The College of IS&T at the Peter Kiewit Institute at UNO now offers graduate certificates in the areas of information assurance, project management, and systems analysis & design. The goal of the graduate certificates is to allow post-baccalaureate students and working professionals to expand their educational background and complete course work that could count towards a graduate degree in MIS. Each certificate consists of 12 credit hours of courses. For details, visit the ISQA Graduate Certificates Page.

The College of IS&T and the College of Business Administration at UNO are partnering to offer a dual-degree program in which students can earn an MBA degree and a Masters Degree in MIS in just 54 credit hours. The program is designed for dedicated students who are willing to take on the challenges related to graduate education from two perspectives that are integrated together -- Business Administration and Management Information Systems. For details, visit the UNO Joint Degree Page.

Learn and share with your peers and HDI Experts through the local users group. Participation in this users group is an excellent way to receive technical content, education and to meet with your peers to get more knowledge of tools available.

The first meeting of the new Omaha chapter will be held on Wednesday, February 9, at thePark Plaza Regency Lodge Omaha, 909 South 107th Avenue, from 4:00-5:30 p.m. The guest speaker will be Sophia Klossner from the National Help Desk Institute Organization. Remember, this is not just for Service Desk technicians; this is for any interested IT professional.

For more information contact: Sandra McCarty, IT Service Center Manager, Commercial Federal Bank, 402-554-5675, SandraMcCarty@commercialfed.com.

Mike Byers, Director of Sales for eSymbiosis, has volunteered to Chair the ITC Speakers Committee. Mike has been a long time participant with ITC and has an extensive network of local contacts in the technology sector. He already has contributed several thematic ideas for the upcoming meetings. His assistance will be greatly appreciated.

We wish to recognize the service of Jay Durmaskin and Dan Kurtz for their previous support of ITC Speakers Committee. The volunteer effort of ITC members is what fuels the organization for our mutual benefit. More discussions about our organization and volunteers at the upcoming meeting.

The ITC Meeting location has MOVED!!!

We will now be meeting at DTN's headquarters (9110 Dodge), the Embassy Park Office Building, on northwest corner of 90th and Dodge.

DTN has graciously extended the use of their *multimedia room* which is on the main floor, east side of the atrium, just across from the coffee shop. Come early, order at the coffee shop and bring it into the meeting room.

This is a fabulous facility for ITC meetings. The room has a large U shaped conference table with conference microphones, a ceiling mounted LCD projector, high-speed internet access and a white board. From these facilities, ITC could even provide a live web-cast of our meetings!

Many thanks to long time ITC supporter, Jay Froscheiser, for making the arrangements.

The sixth annual NEbraskaCERT Conference held in Omaha last week hosted about 200 IT and management professionals from across the US. The seminars and keynotes included local and national speakers on security topics ranging from forensics to Wi-Fi. This is another example of an all volunteer group of IT professionals promoting their area of specialization and Omaha as well. More information about the conference is available at the CERTconf website.

Seed Nebraska (SN), based in Omaha, aims to help Nebraska's entrepreneurial, technology, and venture capital community grow. Through current news, resources links, and occasional commentary, SN highlights the best that Nebraska has to offer in the area of technology, venture capital, and the entrepreneurial spirit. SN welcomes contributions from this community, including event postings, additional links, and articles.

Jeff Hanson, SN Editor and Founder, is a partner with a seed and early stage venture capital fund (www.oifvc.com) and co-founder of Omaha-based InTouch Communications (www.intouchsolutions.com).

Dear ITCouncil,

The World Think Tank has been watching your efforts and are quite impressed. We believe the answer to many of the problems facing human kind can be solved through Information Technology. We invite you to join us and discuss ideas and innovations involving IT and other important subjects at our Online Forum.

This will help us as we bring ideas and recommendations to various branches of US and Worldwide leadership, so that your voice is heard and the forward progression of mankind continues.

Lance Winslow
World Think Tank