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February 2007 • Volume 12 Number 2
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Executive Director's Letter
Where did you learn everything you know today about smart cards? Who taught you all those fancy terms and industry “buzz words?” How did you come to understand the many applications, types of cards and readers, and the key features and capabilities of smart card technology? If you are like me, who has been around a long time, you picked it up many different sources – mostly through absorbing information like a sponge from personal contact with other people smarter than me. Some people call that type of learning “tribal knowledge.” It's learning by doing with no textbooks, no instructors, and no measurement of how knowledgeable you have become. The Smart Card Alliance has provided classroom-style education for many years. Our Educational Institute program has taught hundreds of people the basics and more advanced aspects of smart card technology. However, our reach is limited to the two or three events each year where we can hold such a class, and to the industry professionals who can afford the cost and time to go where the classes are held. For nearly two years, the Alliance has been working on a better way to educate our industry professionals – and the first phase is complete. I am proud to announce the launch of the first online training course for smart cards – the Smart Card Alliance Fundamentals of Smart Card Technology. This online Fundamentals of Smart Card Technology course provides a thorough overview of the state of the smart card industry, the basic components of smart card technology, and the applications used throughout the global marketplace. The course covers a broad array of topics from why people are moving to smart cards to how the basic structure of smart card architecture is formed and utilized. Based on the successful Smart Card Alliance Educational Institute classes, this course consists of nine modules and takes approximately six hours to complete. The best thing is – you can learn while you sit at your desk, while you are at home from your home computer, while you are waiting at the airport – anytime you want! The course has been designed for a mass audience; both beginners and advanced professionals will learn at their own pace. A built-in proficiency exam tests your knowledge and the training program generates a personalized certificate of completion when you are done. Visit the Smart Card Alliance web site for more details. The cost is only $99.00 per person. Another great way to be educated about smart cards is to attend industry conference events. With so many events to choose from, and new ones being announced every month, you have to be very selective these days. Conferences are expensive and there are no guarantees that you will come away with anything useful. My advice is to stick to the conference events that have been around for a long time and have a proven track record. Events like the RSA 2007 Conference that just completed this month and CardTech SecurTech coming in May are good examples. These events deliver great content year after year. So does our own Smart Cards in Government Conference, coming up April 10–13 in Washington, D.C. This will be our 6th annual government-focused smart card conference with the conference and exhibition in the ultra-modern Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center this time. I hope everyone has responded to the email invitations that have been sent out to our subscribers. If you have not registered yet, there is still time to get the early registration discount until March 2. Sometimes, a new conference event is the only choice if there hasn’t been an event in that region before. That is the case for the first-ever Smart Cards for Government and Payment Conference – Mexico 2007 in Mexico City on May 7–8, 2007, jointly hosted by GlobalPlatform and the Smart Card Alliance. The conference will address the topics of “Smart Cards for Government and Secure ID” and “Financial and Contactless Payments” on separate days and will include technology exhibits from smart card manufacturers, suppliers, integrators and payment brands that have deployed successful solutions across the government and financial markets. As Latin America continues to accelerate in its adoption of smart card technology in government ID and payments, this conference will surely give you plenty of new information and knowledge about this important market. Thank you all for your continued interest and support of the Smart Card Alliance and the smart card industry we serve. I hope to see you all very soon at the new public event. Sincerely, Randy Vanderhoof
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