Symposium on Sustainability of the Internet and ICT

The University of Melbourne will be hosting a Symposium on Sustainability of the Internet and ICT, November 25 & 26, 2008. The event is by invitation only, but there are a few spots left, if someone feels they have something to contribute. No doubt the UoM would also welcome so sponsorship:

The ongoing and rapid growth of Information and Communications Technologies (ICT), including the Internet, is an integral part of todays commercial, economic and social reality. However, it has now become clear that the current exponential growth of ICT and the Internet is not sustainable. Major ICT and Internet based companies are already experiencing difficulties due to the size and power requirements of servers, routers and data centres.

For several years the ARC Centre for Ultra-Broadband Information Networks (CUBIN), based at the University of Melbourne, has been researching aspects of the power and size required by technologies used in the Internet today and in the future. This team, lead by Professor Rodney Tucker, is one of only a handful of international research teams that are investigating the long term sustainability of ICT and the Internet.

This type of research is vital to ICT practitioners, companies and other experts who design, specify, build and utilise the Internet.

Therefore, CUBIN is organising a two day Symposium on the Sustainability of the Internet and ICT. This Symposium will have two themes:

1. Sustainability of ICT and the Internet (Day 1)
2. Using ICT and the Internet to improve environmental sustainability (Day 2)

The Symposium will be held on Tuesday 25th and Wednesday 26th of November 2008 at the University of Melbourne, Parkville in Victoria.

The Symposium will focus on a range of critical issues including:

• Energy demands of future ICT & Internet equipment
• Sustainable architectures and protocols for the future
• The impact of ICT/Internet growth in developing nations
• Regulation and the sustainability of the Internet
• Growth of Internet services and sustainability

The Symposium will offer the following benefits to participants:

• Learn about technologies and design practices to reduce data centre power consumption
• Be exposed to forthcoming technologies which promise a faster and lower power Internet
• Collect ideas on how to use the Internet to reduce your company's carbon footprint
• Influence industry regulation rather than just being a victim of it
• Contribute to and learn from discussions with other experts in the field
• Participate in developing research plans to address the key challenges to a sustainable Internet ...

From: About the Symposium on Sustainability of the Internet and ICT, University of Melbourne, 2008