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May 16, 2019
Print | PDFNela Petkovic, chief information officer at Wilfrid Laurier University, and a team of higher education colleagues from eight post-secondary institutions across Ontario, have won a 2019 Leadership Award for Technology Innovation in Higher Education from the Ontario Research and Innovation Optical Network (ORION).
ORION is a non-profit organization that supports Ontario’s progress with essential digital infrastructure such as high-speed fibre optic connectivity and cybersecurity services. The annual leadership awards recognize outstanding achievement and innovation in three categories: Innovation, Kindergarten to Grade 12, and Higher Education, among those using ORION’s digital infrastructure and services.
“I am honoured to receive the ORION Leadership Award for Higher Education on behalf of Wilfrid Laurier University and proud be among a tremendous group of recipients,” says Petkovic. “The security of our information systems is one of the key priorities of Laurier’s Information and Communication Technologies department, and I am grateful that we are working together to create this collective line of defence.”
Petkovic and colleagues from Brock University, Humber College, Laurentian University, Niagara College, OCAD University, Queen’s University and St. Lawrence College, receive the award for the shared chief information security officer (CISO) program launched at their respective institutions in partnership with ORION.
The program, announced as a pilot in September 2017, strengthens the digital security landscape and creates a way for Ontario colleges and universities to increase their cybersecurity preparedness. The shared CISO program is being rolled out to colleges and universities across Ontario through the new Ontario Cybersecurity Higher Education Consortium (ON-CHEC).
Petkovic joined Laurier in 1995 as a senior systems analyst and has since served in a number of progressively responsible roles, culminating in her appointment as CIO in 2014. As Laurier’s CIO, Petkovic has helped to shape Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) at Laurier through the creation and implementation of a five-year strategic plan for the department, as well as the establishment of a formal ICT governance structure, and the realization and adoption of a university-wide cloud policy.
