in 2015.

The expression of interest for the Ballarat West Employment Zone (BWEZ) has officially opened. BWEZ is the Ballarat region’s engine room for jobs and economic growth over the next 20 years. Located just over an hour north-west from the Melbourne city centre, Ballarat has fantastic connections to road, rail, ports and airports and the region is home to a large, skilled and stable workforce. With an increasing population of 100,000, Ballarat is one of the largest inland cities in Australia and serves as a key access point to the other regional centres in Northern and Western Victoria.

Japanese food production company, Kaiteki Fresh has announced a new state-of-the-art hydroponic facility in Bunyip, one hour east of Melbourne. The multi-million dollar investment will be the first facility of its kind outside of Asia, and will create 40 new local jobs. Kaiteki Fresh Australia, a subsidiary of Japan’s Mitsubishi Corporation, is a global leader in food production and technology.

The Fu Wah International Group will establish its Australian headquarters in Melbourne, bringing 20 jobs to Victoria. A high-end real-estate development and commercial property management group based in China, the company recently took ownership of the iconic Melbourne Park Hyatt Hotel and is exploring other investment opportunities in Victoria's property and hotel sector.