Rob Milman is the Manager of Infrastructure and Security in the IT Systems and Services (ITSS) department at the University of Prince Edward Island (UPEI). Rob is from Calgary and built his career securing systems for companies and institutions, like Southern Alberta Institute of Technology. He was heavily involved in Calgary’s cyber security community. Rob moved to Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island (PEI) for his current role and right away became a mentor for PEI IT Alliance’s and PEI’s first CyberPatriot National Youth Cyber Defense Competition team. Rob is involved in helping PEI’s cyber security community grow.

How did you get into IT?

In 1993, I was working as an electronics technologist and the chief engineer asked me to build a computer network. It took me 2 weeks to figure out how to get 2 computers to talk to each other. I was hooked and built a 250-person network with 2 file servers. After a few years, I wanted to learn more so I joined an IT consulting firm and never looked back.

Can you describe your background and how you came to this point in your career?

My background is in electronics, but I’ve always had a passion for computers since high school. I clearly remember the first computer lab at our high school was 30 Apple II computers and it was amazing. I quickly learned that I didn’t want to be a programmer though, I found it too rule-bound and restrictive.

Fast forward to 1998, I joined an IT consulting company and began to learn where my skills were best used. I had been troubleshooting problems, building new networks and leading teams, but my passion was turning towards security. I kept asking how we could better secure our customers and began to learn security processes and tools.

As I learned more, myself and another co-worker convinced the company to start selling cyber security services. As I gained more experience and understanding, I became more aware that this was a highly sought-after skill set.

I ended up on a contract to help a post-secondary institution in Alberta and was quickly hired and became the security leader. After 10 years in that position, I heard about a position in PEI and here I am.

Tell us about your current role. What does your company do for what sort of customers? What sorts of problems are you solving? What is your main expertise and how do you use it in your current role?

I work at UPEI as the manager of infrastructure and security. The role is dual purpose as I manage the team of network technicians and technical leads. I also am responsible for the cyber security program for the entire institution. We have staff and students from all over the world that expect a modern, secure teaching and learning experience.

We have all the regular IT support issues from printing to forgotten passwords, coupled with a 24/7 animal hospital and world-class research facilities. Working in IT at a university is like managing a small city. We have food services, residences, labs, classrooms, gyms, and multiple buildings and satellite campuses to manage.

At this point in my career, I’ve seen pretty much everything and use that to help me manage and guide my team. My main role is to work with senior management and translate their strategies and goals into actionable tasks for my team to accomplish. Meanwhile, I’m using my extensive experience in cyber security to develop a 3-year roadmap to strengthen the existing security framework at the university.

Can you tell us about a person who greatly influenced the success in your career?

I can’t pinpoint a single person but rather a whole bunch of people with similar characteristics that have influenced me over the years. Leaders who have been brave and confident enough to stop a project mid-way because they knew it was going to fail in the end. Co-workers who kept smiling through the toughest, never-ending night while rebuilding a broken system. People who remained calm in boardrooms, while others were losing their temper. The sage mentors who’d seen it all and were willing to pass down their knowledge.

What made you decide to call PEI home?

My wife and I are born and raised Calgarians. We were looking at moving to a quieter community to settle down for our retirement years. PEI was not on our radar. I went to a conference in BC and met the CIO from UPEI. He mentioned that he’d been looking for someone to fill this role for over a year. I mentioned it to my wife, and she was very excited about the prospect of retiring in such a beautiful, peaceful place. Her father is an Islander and we’ve been here a few times over the years to visit family.

What technology or tool are you excited about? What are you actively learning?

Machine learning is the most interesting thing I’ve been learning in the past few years. I don’t believe true AI exists yet, but it is coming soon. I think of it as not replacing people but augmenting them.

Quantum computing is something else I’m building my knowledge on as well. It’s coming toward us very rapidly and it will force us to move into a different mindset for securing systems.

Can you provide us with a way that people can find you online?

LinkedIn is the best way to connect with me. However, understand that as a security professional, I only accept connections from people I meet in real life. Rob Milman | LinkedIn