UWT Part of Cyber P3i

The U.S. Army Reserve is creating the U.S. Army Reserve Cyber Public Private Partnership Initiative, or Cyber P3i, a center for enhanced cybersecurity training with six universities involved in the program.

Universities involved in the initial program include the Drexel University, University of Washington Tacoma, George Mason University, the University of Texas at San Antonio, Norwich University and the University of Colorado – Colorado Springs.

Jeffrey Talley, chief of the Army Reserve, said each of the schools were chosen for their "excellence in cybersecurity research, teaching and their experience in helping the public and private sectors address cybersecurity issues."

Pierce County earns national recognition for Mobile App Internship

If you’re a local college student looking to jump start a high tech career, Pierce County has an app for that.

Thanks to a partnership between Pierce County and the University of Washington Tacoma (UWT), local students get real-world experience making mobile applications for smartphones. As one of the first programs of its kind in the nation, Pierce County’s mobile internship was honored this month by the widely respected Digital Government Achievement Awards.

"The internship program is a great success for the community and the university," said Pierce County Executive Pat McCarthy. "The county's Information Technology Department is providing enhanced services to citizens and staff, the university is offering practical learning opportunities, and interns are learning state-of-the-art programming skills that give them an edge in a competitive job market. I'm proud of the excellent work being done by sponsors and participants."

Interns work closely with a mentor to design, build, and launch a mobile app that works on Apple and Android devices. Students learn the latest software tools and gain skills that are in high demand with companies like Google, Microsoft, Amazon, and Boeing.

Since the program began in 2011, interns have created seven apps for internal or public use. Here are three examples:
•    The MyVote app provides secure access to a citizen’s voter record as well as sample ballots and locations for ballot drop offs.
•    The Road Operations Active Response (ROAR) app enables Public Works and Utilities crews to instantly report mudslides, downed trees, etc. during emergencies. The app feeds Pierce County’s emergency databases with real-time road conditions.
•    The Emergency Shelter app helps residents find the locations and details of open emergency shelters during flooding, ice storms or other disasters.

More information about two of the public apps can be found here. Other public apps are in development.
Andrew Fry, assistant director of Industry Partnerships at UWT, praised the program as a “model” for how local government and universities can expand career opportunities. “I have worked with both large and small companies from Boeing and Microsoft to three-person startups. If I picked a model for how I would create an internship program with an industry partner, the one that has been developed with Pierce County is where I would start.”

The Digital Government Achievement Awards highlight outstanding agency and department websites and technology programs. View the complete list of DGAA awardees.

SST 2013

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SST Announces Keynote Speaker

The South Sound Technology Conference is scheduled on Friday March 9th. 

The keynote speaker will be Howard Schmidt, White House Cyber Security Coordinator. 

Andrew Frye is once again putting together a packed agenda ranging from mobile computing to Infrastructure and Information Assurance. Hope to see you there! 

Registration Site.

Mobile Applications and the South Sound

I had a gentleman come to see me today who talked about the mobile applications he has been developing for the Android. He was doing so because he wanted to sharpen his technical skill set as well as work with technology that was growing in use. He then asked me if there was any mobile application development going on in the South Puget Sound.

The answer is yes. In fact, this years South Sound Technology Conference on March 11th is going to focus on mobile application development as one of its breakout sessions on the technical track (the second track is the business track).

Brian Forth, President of SiteCrafting, a web design and application development company located in Tacoma will be presenting on the topic. He will be discussing not only how mobile applications are creating opportunities and providing unique solutions to his companies customers, but also how the technology is changing the industry landscape.

Following his talk panelists which will include Keven Freitas, a mobile apps developer as well as two companies from the area that have deployed their mobile app solutions. Many of us know Kevin as well from his contribution of FeedTacoma to the Tacoma online community.

Brian came by the Entrepreneurship in Technology class this week to talk about his experience building the company and branching out to include Seattle and Spokane offices. The presentation engaged the students who weren't shy in the least when asking questions about building a company and leveraging technology in business. During the presentation he talked about ChambersEdge just one of the mobile solutions his company has delivered.

A mobile application that provides business and contact info about all your chamber members. It can be accessed by chamber members and visitors alike.

Just a quick search on the topic "mobile application development Tacoma" pulls up several companies in the area who are doing development or offer the service, such as IdentityMine and BigStep Consulting.

It should be a great presentation and a rewarding conversation. Be sure to register.

SST 2010 Reschedules

The South Sound Technology Conference has been rescheduled for March 2011. Details will be posted on their website soon.

Friday, March 11, 2011
William W. Philip Hall
University of Washington Tacoma campus
1918 Pacific Ave., Tacoma 98402

South Sound Technology Conference 2010: Save the Date

Save the date of Friday November 19th to come and attend the 11th annual South Sound Technology Conference on the University of Washington, Tacoma campus. Last year’s event was a great success with over 165 registrations and over 200 attendees filling the William W. Philip Hall during the course of the all day event.

Like the 2009 event, there will be keynote speakers in the morning and during lunch, technology panels and exhibits in the Kopp gallery. Also, once again there will be dual track breakout sessions, though this year we have reserved larger rooms to accommodate the sessions.

One of the tracks has been identified as Energy, Sustainability and Technology which is a very timely topic. Other parts of the program will be developed as we get closer and will be posted on the South Sound Technology Conference website at www.sstconference.org. Thanks go out to Seamus Holman and Gridworks Design for once again sponsoring the site: http://www.sstconference.org/

The annual South Sound Technology Conference is the technology showcase for Tacoma and the South Puget Sound. For years it has brought together leaders from industry, education, and government from around the state to discuss and demonstrate technological innovations and their ongoing applications.

Panel and keynote presentations — including networking opportunities — provide a venue to discuss, explore, understand and deploy technology as a solution, an opportunity and an advantage. SST is perhaps this region’s best annual event to learn how technology is transforming our business and community life.