Monthly Archives: July 2019

Recapping the 2019 Gameful Learning Summer Institute

By | July 29, 2019

For the past three years, the Office of Academic Innovation has hosted the Gameful Learning Summer Institute, an event focused on gameful pedagogies.  This year, more than 50 people from various backgrounds attended the three-day event at the Ross School of Business. Evan Straub, learning experience designer at Academic Innovation, organized this year’s event. With gameful learning, she… Read More »

Rematch 2019! ITS v. HITS Backpack Challenge Fundraiser

For several years, ITS has hosted a “backpack challenge” to deliver fully stocked backpacks to local organizations that serve families in the Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti area that struggle economically. Last year, for the first time, ITS invited their colleagues from HITS to a backpack challenge to see which group could raise the most supplies and cash. The 2018 goal… Read More »

Video: Interview with Sol Bermann, U-M CISO

By | July 24, 2019

Sol Bermann, executive director of information assurance and chief information security officer (CISO) for U-M, was recently interviewed by “EDUCAUSE Review” about the growing need for privacy management, the policies and laws in place to protect our privacy, and how big data has changed the game. In a wide-ranging interview, Bermann discusses: The difference between a chief privacy… Read More »

First programmable memristor computer aims to bring AI processing down from the cloud

By | July 23, 2019

The first programmable memristor computer—not just a memristor array operated through an external computer—has been developed at U-M. It could lead to the processing of artificial intelligence directly on small, energy-constrained devices such as smartphones and sensors. A smartphone AI processor would mean that voice commands would no longer have to be sent to the cloud for interpretation,… Read More »

LSA Technology Services announces new directors

LSA Technology Services continues to evolve in how it provides integrated solutions and technology services to faculty, staff, and students. On July 1, the organization was restructured to better achieve its strategic goals. As part of that effort, LSA CIO Cathy Curley announced a new leadership team: Mark Bacon, Operational Effectiveness Pat Belden, Web and Application Development Services Monika… Read More »

Bermann named Chief Information Security Officer

By | July 18, 2019

Sol Bermann, J.D. was named executive director of Information Assurance and chief information security officer (CISO) for the University of Michigan in June 2019. He served as U-M’s interim chief information security officer during the 2014/15 and 2017/19 academic years. Since joining the university in 2011, Bermann has served as the university’s interim CISO, university privacy officer, and… Read More »

Submit your proposal to the 2019 Michigan IT Symposium

The Michigan IT Symposium Committee is now accepting proposals for conference sessions to be held at the 2019 Michigan IT Symposium. This year’s theme is “Sparking Connections & Igniting Ideas Across U-M” and will feature more breakout session opportunities than in previous years. The 2019 event will bring the U-M IT community together to highlight innovations and share… Read More »

Container Service debuts at the U

The new ITS Container Service – a foundational technology for modernizing ITS teaching and learning, web hosting, and other services – has officially arrived. This offering provides the university with a high availability, secure environment for hosting containerized applications and services.  Containerization is a virtualization method offering several benefits over bare metal and virtual machines. As environments are… Read More »

$1K professional growth grants available to staff

The Voices of the Staff Career Development Fund is now accepting grant applications. This fund aims to support you in enhancing your professional experience at the university by offering grants of up to $1,000 to fund career development and learning and educational enrichment. Grants are available to support your participation in seminars, workshops, apprenticeships, continuing education, and professional… Read More »

Dissonance events explore tech-based policy and legal subjects

Technology changes at an ever-increasing rate, almost always outstripping policy, privacy, security, and legal considerations. ITS Information Assurance (IA) collaborates with faculty, researchers, students, and external industry experts to create a forum, Dissonance, for public discourse on the tensions surrounding technology, policy, privacy, security, and law.

HITS apprenticeship program accepting applications

The Health Information Technology & Services (HITS) Service Desk is searching for students, recent graduates, or other qualified workers to join its entry-level apprenticeship program. The program is a partnership between Michigan Medicine and Washtenaw Community College (WCC). Since it began in 2018, the apprenticeship program has had four employees. This fall, however, the program plans to hire… Read More »

ITS completes launch of new Microsoft 365 platform

Despite some last-minute challenges and unexpected bumps in the road, ITS Collaboration Services has successfully launched the new Microsoft 365 platform, completing a process that began over six months ago. U-M’s re-negotiated licensing agreement with Microsoft will provide an expanded set of tools and services to faculty, staff, and students, including both online and desktop versions of the… Read More »