Sessions

Session Times and Locations

Learn skills, best practices, applications, and use cases in sessions led by your peers! Browse the break-out sessions list for the conference below to let us know which you would like to attend. Please note that session times and location information have been updated below.

Please feel free to pick and choose what sessions to attend.

Sessions I start at 10:15 and end at 11:00. Sessions II start at 11:15 and end at noon, and Sessions III start at 1:15 and end at 2:00. Sessions IV start at 2:15 and end at 3:00.

ISO Landscape & Security Changes

With Yale’s near-universal reliance on IT systems, the threat of cyber disruptions is a constant concern. The Information Security Office (ISO) is at the forefront of addressing these challenges, coordinating efforts to protect the university's data and IT infrastructure.

As we transition from a reactive to a proactive program, the emphasis on creating a culture of cybersecurity awareness and accountability across Yale's IT staff is paramount. In 2024, ISO plans to introduce new technologies and processes to improve Yale's security posture further.

This presentation, led by Jeremy Rosenberg, Yale's Chief Information Security Officer and Assistant Vice President for IT, will outline the upcoming initiatives and underscore the vital role of the IT staff in ensuring a secure digital environment at Yale. Attendees will gain insight into the implemented strategies and learn how they can contribute to a safer, more secure Yale.

Presenter(s)
Jeremy Rosenberg and John Coleman

AI at Yale - Impact on Higher Education

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a powerful technology that has the potential to change education. AI can personalize learning, automate tasks for teachers, and provide tools that enhance the learning experience for students and accelerate research.

Presenter(s)
Frank Mathew and MJ Jabbour

AI Prompt Engineering for Mortals

Prompt engineering is the skill of crafting instructions that effectively guide powerful AI language models. This session will teach you the fundamentals of prompt engineering, including how AI models process language and the impact of specific words and phrasing.

Dr. Michael J. Jabbour, Microsoft's Education Chief Innovation Officer, is an expert in organizational transformation, with over two decades of experience spanning artificial intelligence, human-centered design, agile development, and healthcare at scale. As the Chief Innovation Officer for Microsoft Education and a former CIO/CTO for various NYC agencies, notably the NYC Department of Education, he has spearheaded numerous digital transformations and operational mergers, generating substantial investments in innovation project funding and constructing programs that benefit millions of users. His current role at Microsoft leverages his experience and passion for making a positive societal impact through educational advancements.

Presenter(s)
MJ Jabbour

AI Prompt-a-Thon for IT Staff

Participants will learn how to write different types of prompts for various results, giving greater control over AI-generated outputs.

LIMITED SEATS - ADVANCED REGISTRATION AND SELECTION REQUIRED

Presenter(s)
MJ Jabbour and Michelle Morgan

Spotlighting Early Career Professionals

3 IT Associates and 1 Rotational Early Career Development staff will share work that  "showcases" projects they have been working on during their time at Yale. There will be a Q&A at the end of the session.

Precious Humphrey, Systems Engineer I, Managed Servers. "Windows Inbound Host Firewall Corrections."

Ruben Kwigwasa, Junior Network Engineer. "The NGN: My Journey through switches and routers."

Tristen Lawrence, Software Engineer I, Cloud Engineering. "Spun Up: My Journey Through 2 Years at Yale IT."

Alex Wynn, Media Technology Program Manager, Student Technology Collaborative. "Reducing Barriers to Student Resources."

Introduction and Moderator
Katie Cullen

Panelists

Precious Humphrey, Ruben Kwigwasa, Tristen Lawrence, and Alex Wynn

Fostering A Culture of Innovation – 5 Months In

We will interrogate a panel of collaborators to explore how they foster innovation across Yale’s Artificial Intelligence initiatives and compare their experiences, enablers, and blockers to those we captured in the Fostering a Culture of Innovation Balanced Scorecard initiative. The ensuing goal of that BSC initiative is to drive organizational change by highlighting how One IT at Yale values innovative solutions and practices. Additionally, we will ask participants to reflect on our progress, address continuing challenges, and propose effective practices for future collaboration.

Presenter(s)
Louis King

Panelists

Pilar Abuin, Anne Pederson, John Baldo, Netal Patel and Steven Wieda

Infrastructure as Code – Terraform, Cloud Formation Templates

For the presentation, we could narrowly define Infrastructure as Code (IaC) as the automation of provisioning virtual infrastructure components using code instead of manually installing and configuring them. We have been using Terraform (and some CloudFormation) to provision and manage our infrastructure in AWS. Attendees will gain valuable insights about the benefits and limits of these tools as we go over our experience working with them.

