Through a partnership with the Software Association of Oregon (SAO), Portland State’s School of Extended Studies is sponsoring InnoTech: the Business & Technology Conference and Expo coming to Portland in April. Along with the School of Business, the Maseeh College of Engineering, and the Portland State Business Accelerator, the School of Extended Studies will be highlighting the wide variety of ways that the University serves the technology community. Portland State University will have a large booth in the exhibit hall, and is asking visitors to stop and tell the story of how they connect to Portland State, via an interactive website.

“It’s amazing how many people have connections to Portland State. It seems everyone I meet has attended or worked with our faculty. We’re interested in those stories,” says Mike Burton, vice provost at the School of Extended Studies.

The events will be highlighted by the participation of noted technology scholar, writer, and presenter Don Tapscott, chief executive at the international think tank New Paradigm. Tapscott is the best-selling co-author of Wikinomics: How Mass Collaboration Changes Everything. His additional titles include Paradigm Shift, Growing Up Digital, and The Naked Corporation. Portland State is supporting Tapscott’s visit, which will include a conference keynote address, an on-campus roundtable forum with Portland State students, and a luncheon with business, government, and education leaders.

Now in its fifth year, the InnoTech Conference and Expo will be held April 16-17 at the Oregon Convention Center. Related activities will include a Chief Information Officers (CIO) Summit, an eMarketing Summit, and a Clean Technology Summit featuring speaker Ron Perncik, co-founder and principal of Clean Edge, co-author of The Clean Tech Revolution, and an adjunct faculty member at Portland State. Attendance is expected to increase over last year’s mark of 2,000 and Portland State students, faculty, and staff will receive sponsor discounts to the conference and related events.

The School of Extended Studies at Portland State University is the premier provider of lifelong learning opportunities for local communities, the region, and the state. The school provides traditional and innovative learning experiences for professionals, educators, and students, through independent, onsite, and distance learning programs. Additional InnoTech sponsors include Easy Street, OTBC, City of Beaverton, Portland Development Commission, Portland Business Alliance, Time Warner Telecom, TATA Consultancy Services, CSG Professional Services, Hill & Knowlton, eROI, first tech Credit Union, KPAM, PLUS Digital Projectors, internet strategy forum, and SIM Portland.

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