The Swiss IT Congress SITC 2022 on IT Education in Switzerland will be held on Thursday March 10, 2022 as a physical event at the University of Fribourg. Registered attendees who cannot travel to Fribourg will receive a link for remote attendance.
SITC 2022 is organized by the Swiss Informatics Society SI and the Swiss Informatics Research Association SIRA for their members.
We encourage all people interested in IT education to participate in SITC 2022. For members of SI and SIRA, participation is free. Registration is required.
| SITC 2022 Program | ||
| from 9:45 | Registration, welcome coffee | |
| 10:15-10:25 | Opening | Francis Baud, SI President Christian Tschudin, SIRA President |
| 10:25-10:30 | Introduction to the Theme of SITC 2022 | Dalith Steiger-Gablinger(Co-Founder and Managing Partner, SwissCognitive), Moderator of SITC 2022 |
| 10:30-11:20 | The Landscape of IT Education in Switzerland | Edy Portmann (University of Fribourg) |
| 11:20-11:25 | Bio break | |
| 11:25-12:00 | Informatics Education at Swiss High Schools | Ulrich Ultes-Nitsche (University of Fribourg) |
| 12:00-13:00 | Lunch | |
| 13:00-13:40 | Educational Technology: The Age of Maturity? | Pierre Dillenbourg (EPFL) |
| 13:40-14:10 | The European “Informatics for All” Initiative | Dame Wendy Hall (University of Southampton, UK) – remote talk |
| 14:10-14:30 | Certification of IT Professionals for Life-Long Learning | Simon Moser (SolutionBoxX and President, FSIE) Martin Glinz (UZH and Board of directors, 3L Informatik AG) |
| 14:30-15:00 | Coffee Break | |
| 15:00-15:15 | Fostering Digital Literacy in Switzerland: The ECDL Program | Thomas Stricker (President, Digital Literacy AG) |
| 15:15-16:30 | Panel: IT Education and Training from an Industrial Perspective | Moderator: Dalith Steiger-Gablinger (Co-Founder and Managing Partner, SwissCognitive) Panelists: Patrick Bugnon (Head of Java Delivery Business Line, Elca) Christian Hunziker (CEO, swissICT) Bruno Kaiser (CTO, Menu Technologies) Nora Sleumer (Transformation Manager, Credit Suisse) Iris Zeyda (Senior Consultant, Isolutions) |
| 16:30 | Closing | |
| 16:30-18:00 | Apéro riche and networking | |
| We reserve the right to make changes to the published program if necessary. | ||
| We reserve the right to make changes to the published program if necessary. Please note that Martina Hirayama (State Secretary for Education, Research and Innovation, Swiss Confederation), whom we had announced previously as a keynote speaker, had to withdraw her participation due to urgent political business. |
||
Edy Portmann is Swiss Post Professor of Informatics at the Human-IST Institute of the University of Fribourg. His transdisciplinary research focuses on soft and cognitive computing and its application to cities. After an apprenticeship as electronics technician, he studied business informatics and got a doctorate in fuzzy systems from the University of Fribourg. Among others, he worked for Swisscom, PwC and EY. In addition, he was also a researcher at the universities of Singapore, Berkeley and Bern. He is a member of the board of the Swiss Informatics Society.
Dame Wendy Hall, DBE, FRS, FREng is Regius Professor of Computer Science, Associate Vice President (International Engagement) and is an Executive Director of the Web Science Institute at the University of Southampton. She became a Dame Commander of the British Empire in the 2009 UK New Year’s Honours list and is a Fellow of the Royal Society. Dame Wendy was co-Chair of the UK government’s AI Review, which was published in October 2017, and is the first Skills Champion for AI in the UK. She chairs the Informatics-for-All Committee and is Chair of the Ada Lovelace Institute. Many of Wendy’s previous roles include: President of the ACM, President of BCS, Senior Vice President of the Royal Academy of Engineering, a founding member of the European Research Council, and member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Futures Council on the Digital Economy.
