Wednesday 19 March
Partner showcase abstracts 10:50 - 11:20
Acquia/manifesto
Tech (Might) Save Us: A Low Carbon Approach to Digital in Higher Education
Ant Hadley, Digital Strategist and Paul Peet Business Design Director, manifesto
in Syndicate Room 3
Did you know that digital technologies now account for 4% of global emissions. That’s more than the aviation industry!
Within the Higher Education sector, this is a somewhat unknown figure and yet quite a poignant statistic. Many Universities have 100's of websites, apps, platforms, data stores, redundant or legacy systems within sprawling digital estates. This, coupled with a continued pivot toward digital learning and hybrid/ online engagement highlights the potential carbon footprint from Universities caused by digital.
manifesto and Acquia are raising awareness of digital decarbonisation, working with organisations to first understand and track their digital carbon footprint, before putting in place strategies such as low carbon websites and green software practices to significantly reduce emissions.
The talk provides an overview of the challenge, some recent client case study with University of Dundee, and a view of what Universities can do in the immediate term themselves to reduce.
CGI
Creating Lasting Value through meaningful a Partnership
Claire Taylor, Director of Information Services, Edinburgh Napier University; and Tom Runge, Consulting Director, CGI
in the Auditorium
Edinburgh Napier University will share key insights from our partnership, offering practical guidance for other institutions to establish similar collaborations. Discover how your university can leverage partnerships to create real value, foster innovation, and meet the demands of tomorrow’s educational landscape in a time of restricted budgets.
Through our partnership, CGI and Edinburgh Napier University have driven forward mutually impactful initiatives, including collaboration on smart parking for Edinburgh’s Smart City programme, we’re also collaborating with the development of bespoke IP through a spin out to provide an income stream and, of course, the development of an augmented reality Wayfinding app to enhance campus navigation, these are just a few examples of the projects we have worked on during our collaboration, but this collaboration goes beyond technology.
Napier students also get to directly benefit with CGI sponsoring PhD students, providing graduate placements for students to continue building their early careers and providing invaluable training around cyber security with its innovative “Escape Room” events, teaching students about the risks and threats that are present in today’s world.
CGI’s commercial expertise combined with Napier’s research capabilities, has generated innovative solutions that benefit both organisations, students, staff, and the wider community.
Google
Driving Academic Innovation with Google Technology
Anna Artemyeva, Head of Education - UK, Ireland, Italy, DACH, Central Asia, Google and James King, Director of Technology, Royal College of Art
in Syndicate Room 4
In today's dynamic educational landscape, staying ahead of the curve requires embracing cutting-edge technology. This session delves into how Google's AI-powered tools can empower University IT teams and staff to transform teaching and learning.
We will explore Google Workspace for Education, featuring Gemini, Google's groundbreaking AI platform. Discover how Gemini can streamline faculty workflows, from creating engaging syllabi to generating personalized learning resources. We will also showcase Google Vids, Notebook LM, Vertex AI, and speak about how to approach a safe and secure use of the new ground breaking technologies.
