We continue with our series "Five Questions to" and today our guest is the Colombian Carlos Alberto Cortés López. Systems Engineer and expert in data networks, he is currently the Systems Chief at the Technological of Antioquia, in Colombia. In this interview, Cortés, who participated in all editions of TICAL since 2011, speaks about his career within the world of advanced networks and about his relationship with the conference organized by RedCLARA.

Hello, Carlos. Tell us a little about you and your formation.

Hello! I am Carlos Alberto Cortés López, Systems Engineer, specialized in data networks, Internal Auditor of ISO 27000, among others things. Currently I work as the systems chief of the Technological of Antioquia, in Colombia, with about 12,000 students and presence in 48 municipalities of the department. My main role is to propose investments to strength the institutional work through the use of new technologies for the institution to acquire academic and administrative leadership. I am also a teacher and have been for over 12 years.

What was your first contact with the advanced networks and how do you evaluate its development since then?

Since the people started to talk about RENATA in Colombia, I had the opportunity to participate in socialization events and some projects in which the network contributed with resources and training. I also had the opportunity to lead this implementation at two universities of Medellín, where we helped teachers to work with their academic partners in better conditions. Today, the problem is no longer technical. This was solved. The challenge, then, is to get more teachers and researchers to use the network.

In a context like this, what is the importance of TICAL for the development of the networks and the professionals in the field of ICT?

The institutions are constantly changing and its change requires us to move forward as well. If we do not, we're finished. In this dynamic, strategic technology plans are fundamental and, to build them, we need experience and knowledge, which are both acquired in TICAL. There, the experiences of other institutions enrich us and save our time and money. Hear about their examples help us to avoid some mistakes and to copy their successes. In TICAL, we share our struggles, achievements, observations and recommendations, and share these things is very important. For me TICAL has been fundamental, because I implemented many projects thanks to the experiences of other institutions.

You participated in all the editions of TICAL. What lessons did you take from each one of them?

Each edition of TICAL was special to me. In each of them I could structure projects that were soon included in the strategic plan of Technologies. I could also share experiences of my projects with colleagues from Ecuador and Peru and soon after TICAL we got in touch with each other. Definitely TICAL is a great learning place for my professional and personal life.

Personally and professionally, what are your expectations for TICAL2015, to be held in Chile?

Continue to grow personally and professionally and keep meeting talented and simple people who are willing to share their knowledge and experiences. Moreover, with everything I learn there, take to the institution in which I work a lot of ideas and work plans that help to transform the technology investments into benefits, in order to help the institutional growth and the acquisition of academic and administrative leadership.

When a little more than two months remain for the beginning of the fifth TICAL Conference, the event has already defined its five international speakers who will share their experiences in the plenary sessions. Susan Grajek, from the US, Andrés Holguín, from Colombia, MSc Manuel Moreno, from Mexico, and Johann Pongratz, from Germany, are four of the international experts that will give life to the plenary sessions of TICAL2015 (that will be held in Viña del Mar, Chile, between the 6th and the 8th of July) alongside the speaker that we are here introducing: Eloy Rodrigues, from Portugal.

Eloy António Santos Cordeiro Rodrigues is graduated in History, variant in Archaeology, at the Faculty of Letters of the University of Porto, and completed the course of specialization in Information Science, option of Library and Documentation, at the Faculty of Letters of the University of Lisbon.

Director of Documentation Services of the University of Minho, the focus of his work has been the development of digital libraries, the training of librarians and library users, and the promotion of the open access to scientific literature through the institutional repositories. He is the author of more than three dozen of articles, books and book chapters on these matters.

In 2003, he led the creation of the RepositoriUM - the institutional repository of the University of Minho, directing the service ever since. In the late 2004, he contributed to the definition of the policy of free access of the University to its scientific production.

He also streamlined the Working Group about the Open Access established by the Council of Rectors of the Portuguese Universities in 2007, and since July of 2008 leads, with the scientific and technical responsibility, the team of the University of Minho that develops the project Scientific Repository of Open Access of Portugal.

At European level, Rodrigues was a member of the Working Group on Open Access of the EUA (European Universities Association), representing the Council of Rectors of the Portuguese Universities, and is coordinating the participation of the University of Minho in various projects (NECOBELAC, OpenAIRE and OpenAIREplus, MEDOANET, PASTEUR4OA, FOSTER) funded by the EU 7th Framework Programme related to the repositories and Open Access. Currently, he also chairs the Working Group about the Interoperability of Repositories, of the Confederation of Open Access Repositories (COAR).

In the last five years, invited by several universities and other organizations, Rodrigues has conducted over three dozen of lectures, seminars and other activities of information or training on free access to the knowledge and institutional repositories in Europe (Portugal, Spain, UK, Czech Republic, Germany, Italy and France), Mozambique, Brazil, Argentina and Colombia.

In TICAL2015, Rodrigues will develop the thematic line “A governance framework for data managing and its processes.”

With promotional prices for those who register until May 31st and three open calls - for authors to submit papers, for young entrepreneurs and for interinstitutional projects - open until April 15, TICAL2015 promises to surpass its previous editions. The Conference will be held between July 6th and 8th, in Viña del Mar, Chile.

For more information, visit: www.tical2015.redclara.net

The Chilean National University Network (REUNA), in partnership with EDUTIC, will host TICAL2015. A reference among the Latin American academic networks and one of the oldest among them, REUNA in recent years has demonstrated that has reached its maturity and that is ready to face all the necessary challenges in order to ensure the development of Science, Education, Innovation and collaborative research in Chile. We talked about this moment and also about her expectations about TICAL2015 with Paola Arellano, Executive Director of REUNA.

The TICAL Thematic Meeting on Security and CERT, organized by RedCLARA as part of the collaborative activities of the Directors of Technology who form the TICAL Community, will take place this Thursday, April 9th.

The event will address the synergies between the collaboration of the CERT and the academic institutions through the Uruguayan experience, and the impact and challenges faced by the universities in the field of Security today. To reach it, representatives of the Universidad de la Republica (UdelaR) and CERTUy, both from Uruguay, will attend the meeting, telling about the collaboration experience developed in their country. Furthermore, the event will review the reasons why this type of initiative is a so valuable line of work to address the complex problems under Security.

Those interested in participating in the TICAL Thematic Meeting on Security and CERT through videoconference should complete the application form until this Wednesday, April 8th, and participate in the equipment testing session.

For more information about the event and about how to participate in it, please visit: https://eventos.redclara.net/indico/event/489

AGENDA

Thursday, April 9th, 2015

15:00 GMT | Welcome and connection adjustments
Marcela Larenas, RedCLARA, Chile

15:10 GMT | What is CERT (or CSIRT)? And what are its objectives and functions? The Experience of Uruguay
Eng. Ignacio Lagomarsino, CERTuy

15:30 GMT | The challenges of the University on Security today. Academic Vision / I+D
Dr. Eng and Eng Betarte Gustavo Alejandro Blanco - Faculty of Engineering, UdelaR

15:50 GMT | The technical aspects
Eng. Monica Soliño - SeCIU, UdelaR

16:10 GMT | Collaboration between CERT and universities: the experience of the University of the Republic and CERTUy in a mark of permanent collaboration and the challenges for the short and medium term
All panelists them

16:30 GMT | Questions and comments from participants in the classroom and streaming