Pierre Dillenbourg is a full professor in learning technologies in the School of Computer & Communication Sciences of EPFL, where he is the head of the CHILI Lab: “Computer-Human Interaction for Learning & Instruction”. A former teacher in elementary school, Pierre Dillenbourg graduated in educational science (University of Mons, Belgium). He started his research on learning technologies in 1984. In 1986, he has been one of the first in the world to apply machine learning to develop a self-improving teaching system. He obtained a PhD in computer science from the University of Lancaster (UK). Before joining EPFL in 2002, he has been an assistant professor at the University of Geneva. At EPFL, he has been the director of Center for Research and Support on Learning and its Technologies, then academic director of Center for Digital Education, which implements the MOOC strategy of EPFL. He is the director of the leading house DUAL-T, which develops technologies for dual vocational education. With EPFL colleagues, he launched in 2017 the Swiss EdTech Collider, an incubator with 80 start-ups in learning technologies. He (co-)founded 5 start-ups, does consulting missions in the corporate world and joined the board of several companies or institutions. In 2018, he co-founded LEARN, the EPFL Center of Learning Sciences. He is a fellow of the International Society for Learning Sciences. He currently is the Associate Vice-President for Education at EPFL.
Ulrich Ultes-Nitsche is a professor of Computer Science and the head of the Foundations of Dependable Systems research group at the University of Fribourg. He holds a PhD degree from the Computer Science Department of the University of Frankfurt, Germany. He has been the coordinator of the recent program for educating high school teachers in Informatics: GymInf.
Simon Moser is an independent consultant and owner of SolutionBoxX GmbH. He graduated in computer science from the University of Bern in 1991. Since then he has worked as a software engineer, business analyst and project manager. He specialises in software metrics and metrics-based IT project effort estimation. In 1996, he received a PhD from the University of Bern and completed a research year in Melbourne/AUS in 1997 with a Swiss National Science Foundation scholarship. He is involved in projects in public administration, the telecommunications industry, finances (stock exchange) and transport companies. Since 2016, he has also been on the board of the Swiss Informatics Society (SI); since 2021 as treasurer. Here he is primarily involved in the systematic advanced and continuing education of computer scientists after graduation. He is also a founding member and president of FSIE, a group within the SI that offers the advanced education title Expert FSIE for professionals with a degree – analogous to the title Specialist FMH for medical professionals.
Martin Glinz is a full professor emeritus at the University of Zurich (UZH). From 1993 until 2017, he was a professor of Informatics at UZH’s Department of Informatics. From 2007-2016, he also was the department head. His interests include requirements and software engineering – in particular modeling, validation, quality, and evolution. He received a Dr. rer. nat. in Computer Science from RWTH Aachen University in 1983. Before joining the University of Zurich, he worked in industry for ten years where he was active in software and requirements engineering research, development, training, and consulting. He is on editorial boards and program committees of major journals and conferences in software and requirements engineering and served as general chair, program chair, steering committee chair and organizer for the top international conferences in his field. He is on the board of the Swiss Informatics Society SI and of the Swiss Informatics Research Association SIRA. He is past president of SIRA. He is also a member of the Board of Directors of 3L Informatik AG, the company that manages the SI Professional certification program for life-long learning in Informatics.
Thomas Stricker is president of Digital Literacy AG. He received a MSc in Computer Science from ETHZ, a PhD in Computer Science from Carnegie Mellon University, and an Executive MBA from the University of St. Gallen. Previously, he held positions as as a Research Programmer at the IBM T. J.Watson Research Labs, Research Engineer at the Intel Supercomputer Systems Division, Assistant Professor at ETHZ, Senior Scientist at Google Labs Switzerland, and as an independent consultant. He is on the board of the Swiss Informatics Society SI.
Dalith Steiger belongs to the top 10 pioneering women in cognitive technologies and one of the top digital shapers and leading voices in the global AI ecosystem. Dalith was featured in Onalytica’s Who’s Who in AI report October 2021 as a global key opinion leader. Dalith was born in Israel, grew up in Switzerland, and studied mathematics at the University of Zurich. With Andy Fitze she co-founded the award-winning AI start-up SwissCognitive, and the CognitiveValley Foundation. Dalith is a global AI advisor and speaker, sharing her extensive knowledge and experience in the field of AI around the world. She sits in several boards and advises various companies in their AI journey, mentors young girls in tech, and teaches AI & Machine Learning in a CAS module at the Applied University of Luzern. Besides her drive for cognitive technologies, she is also a loving mother of two young women, a passionate mountain biker and a big fan of high-heel shoes.
