Celebrating 10 Years: The 2022 IT Summit

This year’s hybrid summit energized and inspired technology professionals and staff.

For the first time in three years, the IT Summit was offered in-person at the Student Union Ballroom and virtually for remote attendees. Over 175 people attended in-person, with over 250 people joining the presentations via Zoom Webinars. This year also marked the 10th anniversary of the event which focused on the power of collaboration among UArizona IT professionals, and showcased technologies that will transform the University’s ability to innovate, collaborate and educate for years to come.

The program began with a keynote presentation by George Rieke, PhD, Regents Professor of Astronomy at the Steward Observatory and Science Lead for the Mid-Infrared Instrument and Near Infrared Cameras of the James Webb Telescope. Dr. Rieke wowed the starstruck audience with his presentation on the development of the telescope and a walk-through of the recent imagery revealing galaxies created near the inception of the universe.

The sessions included live and virtual presentations given throughout the day by 50 IT professionals who shared their expertise in 24 breakout sessions over 5 tracks. In-person attendees gathered for the poster session and prize drawing while online attendees met for virtual networking.

Recognizing that hybrid meeting and events are here to stay for the foreseeable future, the Communications & Marketing team put strategies in place to offer events both in person and virtually.

New It.arizona.edu Website Launches

The it.arizona.edu website is a highly utilized resource by students, staff and faculty and was in need of an upgrade. In early 2021, the Communications & Marketing team began collaborating with Campus Web Services to redesign the it.arizona.edu website.

As part of the redesign strategy, the team used a user-centered design approach and sought direct feedback from student and employee focus groups which had a significant impact on the website development process.

The main goal of the it.arizona.edu redesign was to focus on engaging all visitors to the CIO Division website and informing them about how we serve the greater University of Arizona community. In order to achieve this goal, the IT service catalog, service request forms and documentation that previously existed on the IT website transitioned to ServiceNow, the new IT service management platform.

The new it.arizona.edu debuted in July 2021 as an Arizona branded, mobile-responsive website utilizing the University’s Arizona Sites web platform developed by Campus Web Services. The site’s enhanced user experience makes it easier for students, staff, and faculty to access the University’s technology services and resources.

Learn more about the IT Summit at itsummit.arizona.edu