WatITis 2023

Letter from the CIO

Dear Campus IT Colleagues,

The 2023 WatITis conference is almost here. This year's conference will build on the rich history of the annual WatITis conference to provide a showcase for the exceptional work to expand and enhance our IT ecosystem.  It also provides us, as the campus IT community, an opportunity to come together to share and discuss both new and innovative ideas and areas of partnership for the betterment of our campus.

On behalf of myself and the WatITis conference committee, I am pleased to welcome keynote speakers Jimmy Lin, Professor and Cheriton Chair, and Mark Crowley, Associate Professor in Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, who will build on the conference theme of information technology and how it impacts work, the Waterloo community, and enables future change.

The 2023 conference will continue to be delivered via a hybrid approach, offering conference registrants the opportunity to attend sessions in person or online. More information about the event will be made available on the conference website, including details surrounding networking and engagement opportunities and poster board sessions.  I encourage you to attend as much of the conference as you able.

I would like to express my personal thanks and gratitude to the WatITis conference committee members whose efforts throughout the year make this day a great success.

I look forward to seeing you at the conference!

Gregory Smith, Chief Information Officer (CIO)

The registration booth of a past WatITis conference.  There is a large WatITis banner, WatITis volunteers behind the booth, and participants in front of the booth picking up their name tags.

We are pleased to announce the annual WatITis conference will be held on Wednesday, December 6th, 2023.

This is a wonderful opportunity to learn about technology projects, systems, and
initiatives in the University of Waterloo community.

This is the 20th anniversary of the conference, and we are excited to feature unique content to celebrate the occasion. For this edition of the conference, we will continue in a hybrid format, but encourage the in-person experience!

Keynote Announcements

We are excited to welcome Jimmy Lin and Mark Crowley as keynote speakers this year.

Dr. Jimmy Lin is a professor and holds the David R. Cheriton Chair in the David R. Cheriton School of Computer Science at the University of Waterloo. He also serves as the co-director of the Waterloo AI Institute, which has the mission to promote cross-disciplinary research at the frontiers of artificial intelligence and its applications across the entire campus.

Mark is an Associate Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Waterloo (also cross-appointed in the Cheriton School of Computer Science). He is a member of the Waterloo Artificial Intelligence Institute (WAII), the Waterloo Institute for Complexity and Innovation (WICI) and is National Secretary of the Canadian Artificial Intelligence Association (CAIAC) which coordinates the yearly organization of the Canadian Conference on AI.  

Presentation Sessions

The sessions for the conference are available on the Sessions 2023 page, we are looking forward to seeing you this year.

Requests and Volunteering

If you happen to have photos, memorabilia, or anecdotes from past WatITis sessions that you believe would be interesting to share as part of the anniversary we would love to hear from you; please reach out to watitis@uwaterloo.ca.

What are my transportation options for attending this conference?

This will be a hybrid conference so you can attend sessions in-person, virtually or a bit of both!

For in-person attendees, please consider more sustainable transportation methods such as taking public transportation, biking, rolling, walking, carpooling, and carSharing. We also have several electric vehicle charging stations across campus.

For more details on these options, please visit: https://uwaterloo.ca/sustainability/projects-and-initiatives/transportation


WatITis is a one-day conference for those involved in IT planning, support, and decision-making at the University of Waterloo. It is an opportunity to see what others are doing on campus in information technology, to exchange ideas and make new contacts.

Questions?

If you have any questions about WatITis, please contact Sergei Bobkin, Pavol Chvala, and/or Ryan Goggin.