IT Directors from NOMS, Lakehead and Laurentian U. visit K-Net
On Thursday, Nov 20, Kevin Pashuk (NOMS IT Director), Bob Angell (Lakehead U. IT Director) and Bill Sandblom (Laurentian U. IT Director) drove with Tom Hibbs (Corporate Accounts, Enterprise Solutions, Nortel Networks) to Sioux Lookout to meet with K-Net staff and learn about the Kuh-ke-nah Network. The team is touring Northern Ontario to meet with different community-based networks to learn about the existing infrastructure and resources available across this vast region. Check out the pictures of this crew
The role of partnerships and the sharing of resources and opportunities is one of the most important outcomes from all the work with these communication tools. This meeting provided another opportunity to see how institutions, corporations and organizations can work together to support the development of infrastructure and the access to resources so everyone benefits.
The cliche "Putting some meaning into the C that is in the middle of ICT" is the challenge that everyone faces with these new tools. It is COMMUNICATION that provides the important link between Information and Technology; it is the "glue" that makes this work worthwhile for the people and the communities. If we do not have meaningful and effective communication that helps build practical, efficient and respectful relationships then we just have a bunch of machines being used to toss a lot of information at each other and being "managed" by IT Directors and technicians located in far away places.
One important outcome of this meeting was the agreement to work together to identify strategies and access the necessary resources to support the development of adequate distance learning facilities in all the communities across Northern Ontario. This effort will require the partnership of every community and government agency to ensure equitable and affordable solutions are created. Being able to accommodate students from NOMS or Lakehead or any institution is a major challenge that will create employment in both the development of these facilities and then in the ongoing maintenance and operation of these distance learning spaces including the residential component.
The innovative communication tools and infrastructure required to provide an environment where students and community members can share and create new opportunities for everyone will position Northern Ontario as the place to be doing business. We will be able to boast full employment and healthy communities across the region by levering and sharing these resources with everyone. The Northern Ontario Medical School and our two post-secondary institutions provide a great opportunity for every community in Northern Ontario to be creating a healthy socio-economic environment for all residents!