Presenter(s)
Xinjian Guo and Seong-June Kim

LUX: Cross-Domain Discovery via Knowledge Graphs

Over the past five years, ITS and the Collections and Scholarly Communication division have collaborated to research, design, and implement a highly innovative discovery platform (LUX) that uses knowledge graph technologies to aggregate, reconcile, enrich, and present all of Yale's cultural heritage collections in a single environment. LUX advances the university's core teaching and research excellence missions while being easily accessible to the general public. This presentation will review the social and technical infrastructures needed for this work to be successful, give a live demonstration of the product, and discuss other campus use cases and initiatives that might benefit from leveraging this paradigm or technology.

Presenter(s)
Rob Sanderson and Kameryn Bicknell

Yale Message Team - Intro to Marketing Cloud

Yale Message is a cloud-based digital marketing platform built on the Salesforce Marketing Cloud. Yale Message is widely used across Yale University to send e-newsletters and targeted communications to university and non-university audiences. This session will provide an overview of the various features available within Yale Message, such as personalized emails and journeys, email automation, multi-channel communications, optimized strategies based on real-time insights for increased engagement, and messaging performance monitoring. The session will also include use cases from clients on their experience with Yale Message and the benefits to their business processes.

Presenter(s)
Venkat Reddy

AV on Campus

AV technology and support on campus are in the midst of a transformation. Learn about the new strategic directions, investments, and support strategies for AV on campus.

Presenter(s)
Leonard Welch, Adam Zonis, and Chris D'Addio

Research Storage Working Group Recommendations and Next Steps

The Research Storage Working Group, composed of members from across campus involved in supporting researchers and their data needs, produced two reports in 2023. The first focused on a) documenting the many current research storage solutions across campus and b) identifying areas of need. The second went into more depth on identified gaps and enumerated specific recommended actions to take to begin addressing those gaps. This session will provide an overview of both reports and give an update on subsequent activities to start to implement the recommendations.

Presenter(s)
Chuck Thompson and Ron Borzekowski

Poorvu Center for Teaching and Learning Panel Discussion on Collaboration

This session features two Poorvu Center for Teaching and Learning leaders on collaborations their teams have recently forged with central IT.

Pilar Abuin, Senior Director, Educational Technology, Poorvu Center for Teaching and Learning, on collaborating with Brad Hajzak, Director, Information Security Office, and his team to overhaul the sponsored identity process.

Sara Epperson, Senior Director, Digital Education, Poorvu Center for Teaching and Learning, on collaborating with Tim Hinkley, Director, and Tedd Darash, Project Manager 4 of the Enterprise Applications- Student and Academic Support Services team to prepare for the implementation of a non-degree learner system of record.

Introduction & Moderator
Lucas Swineford

Presenter(s)
Pilar Abuin and Sara Epperson

Enhancing the Endpoint Experience

This session outlines Endpoint Engineering’s streamlined approach to configuring and delivering computers. EE is focused on automating the computer setup process to ensure all machines are ready to use with the necessary settings, applications, and security measures right from the start. Moreover, we are customizing this process based on profiles, job roles, and departmental needs, aiming to provide a flexible computing experience that meets the diverse requirements of our community.

Presenter(s)
Jim Blau, Omar Allan (remote), and Ilene Omerso

Evolving the Software Landscape

This session will provide an overview of recent efforts to improve the ability of all faculty, students, and staff to find, obtain, and use the software they need. Come learn about IT's work to create a one-stop portal for finding software, plus information on current and potential future services to make it easier to obtain and run software once it is found.

Presenter(s)
Naomi M. Erwich, Eric Hebert, Dale Hendrickson, Chuck Thompson, and Steve Watkins

AWS Single Sign-On: Yale Library's Path to Implementation

In this presentation, we will navigate the selection, implementation, and ongoing support of an AWS-based Single Sign-On solution at Yale Library. Covering everything from initial use cases and product selection to solution architecture, design, and production support, we bring together expert insights from both technical and IT management perspectives. Delving into the implementation phase, you will gain valuable project management insights and uncover best practices and lessons learned from this transformative initiative. Moreover, we will present a roadmap for future enhancements and scalability to ensure Yale Library's readiness to meet evolving organizational needs.

Presenter(s)
Michael Appleby, John Baldo, Keith Boyd-Carter, and Ray Frohlich