Blog
Cybera wraps up applied data science lab after another successful internship season
This past March, the Applied Data Science Lab (ADSL) concluded its seventh and final internship program. This milestone marked five years of Cybera offering aspiring data scientists real-world industry experience and fostering greater data science adoption in Alberta. “We are thrilled to see Alberta at the forefront of data science,” says Dr Barb Carra, President […]
Cybera’s input on changing Alberta’s privacy rules to include AI considerations
How should Alberta address the impact of emerging technologies like artificial intelligence on individual privacy rights? That question was at the heart of a recent consultation undertaken by the Alberta Legislature as it looked to modernize the province’s Personal Information and Privacy Act (PIPA). The goal of this statutory review of Alberta’s privacy regime was […]
National procurement project recognized by the Canadian Association of University Business Officers
Cybera’s collaboration skills were recently commended on a national stage by the Canadian Association of University Business Officers (CAUBO). At its 2024 Quality and Productivity Awards, CAUBO organizers honoured a cross-Canada group of collaborators — including Cybera — for its role in pioneering an innovative and highly effective procurement method centered on interorganizational knowledge sharing. […]
ShareIT 2023-24 Year in review
As we look back at the 2023/24 fiscal year, it’s time to pop the virtual champagne (or share a virtual high-five) because boy, oh boy, what a year it’s been. Over the past fiscal year, ShareIT has seen its highest ever utilization—with just over $32M in spending and an estimated savings by members of $13.9M. […]
Cybera launches call for a municipalities representative to join its Board of Directors
Cybera is seeking applications for a community-minded volunteer to join its Board of Directors. This position will help guide Alberta’s research and education network organization as it works to connect Albertans to the world, and enable and advocate for better shared services and improved cybersecurity through the use of digital technology. Cybera is globally recognized […]
Public preview of SkillUp to continue through 2024
Cybera is thrilled to announce that its SkillUp web platform — which helps Albertans match their skills and experience with the most sought-after jobs, and find opportunities to learn in-demand skills — will remain publicly available for the entirety of 2024. Thanks to funding support from the Ministry of Jobs, Economy and Trade, SkillUp will […]
A fond farewell and securing the future: Callysto transitions to a new phase
Cybera and the Pacific Institute for the Mathematical Sciences (PIMS), the creators of the online digital skills learning platform, Callysto, today announce that they are winding down their involvement in the project. Callysto will continue to operate as an open source tool, and its 125+ learning resources will remain available to teachers and students across Canada. […]
From the President & CEO: Cybera community update and look ahead
With so much going on within Cybera and our wider community, I wanted to pause to review what we’ve accomplished in the latter quarter of 2023, and what we have planned for the year ahead. This past fall saw many big wins for Cybera and our community: the announcement that the Australian National Research and […]
New platform will help fill Alberta’s skills gaps
A web platform that helps Albertans match their skills and experience with the most sought-after jobs — as well as find opportunities to learn in-demand skills — is now available for a limited-time public preview. SkillUp provides an incredibly detailed (and user-friendly) Alberta labour market overview and education referral tool. Built by Cybera (Alberta’s not-for-profit research and […]
Cybera’s Applied Data Science program wraps up a busy 2023 with the launch of its third cohort
Cybera’s Applied Data Science Lab team has had a very busy 2023, helping support 10 different organizations with their early adoption of data science and machine learning practices. This is the most companies our data science team has supported in a single year, and is on top of over a dozen workshops and public information […]
ShareIT hits new group spend/saving milestone as it opens up to municipalities
Alberta’s ShareIT public procurement program has hit a major new milestone in its group spend and savings. Since it was launched in 2017 by Cybera — in collaboration with Alberta’s post-secondary institutions — the program has marked over $100 million in cumulative member spending on IT hardware, licenses, and other services via ShareIT’s negotiated agreements. […]
eduroam comes to the Calgary Airport
The Calgary Airport Authority has announced its launch of eduroam, the secure, global Wi-Fi roaming service for students and researchers. Post-secondary students, researchers, and faculty passing through the Calgary International Airport (YYC) now have access to the trusted and secure internet service. This represents the first airport in Alberta (and only the second in Canada) […]
Data science interns take a “trip” to Vertical City
With exaggerated hand gestures, data science intern Aldebaran Saldaña comedically ushers me in and out of a life-size “elevator simulator” — a small, curtained-off rectangle with a monitor mounted in the top right corner. “I feel like a border security officer,” he says. “Passports, please!” Rishabh Shukla, another intern, shares the system’s findings from behind […]
The trials, tribulations, and triumphs of a k-12 school network analyst
Chris Sluggett leads the talented and highly commended Technology Services team at Wolf Creek Public Schools, a school district covering rural communities north of Red Deer. The breadth of responsibility for his team — from enabling online learning, to protecting student privacy, to keeping the lights on — can be overwhelming to outsiders. But it […]
Step five of building cybersecurity: Implementing the CIA triad to combat risks
Part 7 of Cybera’s Introduction to Cybersecurity series Confidentiality, integrity and availability — also known as the CIA or AIC triad — is a model designed to guide policies and actions to build information security within an organization. Confidentiality The National Institute of Standard and Technology (NIST) defines confidentiality as: “Preserving authorized restrictions on information […]