Green ICT Symposium 2008, ANU, 14 November 2008

All are invited to a free Green ICT Symposium I have organised at the ANU in Canberra on 14 November 2008. This will feature Catherine Middleton who is in Australia researching broadband policy for the Canadian Government and the Mach Technology regional data centre, which was opened by the Minister for Broadband last week:

Green ICT: Learning to be Sustainable with Computers and Broadband

9am to 12:30 pm, Friday 14th November 2008
College of Engineering and Computer Science
Room N101, Building 108
The Australian National University
North Road ANU ACT 0200

Event

A free half day event bringing together people from academia, industry and government who are interested in environmentally sustainable uses of ICT. Facilities for Participation via Video Conference will be made available if there is sufficient demand.

RSVP to: Rachel.Allen@aph.gov.au

Background

In 2007 a report commissioned by the Australian Computer Society estimated that Australian computers and telecommunications were responsible for a similar level of greenhouse gas emissions as the civil aviation industry. In late 2008 Sir Peter Gershon recommended consolidating the Australian Government's data centers and developing a whole-of-government ICT sustainability plan to manage the carbon footprint of the Government's ICT activities.

Questions to Consider:

1. How can the ICT industry reduce its own carbon footprint?
2. How can use of ICT help reduce Australia's Carbon footprint?
3. What role could/should ICT Professionals play in reducing Australia's Carbon Footprint?

9.00am Welcome and Introduction

By Senator Kate Lundy

9:30am Tom Worthington, "Teaching Sustainable ICT to Professionals Online"

Tom will outline the Green ICT course commissioned for the Australian Computer Society's postgraduate program and how it may be delivered at ANU to federal government staff.

• Educating ICT Professionals on Energy Efficiency
• Educating ICT Professionals on Energy Efficiency: Presentation Slides

10am Setting up a data centre in regional Australia

Video link with Mach Technology, part of the Noosa Clever Networks project, launched 31 October by the Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy and the Arts.

10.30 am coffee break.

At the (buy your own). Located in the ANU sports centre opposite the College of Engineering and Computer Science.

11am Dr Peter Strazdins, ANU. How much energy can you save with a multicore computer for government web applications?

In order to make a new phase of teaching and research in multicore computing at the ANU, the Computer Systems Group of ANU are hosting a and Sun Microsystems T2 multicore computer. This state-of-the-art server will become an integral part of the teaching program in computer systems at the ANU.

11:30am Associate Professor, Ryerson University, Are Users Up to Speed? The Demand Side of Sustainable Broadband

Despite widespread adoption of broadband technologies, many people use broadband networks in very simple ways. In order to realize sustainability benefits from investment in broadband infrastructure, efforts are needed to get users 'up to speed', so that broadband networks are more fully integrated into their daily activities. The talk draws on data from the Canadian Internet Use Survey, and implications for Australia are discussed.

Catherine Middleton is in Australia until mid December 2008 to explore what can be learned from the ongoing Australian experience for the future development of broadband infrastructure in Canada. She is keen to contact those involved in the development of broadband infrastructure in Australia and can be contacted by email <catherine.middleton(a)ryerson.ca>.

Catherine holds a Canada Research Chair studying Communication Technologies in the Information Society. Her research investigates consumer adoption of broadband and mobile technologies, and the development of broadband infrastructure. She is the Principal Investigator on a new project examining the organizational impacts of Blackberry adoption. Catherine is a faculty member at the Ted Rogers School of Management at Ryerson University in Toronto.

12:00 noon Dr. Idris F. Sulaiman, CEO, Computers Off Australia.

General, technical, policy and action streams of an ICT energy saving campaign.

12:30 pm Lunch.

At the Purple Pickle Cafe (buy your own).

Supporters

• ANU College of Engineering and Computer Science
• TomW Communications Pty Ltd