Emerging Technologies Strategist

at  Macewan University

ABOUT US

MacEwan University is where caring faculty help people connect their passions to their future paths. Located in the heart of Edmonton’s diverse and dynamic downtown community, and on the traditional lands of Treaty 6 First Nations and homelands of the Métis people, MacEwan is known for exceptional undergraduate learning. With its dedication to teaching excellence, informed by scholarly research, innovation, and creative activity, MacEwan provides an exceptional collaborative and supportive learning environment with a commitment to human rights, environmental sustainability, and opportunities for community engagement. We are committed to creating an equitable, diverse, inclusive, and welcoming community for all peoples, cultures, and identities.
Our comprehensive undergraduate university offers 55 programs to more than 19,000 full- and part-time students in business, communications, community and human services, design, fine and performing arts, health, humanities, natural science, nursing, public safety, and social science. Through a wide array of experiential learning opportunities, and strategic relationships in the community, we partner with others to produce graduates of stature. Along with a robust grounding in their chosen disciplines, MacEwan students are given durable life skills that prepare them to take on the world.

OPPORTUNITY

MacEwan University is seeking an Emerging Technologies Strategist for a full-time continuing opportunity with our Information Technology Services. This position will appeal to an individual who has an academic background or a strong academic interest in emerging technologies, and who wants some experience working on the administrative side of a university, applying those technologies in a “real world” setting. Reporting to the Director, Enterprise Architecture, you will be a senior technical expert responsible for leading the strategic exploration, evaluation, and implementation of emerging technologies, such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), immersive technologies, robotics and advanced computer processing, to enhance teaching, learning, research and administrative operations at MacEwan. You will also provide guidance and expertise to ensure the successful integration of emerging technologies into the MacEwan digital ecosystem while maintaining a strong focus on risk, security, and ethical considerations.

Key responsibilities include:

• Analyzing the existing institutional environment to understand a range of short-term/emerging to long-term use cases in technologies and makes recommendations to address these challenges;
• Continuously identifying, researching, analyzing and evaluating emerging technologies, trends, breakthroughs, disruptors, etc., and assessing their potential impact on teaching, learning, research, and operational processes;
• Collaborating and consulting with institutional leaders, academic and administrative units to understand their operational and strategic needs, provide technical expertise and strategic insights to identify opportunities, new initiatives and potential impacts for AI-driven or other emerging technology solutions;
• Creating a decision-making framework with clear processes for project intake, review, and approval of emerging technology-related initiatives, ensuring they are evaluated for ethical, security, and compliance risks before approval and implementation;
• Evaluating the feasibility and viability of proposed solutions, considering factors such as technical constraints, resource availability, budgetary considerations, risk assessments and alignment with institutional goals;
• Creating tactical plans for adopting emerging technologies that have the potential to benefit the university and support the university’s strategic direction and institutional priorities;
• In consultation with the Director, Enterprise Architecture, developing policies, processes, standards and best practices to ensure consistency and effectiveness in the planning and utilization of emerging technologies across the institution while also ensuring alignment with the strategic direction of the university;
• Partnering with legal, the privacy office, and IT security to ensure legal compliance and data protection across all emerging technology initiatives;
• Building and maintaining relationships with key technology vendors, provincial and federal collaborative bodies (e.g. Cybera, CUCCIO Special Interest Groups, Microsoft, Apple, Google, AI providers, etc.);
• Engaging with external organizations and participating in industry events to keep abreast of technological developments, as well as how emerging technologies have been adopted;
• Leading initiatives to increase digital literacy, promoting fluency with emerging technologies and fostering institutional readiness for adoption of emerging technologies using change management frameworks;
• Researching solutions for MacEwan University’s research technology needs, assessing efficacy, and making recommendations on new technologies and systems in order to support MacEwan’s growing research programs;
• Maintaining detailed knowledge of the research community within Canada, including the various agencies and services within Canada that support academic research, and how to access specialized technological services and resources that support the Canadian research community;
• Coordinating user acceptance testing (UAT) activities with end-users to validate the functionality, usability, and performance of the developed solution; and
• Creating mechanisms such as KPIs and ROI to test, audit and validate the data integrity of AI systems and confirm that the systems operate as intended without introducing errors or biases.

