As the leaves change colours, we’re embracing transformation in our collective understanding of the digital world as well – let’s approach Let’s approach it as a realm full of opportunities and potential where we build connections and trust together.

For the fourth week of the Cyber Security Awareness Month campaign, we are focusing on connecting with students in addition to the broader community. A key aspect of digital trust is recognizing that students play a central role as co-architects of their own experiences.

Creating trusted digital environments starts with active and inclusive listening. As acting Chief Information Officer Donna Kidwell aptly states, “We should design digital experiences with an ethical underpinning, with a sense of what’s the right thing to do, as opposed to what can we do, and then keep the learners and our faculty in our community at the center of all of those decisions.”

Supporting the academic mission–in IT and beyond–means creating secure and trustworthy digital spaces where our scholars, researchers and academics can all thrive.  As we use technology to create secure and empowering digital experiences, it is crucial to listen to our students.

On Oct. 21, we invited students to share their unique perspectives on digital trust and cyber security at our student connection panel event. Their insights will help shape the way we design future digital experiences at U of T.

As we explore these questions with students, we encourage other members of the community to reflect on their own digital experiences. What does digital trust mean for you? As more of our learning, working and living takes place in the digital realm, what and who do you trust?  What actions inspire trust?

We asked Donna and Kate to give us a sneak peek into their conversation by sharing what digital trust means to them. Here’s what they had to say: