For Immediate Release
Partnership between the Information Technology Association of Canada (ITAC) and the Université du Québec en Outaouais (UQO) results in project to develop the first global Body of Knowledge for Business Technology Management (BTM)
Toronto, August 28, 2017 — ITAC and the Université du Québec en Outaouais announced today that they have received a $160,000 two-year research grant from the MITACS Accelerate Program to develop a global Body of Knowledge (BOK) to define the skills and competencies of a professional designation for a Business Technology Management Occupation.
The development of the Body of Knowledge, under the supervision of Dr. Stéphane Gagnon at the Université du Québec en Outaouais, is a logical next step in the BTM initiative. Launched by ITAC Talent in January 2009, BTM was first conceived as a set of Learning Outcomes to help business schools integrate, revitalize, and rebrand the disciplines of Management Information Systems (MIS) and IT Management (ITM). The goal was to help schools align with industry requirements, and improve the quality and quantity of students who choose this profession, filling the gap in leading the digital transformation in all sectors.
The BTM program is now offered in over two dozen schools across Canada with close to 4,000 students. BTM educational standards were expanded in 2016 with version 2.0, along with 5 new specializations in Data Analytics, Digital Health, Digital Security, Entrepreneurship & Innovation and Financial Services.
Planned for release by 2020, this new competency standards from the Body of Knowledge will help BTM professionals and their employers plan careers and manage talents more formally and with greater coherence across positions and organizations. The project will engage industry, academia, professionals, and various associations create structured knowledge that is used by members of a discipline to guide their practice or work and includes the prescribed aggregation of knowledge in a particular area an individual is expected to have mastered to be considered or certified as a practitioner.
“There is a labour shortage not only in the ICT sector, but across all sectors that require digital skills for their business to innovate and grow,” noted Robert Watson, President and CEO, ITAC. “Together with the BTM program and the Body of Knowledge it will allow professionals, employers, higher education, and other associations access to IT-related standards, certification, and accreditation in a formal structured way.”
“UQO is most honored to partner with ITAC in developing the first BTM BOK, made possible thanks to MITACS and its Accelerate program, geared toward enabling innovation and R&D. Our 3 doctoral students will focus their respective theses on key issues to making BTM an effective tool for decision making. Their research contributions will address such issues as adapting BTM standards to executive levels where no standards are available, applying leading edge Big Data and Text Mining tools to help align various BTM-related standards for BTM practice, and develop the collaborative platform necessary for the profession to actively engage professionals and domain experts to fuel the development of the BTM BOK. Our efforts in the coming 2 years will be to make the BTM BOK fully aligned with industry priorities, professional and career needs, and especially academic standards for the MIS and ITM disciplines.”, Dr. Stéphane Gagnon, Associate Professor of BTM, UQO.
About MITACS
Mitacs is a non-profit, national research organization that manages and funds research and training programs for undergraduate, graduate students and postdoctoral fellows in partnership with universities, industry and government in Canada. MITACS Accelerate offers matching funds for Canadian organizations seeking to hire students as research interns. The program welcomes applications at any time during the year, with internships ranging from one to several semesters, involving one or many students.
About ITAC
The Information Technology Association of Canada (ITAC) has been the authoritative national voice for Canada’s $72 billion ICT industry for over 65 years. As Canada’s National Business Association, ITAC champions the development of a robust and sustainable digital economy in Canada and is a vital connection between government, industry and academia and a prominent advocate for expanding Canada’s innovative capacity. ITAC encourages technology adoption to capitalize on productivity and performance opportunities across all sectors.
Business Technology Management (BTM) was introduced in 2009 at the undergraduate level in response to the feedback that new ICT graduates didn’t have the business skills needed by today’s organizations. Working together with academic institutions, industry and sector associations, ITAC Talent defined a set of learning outcomes and competency standards required by industry, drawing heavily on relevant international standards for similar programs. BTM is expanding to become an emerging trans-disciplinary research area and professional discipline in Business Administration
About Université du Québec en Outaouais
The Université du Québec en Outaouais (UQO) is based in Gatineau in the National Capital Region, along with a major campus in the Laurentides on the north-shore of Montreal. Founded in 1981, it is one of the 10 campus of the Université du Québec, enrolling more than 6,000 students of which 17% at the graduate levels. It offers more than 100 programs, among others 6 doctorates, with nearly $300M in research funding. Among its 220 220 full-time professors, in addition to 635 part-time, UQO has developed key expertise in Information Technology and Business Administration.
For more information contact:
Gina van Dalen
Executive Director
ITAC Talent
gvandalen@itac.ca
www.itactalent.ca
www.btm-forum.org
647 376 6036