Being part of ISACA’s professional community offers not only networking, career advancement and continuing education but also personal relationships, inspirational leaders and mentors. As social distancing has become a global reality for us all at least temporarily, it is more important than ever to focus on the people in our community, check in with our network and form new relationships. How do you do this all from the comfort of your home office? As a chapter leader and active ISACA Global volunteer, let me share a few ways I’m participating and invite you to join me.
- Engage – ISACA’s global online community platform offers more than 10 discussion boards, networking opportunities and a library of resources so you can find people with similar interests, ask questions and share advice. Consider it long distance “running down the hallway” to check in with a colleague. Now that colleague may be geographically distant but navigating similar challenges you are facing in implementing your business continuity plan. (You do have a BCP, right? If not, ISACA is here to help!)
As a Topic Leader and volunteer administrator for the SheLeadsTech special interest group on Engage I have seen an uptick of activity with the launch of the SheLeadsTech Ambassador program. Community members are having fascinating conversations about how to support more women in leadership roles in the tech industry. We even just hosted our first Ask Me Anything (AMA) on the platform in conjunction with an event in the SheLeadsTech webinar series. Join us this month as we combine our efforts with the Rising Professionals special interest group for our next AMA!
Engage also offers a platform for you to continue preparing to take your next certification exam. Volunteer Topic Leaders post a “Question of the Day” in each of our four certification exam prep forums for CISA, CISM, CGEIT and CRISC, and invite the members to respond to the question with their best guess and explain why. This virtual study group has helped so many newly certified individuals accomplish their goals. With many businesses operating on reduced workloads, now could be the time to tackle a new certificate program or plan to take your next certification exam. - Volunteer – I mentioned that I am a chapter leader and a global volunteer. It is a great way to stay connected, meet people from around the world, engage in interesting dialogues and earn free CPE credits for your time and expertise. Learn how to get involved in ISACA’s global volunteer program. Contact your chapter for other ways to get involved at the local level, too. ISACA relies on members of our professional community to help drive our products and services, and ensure that the content remains relevant to our evolving professional needs.
- Virtual Learning – As a learning organization, ISACA enables you to study a variety of topics in your own time, independent of your location – for example, from the comfort of your own home. The new ISACA website offers a Browse All Training webpage for you to filter by content delivery or topic. Use the time you may have spent commuting to the office or gathering around the water cooler to learn new skills that give you an advantage once the world settles back into its “new normal.” Prepare to earn a new certification, complete a certificate program, or start planning ahead with the ISACA Career Centre tools.
Chapters have been working hard to cultivate new e-learning offerings as well. Check out the calendar of global chapter events to see what webinars, virtual trainings and online meet-ups they are organizing.
ISACA is here for you and continues to create a sense of community despite physical distancing. The Navigating COVID-19 webpage has been established to curate content relevant to managing your business in uncertain times and stay connected and engaged. Together we will get through this and come out stronger! “See” you online!
Author’s note: Log in to Engage to connect with Katja Feldtmann.