ComputerWorld Canada’s IT Leadership Awards, which recognizes exceptional talent in the Canadian IT industry, is taking place again this year after a successful inaugural year in 2010.
The awards are a great way to garner recognition for the excellent work that IT professionals do and the success stories and best practices of the companies they work for. The call for nominations has begun, so nominate yourself or a colleague.
Among the many nominations last year, was one by Corey Fraser of Halifax-based Minacs Aditya Birla. For the director of IT solutions architecture, nominating his colleague Michael Iseyemi for IT Leader of the Year was a way to recognize someone who had brought about “fundamental change” to the business at a time when it was sorely needed.
Fraser’s motivation for putting forth a nomination was twofold. First, the awards are a mechanism for sharing knowledge and best practices and setting the bar considering the IT sector has “degraded” from what it was 20 years ago, he said.
“(It) sets the stage for who is doing the right things and how are they doing it,” said Fraser. “It’s important to set an example for others so the greater community will achieve.”
Second, said Fraser, it’s great for networking given the constant movement within the IT industry. “Anything I can do for them in the here and now that may help them later down the road is worthy of my time,” he said.
Another nomination last year was by Karen Reid, a senior lecturer and undergraduate associate chair at the University of Toronto. Reid nominated colleague Greg Wilson for his work in establishing a relationship between academia and industry, an effort that won the adjunct professor IT Educator of the Year.
“We’re always looking for ways to recognize the work that our faculty is doing,” said Reid.
But the nomination was also a way to shine the spotlight on just one of the many accomplishments at the University of Toronto, said Reid. “It’s good for the industry to see what we’re doing at the university as well,” she said.
The award categories this year are: IT Leader of the Year, IT Manager of the Year, IT Rising Star of the Year, IT Educator of the Year, IT Mentor of the Year and CATA WIT IT Mentor of the Year.
The deadline for submitting a nomination is Aug. 11, 2011 at 4 pm ET. The winners and finalists will be celebrated on Oct. 26, 2011 in Toronto. For more information, visit the awards site.
Follow Kathleen Lau on Twitter: @KathleenLau
