Media Advisory - Ontario Minister of Research and Innovation to Present ORION Leadership Awards at 2013 ORION THINK Conference

TORONTO, April 16, 2013 /CNW/ - The Honourable Reza Moridi, Ontario's Minister of Research and Innovation, will be presenting the 2013 ORION Leadership Awards on Thursday, April 25 at ORION's annual THINK Conference. Being held at the Sheraton Centre, the Conference also features presentations by research and innovation thought leaders including: Dr. Ann Cavoukian, Ontario Information and Privacy Commissioner; John Weigelt, Microsoft Canada's National Technology Officer; and Dr. Gregory Bell, Director of America's Energy Sciences Network and Director of the Lawrence Berkeley National Library's Scientific Networking Division.

"Ontario is home to many of Canada's best and brightest researchers and innovators. It is a pleasure and an honour to be presenting three of these exceptional leaders with an award and I congratulate them on their accomplishments. Our government is committed to supporting this community and we will continue to do our part to ensure that Ontario maintains its competitive edge and position as an innovation leader."

-  Honourable Reza Moridi, Ontario Minister of Research and Innovation

The Ontario Research and Innovation Optical Network (ORION) is Ontario's advanced technology fibre optic network that connects our research and education sectors. ORION is convening the inaugural THINK Conference to focus the organizations it serves to focus on collaboration, sharing best practices and developing ideas that lead to innovative solutions.

WHAT:	2013 ORION THINK Conference, including presentation of 2013 ORION Leadership Awards
WHO:	Minister of Research and Innovation the Honourable Reza Moridi, Chair of ORION Network and President of George Brown College Anne Sado, Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario, Dr. Ann Cavoukian Ontario Corporate CIO, David Nicholl Other Extreme Data Thought Leaders
WHEN:	Thursday, April 25, 2013 8am - 6pm (See schedule attached or http://www.thinkconference.ca/schedule/)
WHERE:	The Sheraton Centre 123 Queen Street West  Toronto, Ontario M5H 2M9

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THINK Conference 2013 Schedule - Thursday April 25, 2013
Sheraton Centre
123 Queen Street West
Toronto, Ontario
M5H 2M9

8:00 a.m. - 9:00 a.m. - Registration / Full Breakfast

9:00 a.m. - 9:15 a.m. - Opening Remarks

Darin Graham, President and CEO, ORION
Anne Sado, Chair, ORION

9:15 a.m. - 9:35 a.m. - The Big ideas flowing from ORION's Users

Darin Graham, President and CEO, ORION

9:35 a.m. - 10:30 a.m. - Keynote Speaker

John Weigelt, National Technology Officer, Microsoft Canada

10:30 a.m. - 10:45 a.m. - BREAK

10:45 a.m. - 11:45 a.m. - The Age of Big Data and Extreme Information - Are you ready?

Moderator: Darin Graham, President and CEO, ORION

Panelists:

• Dr. Daniela Crivianu-Gaita, Vice President and Chief Information Officer, Hospital for Sick Children

• Dr. Charles Davis, Professor, Ryerson University, Edward S. Rogers Sr. Research Chair of Media Management and Entrepreneurship

• David Nicholl - Corporate CIO, Government of Ontario

• Gregory Kovich, Business Development Specialist, Higher Education & K-12 North America, Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise Division

11:45 a.m. - 12:15 p.m. - Privacy by Design in the Age of Big Data - Put an End to Zero-Sum Thinking

Dr. Ann Cavoukian, Information & Privacy Commissioner, Ontario, Canada

12:15 p.m. - 12:45 p.m. - LUNCH

12:45 p.m. - 1:00 p.m. - Remarks from the Minister of Research and Innovation

Honourable Reza Moridi, Ontario Minister of Research and Innovation

1:00 p.m. - 1:45 p.m. - ORION Leadership Awards Presentation

The ORION Leadership Awards will be presented by Minister Moridi and recognize research breakthroughs and innovation in Ontario.

1:45 p.m. - 2:45 p.m. - Breakout Sessions

THINK Conference delegates will attend one of three information and discussion sessions led by industry experts. Topics will include:

• Security in a Distributed Network Environment
• Big Data Infrastructure
• Trends in Big Data and the Impact on Research and Education 

2:45 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. - BREAK 

3:00 p.m. - 3:45 p.m. - Network as Instrument: Faster Data for Ontario

Dr. Gregory Bell, Director, Energy Sciences Network, Director, Scientific Networking Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

3:45 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. - Closing Remarks

4:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. - Networking Reception

SOURCE: Ontario Research and Innovation Optical Network (ORION)

For media enquiries and interviews please contact:   

Joshua Tucker
Content Coordinator, ORION
416.507.9860 ext 226
[email protected]