Connect IT is put on by the students of the Information Technology Management (yours truly is in the same program) at Ryerson University.  Each year the one day conference covers a different theme and topic related to global trends in IT Management.  This year the event’s tag-line is “Small Rooms, Big Ideas : weaving our social fabric with technology”, which focuses on IT helping to create global cities:

The advancements of Information Technology (IT) in the past decade have pushed this discipline and industry into the forefront of solving increasingly complex problems. With the relationship of IT and the social fabric of society generally overlooked we are witnessing an unparalleled time of break-fix solutions and ailing innovation. Challenges faced by individuals, society and ultimately the city can no longer afford to be solved superficially.

Small Rooms | Big Ideas challenges existing debate and conversation methods by breaking the big issues into small bites. We will explore the various ways IT impacts our lives and areas of habitation. By using the city as a focal point, we will create conversations about enabling citizens in ways unique to their social, political and economic structure at both the local and global level.

Two people who are going to be at the event that I can’t wait to hear from include Mark Surman, Executive Director of the Mozilla Foundation, who will be giving the keynote lecture, and Mark Kuznicki, Principal at Remarkk! Consulting, who will be sitting on the panel, “Global Knowledge Cities: Does Toronto make the cut?”.  You can see the full list of speakers on the Connec IT 2009 Speakers page.

I asked Jaime Sorgente, one of the co-organizers why students should go to the event this year:

“Small Rooms | Big Ideas speaks to the power of collaboration and sharing ideas through the use of participation-centric technologies.

By attracting Toronto’s biggest and brightest tech leaders, strategies for managing technology and innovation developments help position Ryerson students as future leaders in the sector…

…With 25% of delegates being industry professionals students are also given the opportunity to interact with potential employers and gain access to real-world insight and experience.” – Jaime Sorgente

Previously, the event featured keynote speakers such as Thomas Homer Dixon, and Mitch Joel.

Connect IT will be held on Wednesday, March 4th from 11:00 am – 10:00 pm , at the Arcadian Court, 401 Bay Street.
The event is $30 for students (from any university) to attend, and $60 for industry attendees.  You can register for Connect IT through EventBrite.

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