March 13, 2008
A video stroll through the aisles of BizTech2008
Star Trek uniforms, hand-made robots and spacey headgear ruled the day on Wednesday, March 19, at the HUB, when BizTech2008, the UW’s annual in-house business and technology fair, launched into a daylong orbit.
BizTech, now in its fifth year, presents practical information in a playful way, showcasing new technologies, business initiatives, and products and services available to the UW community. Past BizTech events had a Western feel or a South Seas ambiance, but this year’s was truly cosmic, blasting off with the theme “Your Mission: Discover. Collaborate. Innovate.”
In this video, Harry Hayward, director of electronic media and special programs for UW Media Relations and Communications, strolls the aisles of BizTech2008 to see what’s new and interesting. And along the way he meets folks from UWTV, Publications Services, the UW Project Tracker and Bay Laurel Catering — who offered Treklike “Picard pasta” and “Ferrengi flatbreads” for the visiting terrestrials.
BizTech seems to get a little bigger every year. But if you missed this year’s event you can see photos online at the event Web site, http://www.washington.edu/biztech. And if you did visit and forgot to vote for your favorite booth, you can do that through Tuesday at https://catalysttools.washington.edu/webq/survey/ckhall/51623.
And just as Star Trek continued long after its initial “five-year mission,” BizTech has no plans to come in for a landing any time soon. What’s the theme for BizTech2009? They’re not telling.
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Also, read University Week’s advance story about BizTech2008 below:
BizTech2008: A greener event this year
BizTech, the annual business and technology fair, is coming to the HUB on Wednesday, March 19. This year’s theme is “Your Mission: Discover. Collaborate. Innovate.”
And while the theme and this year’s logo hint of worlds unexplored in outer space, the reality is very down-to-earth. BizTech, now in its fifth year, showcases new and notable business initiatives, technologies, products and services available to the UW campus community.
This year, in addition to the onogoing theme of “discovery” shared campuswide, the event is promoting collaboration among different UW offices all working toward similar goals.
BizTech will be held from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the HUB Ballroom, on the second floor. Like last year, it will be kicked off by a welcome and keynote address by Phyllis Wise, UW provost and executive vice president, from 9 to 9:30 a.m. in HUB200ABC. It’s all free, of course.
The event will be Earthy in another way, too: BizTech will be a “greener” event this year, with exhibitors encouraged to compost their food waste. And along those lines, a table will be available on how to “green your office.” Financial Management will offer information on its “Purple Goes Green” program, which seeks to promote reduction, reuse and recycling.
Door prizes also will be awarded, the best of which — a pair of tickets on an Amtrak Cascades train run — will be won by someone who has registered by noon on March 18. You can preregister and learn all about BizTech 2008 by visiting online at http://www.washington.edu/biztech. And don’t worry if you miss that deadline; you can register at the event.
Fifty-four offices and agencies will offer information at tables for BizTech 2008. Among the new offerings this year will be tables on:
- violence prevention and response at the UW,
- campus emergency communications and the UW Alert system.
- the new Procure to Pay system, which seeks to reduce the number of payment invoice discrepancies,
- the UW Business Diversity Program, which seeks to increase support and inclusion of traditionally underrepresented groups,
- UW Tower and information related to the move of UW units to the former Safeco Tower.
The theme of collaboration is at the heart of several presentations this year, including:
- UW Technology (formerly Computing & Communications), offering information about “the workspace of the future,” integrating communication and collaboration capabilities.
- UW Strategic Roadmap for Information Management and Administrative Systems — a collaborative effort involving more than 175 people and a cross-section of the UW community.
- Special Interest Groups, or SIGs, which promote strong communication, productivity and collaborative communities, provide a single place where UW staff, faculty and students can go to discover and participate in ongoing technology discussions.
Other tables are staffed by UW offices and their partners. UW offices include Commuter Services, Recycling and Solid Waste, Creative Services, Bay Laurel Catering, Records Management Services, Faculty Field Tour, Catalyst and HUB event services, Human Resources, Classroom Support Services, the UW Police and many more.
UW partners with tables will include Microsoft, Avaya, Office Depot, Troxell, Silicon Mechanics, Apple, the University Book Store.
BizTech has been a growing concern in its fairly short history. About 1,300 people stopped by in its first year but that number rose to about 1,800 last year. Organizers are hoping, of course, to beat those attendance numbers this year.
And though BizTech takes a somewhat cosmic tone for this year’s event, it’s not even close to reaching its final frontier — there’ll be another BizTech next year.
