IT in the College of Engineering & Physical Sciences

The College of Engineering and Physical Sciences (CEPS) at U of G is a renowned leader in academic programming. It houses the following academic units:

• Department of Chemistry
• School of Computer Science
• School of Engineering
• Department of Mathematics and Statistics
• Department of Physics.

CEPS IT

CEPS has a robust IT team to support teaching, learning and research within the college. The team provides front-line support to students and faculty as well as regular project work focused on service improvement. They support and manage digital signs across the School of Engineering in partnership with the CCS digital sign program, and they collaborate with faculty to support teaching needs. Data storage is of utmost importance to ensure researchers and faculty are supplied with the best tools to securely store their data.

Shared IT Services Model

CEPS works under a shared model of Information Technology (IT) management, with Rome Khamkeuang holding the role of Senior Manager, IT Shared Services for CEPS and the College of Biological Sciences (CBS). Rome, who joined U of G in this newly created role in September 2022, is responsible for service delivery, IT asset management and strategic planning for both colleges.

Rome aims to build partnerships and foster collaboration within the two colleges. A longer-term goal is to build an IT strategy for CEPS and CBS that is aligned with the University’s IT Strategy. As part of this vision, Rome hopes to reduce duplication of effort by collaborating with centralized IT, while celebrating and utilizing the specialties of her team members.

“We want to be able to work and grow collectively, while excelling in areas that are specific to our teams’ interests.” – Rome Khamkeuang, Senior Manager, IT Shared Services, CEPS & CBS

Below is the shared IT model for CEPS and CBS with team members.

*Dana Rea, Analyst III at the School of Computer Science, is currently on secondment as
Cyber Security Manager with the Centre for Biodiversity Genomics.

CEPS IT Recent Accomplishments

DevOps Solution for Software Engineering Course

The School of Computer Science IT team developed a DevOps solution using Gitlab and Kubernetes to allow students taking a third-year software engineering course (CIS*3760) to gain experience with industry-standard tools, while meeting the learning expectations for the course. The IT team identified the tools required, deployed the solution and provided documentation for instructors and TAs to support its use.

Process Digitization in the School of Engineering

The School of Engineering IT team has worked hard to digitize several processes to ensure greater efficiency and ease of use:

• Digitized Exam Deferral Form: The team developed and implemented a digitized exam deferral form, allowing academic counsellors to more efficiently support students requiring exam accommodations.

• Distribution of Effort Form: A fully digital distribution of effort form was introduced to more efficiently document faculty efforts related to research, teaching and service. This new process has been adopted by more than 60 CEPS faculty members and has notably cut down on the previous manual workload.

• Lab Hardware Refresh: Leveraging modern management tools such as Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager, the team was able to refresh lab hardware in record time: 99 computers in less than 24 hours! This has allowed for greater alignment with centralized IT services and elimination of previous licensing costs resulting from older hardware.   

• Lab Status Page: A new lab status page enhances student use of engineering lab space for studying and research. This page displays real-time occupancy levels of computer labs, enabling students to make more informed decisions to best suit their needs. View the live lab status page here.