SKILLS

You will have:

• A deep understanding of emerging technologies, including machine learning, natural language processing and data analytics, as well as digital and technical resources that can support university researchers;
• Strong affinity, interest and understanding of trends and best practices in emerging technologies;
• Knowledge of higher education trends, challenges, and opportunities related to emerging technologies;
• Familiarity with ethical considerations and legal frameworks surrounding AI;
• Entrepreneurial mindset and approach;
• Strong planning and project management skills, with the ability to manage multiple initiatives simultaneously;
• The ability to conduct market research, gather data, investigate, analyze, and synthesize information to draw conclusions and make recommendations;
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, including the ability to communicate effectively with external stakeholders and internal stakeholders at varying levels within the organization and to translate technical concepts for non-technical audiences;
• Excellent interpersonal skills, with the ability to work collaboratively and build/maintain strong working relationships;
• High attention to detail with excellent organizational, time management, analytical and problem-solving and critical thinking skills;
• The ability to multitask, take initiative, demonstrate flexibility to adapt to changing situations and priorities and meet critical deadlines; and
• The ability to navigate the rapidly evolving technology landscape, advocate for innovative solutions, drive innovation and digital transformation initiatives, and align technological advancements with the institution’s strategic goals and direction.

QUALIFICATIONS

• A minimum of a master’s degree in computing science, data science, business information systems, educational technology or related field.
• A minimum of 8 years of progressively responsible experience in working with and implementing innovative technology solutions and digital transformation initiatives or related area.
• Experience working in post-secondary education, public sector or research-based environment is preferred.
• Relevant certifications in AI or other emerging or advanced technologies would be considered an asset.
• An equivalent combination of education and experience may be considered.

• Analyzing the existing institutional environment to understand a range of short-term/emerging to long-term use cases in technologies and makes recommendations to address these challenges;
• Continuously identifying, researching, analyzing and evaluating emerging technologies, trends, breakthroughs, disruptors, etc., and assessing their potential impact on teaching, learning, research, and operational processes;
• Collaborating and consulting with institutional leaders, academic and administrative units to understand their operational and strategic needs, provide technical expertise and strategic insights to identify opportunities, new initiatives and potential impacts for AI-driven or other emerging technology solutions;
• Creating a decision-making framework with clear processes for project intake, review, and approval of emerging technology-related initiatives, ensuring they are evaluated for ethical, security, and compliance risks before approval and implementation;
• Evaluating the feasibility and viability of proposed solutions, considering factors such as technical constraints, resource availability, budgetary considerations, risk assessments and alignment with institutional goals;
• Creating tactical plans for adopting emerging technologies that have the potential to benefit the university and support the university’s strategic direction and institutional priorities;
• In consultation with the Director, Enterprise Architecture, developing policies, processes, standards and best practices to ensure consistency and effectiveness in the planning and utilization of emerging technologies across the institution while also ensuring alignment with the strategic direction of the university;
• Partnering with legal, the privacy office, and IT security to ensure legal compliance and data protection across all emerging technology initiatives;
• Building and maintaining relationships with key technology vendors, provincial and federal collaborative bodies (e.g. Cybera, CUCCIO Special Interest Groups, Microsoft, Apple, Google, AI providers, etc.);
• Engaging with external organizations and participating in industry events to keep abreast of technological developments, as well as how emerging technologies have been adopted;
• Leading initiatives to increase digital literacy, promoting fluency with emerging technologies and fostering institutional readiness for adoption of emerging technologies using change management frameworks;
• Researching solutions for MacEwan University’s research technology needs, assessing efficacy, and making recommendations on new technologies and systems in order to support MacEwan’s growing research programs;
• Maintaining detailed knowledge of the research community within Canada, including the various agencies and services within Canada that support academic research, and how to access specialized technological services and resources that support the Canadian research community;
• Coordinating user acceptance testing (UAT) activities with end-users to validate the functionality, usability, and performance of the developed solution; and
• Creating mechanisms such as KPIs and ROI to test, audit and validate the data integrity of AI systems and confirm that the systems operate as intended without introducing errors or biases