Dr. J.P. Auffret is the director of the Center for Assurance Research and Engineering (CARE) in the College of Engineering & Computing, director of the Research Partnerships and Grants Initiatives in the School of Business at George Mason University and is the co-founder and current president of the International Academy of CIO (IAC).
The IAC was founded in 2006 in Japan by co-founders from Japan, the United States, Indonesia, Philippines, Switzerland and Thailand. The IAC members, partnerships and alliances now span all regions with economies including China, Hong Kong, India, Italy, Kazakhstan, Korea, Laos, Macao, Netherlands, Nigeria, Peru, Russia, Singapore, Taiwan, United Kingdom, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam.
“We have active participation from more than 50 countries and foster and facilitate CIO and IT leadership education programs, development of CIO institutions including government CIO Councils and associated IT policies, and application of technology to major societal challenges,” says Auffret.
Key initiatives are the annual publication of the Waseda – IAC Digital Government Rankings, a book series with IOS Press, a CIO accreditation program for CIO master’s degree programs and an IAC annual conference which has been hosted in twelve different countries.
The IAC partners with NGOs and multilateral organizations including Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).
What began as a meeting between Auffret and Professor Toshio Obi from Waseda University in the spring of 2004 in Arlington, Virginia has blossomed into a collaborative partnership.
During the last year, the IAC activities have included hosting a series of “Technology and Country Experiences in COVID-19 Response” webinars highlighting innovations from Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and other countries.
The IAC 2021 Mini Conference will be virtual and is planned for December 7th and 8th focusing on COVID-19, Digital Resilience and Economic Recovery in the Age of AI, Robotics and 5G.
For more information, please go to: https://iac2021miniconference.eventbrite.com