CIOs in the Student Shark Tank

CIO's are the head honchos of tech at our schools, but what happens when they answer directly to the students? At the Student Shark Tank, CIOs must convince elite student "sharks" from North American universities to win funding for their initiative/project. This is their chance to look past budgets, bureaucracy, and practicality to put their greatest ideas forward in a high-stakes competition for the chance to see it through! (Competition is simulated.) The session will feature a panel of three to five CIOs from North American universities and a panel of at least four students on the other side of the stage. The emcees, Ben and Sandeep, will ask each CIO to put forward a technology-related idea for their school, something they think would be useful but would normally be hard to put in place. The students will then have a chance to comment on and critique the idea, and each will have a pile of (simulated) cash funding to invest in the ideas they believe in the most. This session will be a lighthearted role reversal, where some of the most influential EDUCAUSE members will find themselves answering directly to students. Our goal is to create a fun and accessible chance for higher-ed tech professionals to connect to students and brainstorm their thoughts about our future tech needs. We hope this session can pave the way for more student participation in higher-ed tech and EDUCAUSE.

Understand student perspectives on CIOs' business cases in relation to improving their experience * Discover how students would prioritize their investment -- what's most important to them * Hear about how a CIO would implement the ECAR recommendations 2019 report