Leading technology experts from the region and across the world will be converging on St Augustine campus of the University of the West Indies (UWI) for an intensive week of high-tech training. The 3^rd regional gathering of the Caribbean Network Operators Group is being jointly hosted by the UWI Faculty of Engineering and the Caribbean Telecommunications Union (CTU). "We are delighted to host such a high-caliber slate of presenters for this meeting," stated Dr. Kim Mallalieu, Leader of the Communication Systems Group in UWI’s Faculty of Engineering and one of the local organizers. She added, "Local as well as regional ICT practitioners have a unique opportunity to benefit from the expertise of some of the top technical minds in the Internet industry today."

Dr. Mallalieu believes staging the event locally affords T&T  has a unique opportunity to showcase itself as one of the region's main technology hubs, while building necessary skills into local and regional ICT technicians and engineers.

Coordinator for the event, Trinidad-born tech-expert Bevil Wooding, shared that CaribNOG events usually attract high-profiled speakers and participants from across the globe to tackle topics ranging from keeping out hackers and defending against cyber-attacks to best practices for managing computer networks.

“CaribNOG fills a very critical void in the region's technology landscape,” Wooding stated, adding “It provides a much needed forum for technology practitioners to exchange ideas and experiences”

The week-long CaribNOG 3 program is being coordinated by the Caribbean Telecommunications Union with support from international organizations including the American Registry for Assigned Names and Numbers (ARIN), BrightPath Foundation, the Internet Society (ISOC) and the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) and the Latin American and Caribbean Internet Addresses Registry (LACNIC) and Packet Clearing House.

Feature speakers at the event include three Internet veterans. Two are from ICANN, the organization responsible for managing addresses on the Internet. John Crain is a Senior Director responsible for establishing strategy, planning and execution for ICANN's external Security, Stability and Resiliency programs. Richard Lamb ICANN’s DNSSEC Program Manager. Richard was the technical and policy architect for ICANN's root DNSSEC deployment and is a driving force behind DNSSEC's deployment as a platform for Internet security, innovation and opportunity. ARIN is being represented by its Chief Technology Officer, Mark Kosters. Mark was the Vice President of Research at Internet security giant, Verisign.

Other presenters include Jonny Martin, a board member for the Asia and Pacific Internet Association; Stephen Lee, Chief Technology Officer at US-based networking and software development firm, ArkiTechs; and Bevil Wooding.

Wooding brought international media attention to the region's technology sector in 2010 when news broke that he was one of only seven persons from across the globe specially selected to hold keys to the Internet.

"Mr. Wooding is a virtual Caribbean technology ambassador," stated Claire Craig, a local organizer and a manager at UWI’s Campus IT Services department. "Having him bring this CaribNOG event to UWI and to Trinidad and Tobago is a real privilege."

CaribNOG is a not-for-profit, independent technical community that provides a regional forum for sharing industry experiences and expertise; building capacity and knowledge; and advocating relevant solutions for the region.

CaribNOG 3 runs from 11 – 15 June 2012 and is free to students and educators. All other participants pay a registration fee of TT$1,600. Registration is via the CaribNOG website: www.caribnog.org.