Patrick Bugnon works since 21 years for ELCA Informatique SA. Passionate about project management, he took the responsibility of several large and ambitious projects. In 2016, Patrick was appointed as Head of Business Line, to develop innovative, custom-designed and high-performing business and technology solutions for a broad number of industries and customers. He has developed a solid project management experience in building with his teams, solutions that reduce complexity and costs, simplify the organization, and increase innovation cycles. Based on a strong and proven agile methodology, he delivers projects maximizing the business value brought to the customers. Projects are mostly performed in fixed price, or with highly efficient capacity teams. ELCA is one of the biggest independent Swiss IT companies with more than 1400 experts in Switzerland, Vietnam, Mauritius and Spain. Working together with a high commitment to the success of the projects and finally, to respect the ELCA’s spirit: “We make it work”.
Christian Hunziker is CEO of swissICT, the largest professional association in the Swiss ICT industry, which connects ICT providers, users and professionals in Switzerland. He holds a diploma degree in Mathematics and Computer Science from ETH Zurich and an Executive MBA degree from the University of St. Gallen. He started his professional career as a software developer and consultant. Later, he held managing positions at Sun Microsystems and was a manager and member of the executive board at Dell (Switzerland), Elca, and CC Energie. Prior to his current position, he was Managing Director and Country Manager of Comsoft Direct.
Bruno Kaiser is CTO of MENU Technologies AG, where he is responsible for the development organisation, technical operations (2nd level support) and site operations. After finishing studies at University of Zurich in 1994 with a Master in Computer Science and Economics, he worked five years as system engineer in UBS’s database team. In that time, he got promoted to Head of Middleware with global responsibility for the retail bank. In 1999, he joined 25 software engineers at AdNovum Informatik AG founding AdNovum’s affiliate AdNovum Software Inc. in San Mateo, CA as CEO. After his return to Switzerland in 2002, he was appointed CPO of the AdNovum group of companies and joined AdNovum’s executive board. In this capacity, he was responsible for AdNovum’s middleware and security products, maintenance and support service offerings, legal matters, and the key account UBS. Digital transformation has been his core topic for years. In established, successful companies, such a change is difficult (innovator’s dilemma). That’s why he left AdNovum 2014 after 15 years when the company grew to over 600 employees. He then co-founded several startups in the digitalisation sector (e-fiduciary, sports brokerage, electronic mailbox, cloud service broker). In August 2020, he joined MENU Technologies.
Nora Sleumer is currently leading a transformation program at Credit Suisse, demonstrating how the agile approach can bring tangible results and prove out functionality. Having grown up in Canada, Nora studied Applied Mathematics at the University of Waterloo, followed by a Master’s in Computational Geometry. She moved to Zurich in 1994 to do a doctorate in computer science, with a focus on geometric algorithm design. Upon completion, she joined a small company in Zurich implementing geometric algorithms for modelling and transforming 3D objects, such as the USM Haller furniture system. During the supervision of her Diplomarbeit students she became interested in the software development approach called “Extreme Programming”. This has evolved into Agile and Scrum IT project management, with a focus on direct communication and delivering working code. This led her to a small company in Ticino, where she moved to in 2002. Since then, she took on a variety of roles, had two kids, and eventually ended up in project and program management at Credit Suisse. One of the programs she led recently was part of the creation of a new bank: Credit Suisse (Switzerland). This was a major highlight, leading 9 teams around the world to adapt 80 risk applications for a successful start of the new bank.
Iris Zeyda is a senior consultant at Isolutions AG. After finishing her studies in veterinary medicine and working in this field for some years, Iris Zeyda felt drawn to IT despite her proximity to medicine and achieved this as the central contact person and ICT coordinator for the IT systems of the veterinary administration of the state of Baden Württemberg. Later, she worked as a project manager and in requirements analysis for an IT system used throughout Germany for veterinary and food monitoring. In an international healthcare company, she led a team of requirements and business analysts to develop requirements for a LIM system. Since 2018, Iris Zeyda has been working as a consultant, supporting customers with her expertise in her focus areas business analysis, requirements engineering and project management. Her focus is on Business Analysis, Information Architectures, Requirements Engineering, Conceptual Modelling, Risk Analysis, Stakeholder Management, Agile Methods, and Conflict Management.
