Brazil and Argentina are rivals in sports, but in regard to TICAL2016 the tone of the two countries is the collaboration. At the Conference this year, which will be held between September 13 and 15, in Buenos Aires, it was given to a brazilian the responsibility to lead the Programme Committee.
She’s Jussara Issa Musse, IT director of the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul and our first guest in the series of TICAL2016 interviews. In this conversation, Musse comments the choice of Buenos Aires to host the conference, talks about her expectations for the event and warns on the need to make the regional collaboration happen. "We need to get out of our comfort zone, look out and participate."
In few words, who is the president of TICAL2016 programme committee?
I’m Jussara Issa Musse, brazilian and director of IT at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS). I am in this role since 1996. I am part of the generation that saw the transformation of data processing in information technology, the arrival of the Internet and the social networks. I have a degree in electrical engineering and started working on developing hardware; then I migrated to the area of networks and support before becoming a director.
What can we expect of the papers and the programme of TICAL2016? And how did you see the choice of Buenos Aires to host the event?
We can expect a lot of quality. Every year TICAL grows in importance and the participation of universities is expanded. For example, Brazil always had a very timid participation, but in 2015 there was a big brazilian presence. It is happening because of the rich experience that is participating in a meeting like TICAL. This year we have one more attractive, which is Buenos Aires, a cultural center and a beautiful city, easily accessible, with its bookstores, wines and restaurants.
How do you assess the development of ICT and advanced networks in recent years? And what was the importance of TICAL in this process?
The teaching, the research and the management are becoming more and more dependent on the ICT. And that drives to its development and update, for the life of the University, its students and researchers is irrigated by it. The advanced networks are obviously inserted in this context. So TICAL has been an important factor to show the diversity of the performance of IT departments within the institution and the reports of innovative and challenging experiences for all of us. Another very important aspect of the conference is the dissemination of the debate on IT management and governance. These subjects were inserted on the agenda of all directors.
TICAL seeks, among other things, to foster the ICT collaboration among Latin American countries. In your opinion, what are the main challenges and opportunities we have to achieve a satisfactory level of cooperation between the institutions of our region?
Participation in previous conferences showed that problems and difficulties are similar in universities. There are many, many possibilities for cooperation. Why is it difficult to occur? This question is always with me. What prevents us to collaborate? I understand that the challenge is in people; we are immersed in the daily lives of our institutions and we are consumed doing it. We need to get out of our comfort zone, look out and participate. The collaboration will only happen if we make it happen.
Send a message to those interested in participating in the Conference. Why should they go?
We want all colleagues to participate in TICAL to expand their network of relationships, meet new experiences and enjoy the city of Buenos Aires. Come, because we are preparing a nice surprise!