Francis Baud started his studies in Computer Science in 1983 at the University of Geneva (Faculty of Sciences). After achieving his Master, he starts to work as project manager on software development for finance on futures and equities. Since 1989, he has worked as independent consultant for international organizations, multinational companies and private banking, mainly for project management and IT organization. In 1997, he founded NT Consulting Ltd to achieve important projects for software development in telecommunication and ERP systems. When starting his work of consultant in 1989, he has joined ASSPA association, which became SISR in 1991. Member of committee since the beginning, he has been president from 1997 to 2004, and then vice-president for several years. At the SISR’s General Assembly in 2018, he was elected as its new president. Francis is interested in the certification and recognition of IT diplomas, bringing together IT professionals, and growing the network of Swiss IT professionals with SI / SISR. “IT is today one of the most important technical tools in the world, but unfortunately too young to be well organize and regulated. Links between our government and IT specialists must be establish to conduct law and regulation in a safe way.” In parallel, he continues to manage his company and projects for several customers. “We always need to be in contact with customers to keep reality of the market in mind. One of the most important part of our work is to understand the needs of users and translate them in technology, not doing technology for technology.”
Christian Tschudin is the president of the SWISS INFORMATICS RESEARCH ASSOCIATION SIRA
SIRA is a non-profit association with the goals of fostering national and international collaboration within the ICT research community and of promoting the visibility and recognition of research and advanced education in ICT and its related fields performed in Switzerland. SIRA achieves these goals by working to influence policy that impacts ICT research, coordinate ICT related efforts in research and advanced education both within Switzerland and with organisations abroad, and cultivating communication with industry, government, the press, and the general public.
Address: Avenue de l’Europe 20, 1700 Fribourg
Map (Google Maps)
Map (OpenStreetMap)
Closest bus stop: Gambach
Directions
Take a train to Fribourg/Freiburg. Use the SBB timetable for planning your trip.
We recommend to walk from the train station to the venue (about 500 m; see map below). From the train platforms, follow the signs to the bus station on the west side. Immediately after entering the underground bus station, turn right and follow the sidewalk to the exit. Cross Avenue de Tivoli and turn left. At the roundabout, turn right into Avenue de’l Europe. After about 250 m, turn right onto the campus of the University of Fribourg. The Aula Magna is the building in the center.
Alternatively, take bus line 8 or 9 heading toward Corminboeuf. Exit at stop Gambach and walk to venue.
The current Covid-19 situation allows us to hold SITC 2022 physically as planned. There are no restrictions except that you must not attend if you have symptoms of Covid-19 or have been tested positively for Covid-19 up to five days prior to the event.
The Aula Magna is a large room that will permit distance seating of attendees. Wearing face masks is not required, but it is totally ok if you prefer to wear one.
For registered participants who cannot attend SITC 2022 physically, we will provide an option for remote participation. No discount will be granted for remote participation.
Become a member of SI and benefit from a free registration! View member categories and annual fees
| Category | Early | Late | |
| SI or SIRA member | free* | free* | |
| Student non-member | 30 | 45 | |
| swissICT or SVIA member | 120 | 180 | |
| Other non-member | 180 | 270 | |
| *Participation is free for SI and SIRA members. Registration is required. | |||
Early registration rates apply for all registrations made by February 23, 2022. From February 24 on, the late rates are due.
Please note: SITC 2022 will be held as a physical event. For registered participants who cannot attend SITC 2022 physically, we will provide a live stream from the lecture hall so that they can participate remotely. No discount will be granted for remote participation.
Please use the registration form below for registering online. Unless you are entitled for a free registration, you have to pay the registration fee by transferring the amount due to the following account:
Postfinance Switzerland, account owner: Swiss Informatics Society, IBAN: CH26 0900 0000 1507 4699 0.
All participants must accept the terms and conditions of registration.
Fields marked with * are required.
The Swiss IT Congress SITC 2022 on IT Education in Switzerland will be held on Thursday March 10, 2022 as a physical event at the University of Fribourg. Registered attendees who cannot travel to Fribourg will receive a link for remote attendance.
