Behind the Screens: The Unsung Heroes of IT Powering Breakthroughs in Breast Screening
Katie Wilde, Interim Head of Applications, University of Aberdeen
In 2023, the headline read, 'Grampian Team Pioneers Breast Screening AI', highlighting a new tool that detects abnormalities missed by current procedures. Behind this breakthrough was a diverse IT team - from Solution Architects and Data Specialists to Security and Frontline Support - collaborating with healthcare experts and industry partners. This talk will spotlight the unsung IT heroes behind the scenes, explore their varied roles, and inspire you to consider career paths you may not have thought about in the world of IT.
Making and Pushing Your Luck: Student Support Hub Case Study
Ashton Duncan-Whitelaw, Digital Product Manager & Katy Mitchell, User Experience Manager, University of Glasgow
Ashton Duncan-Whitelaw and Katy Mitchell from the Digital Experience team at the University of Glasgow will speak on process and product iteration with a case study: the new Student Support Hub. The feature began as a suggestion on the UofG Life App team, grew based on a service audit, stakeholder engagement, and user research, and then was implemented in the Student Portal alongside the recently created UofG Design System. This project is a unique view into Agile working in HE, data and user-driven iteration with regular user research as a service, and bringing stakeholders on the journey.
Women in Tech - Do you like me?
Kanika Selvan, Programme Manager / Director, University of Northampton
Higher education has more women in leadership, but its tech space remains male-dominated. As universities navigate digital transformation, we need women's expertise to shape the future - yet the rarely spoken about likeability bias still dictates who gets heard, promoted and taken seriously.
Kanika Selvan takes on this unspoken challenge, asking the big question: Do you like me? This talk dives into the concept, the research, and the real impact of likeability bias, as Kanika shares candid stories from her own journey as a tech leader in HE. Expect sharp insights, humour, and a rethink of the rules.
Empowering Women Through Technology
Busayo Durojaiye, Head of Technology Transformation, The School of Economics and Political Science, Sedef Gavaz
This discussion will look at the following:
1. Exploring how technology supports and benefits women within education institutions
2. The impact of women in leadership roles on their institutions' cultural and technological landscape
Tech Quest: A Levelling Up Journey of the Mutli-Hat Explorer
Antonia Jones, Customer Success Manager, University of Leeds
Embark on a tech quest with Antonia Jones, Customer Success Manager at the University of Leeds, as she regales us with her exploration in the ever-evolving world of AI and assistive technologies. Like a multi-hat game character, Antonia switches between different roles and skills: IT professional, student, advocate, and 'silly tech' enthusiast. Throughout her journey, Antonia has gained insights into the positive impacts and challenges these technologies present in her world and the overall pursuits to promote and support equity, diversity and inclusion. She will share her experiences and lessons learned, highlighting the continuous learning journey we are all undertaking.
Creating career pathways for women in under-represented areas of tech (Including AI)
Dr. Melissa Highton, Assistant Principal and Director of Learning, Teaching and Web Services and Katie Grieve, Data and Equality Officer
This session will provide research on 'what works' in developing career pathways for women into areas of IT and digital where we are currently under-represented. We will focus on why this work is important and how businesses casses for change can be made in institutions at local level.
Providing safe, institution-wide access to Generative AI
Anne Robertson, Director of EDINA, The University of Edinburgh
EDINA, a directorate of Information Services Group at The University of Edinburgh have developed the universities AI innovation platform. During this presentation, Anne will share the business, technical, legal, and policy decisions taken to ensure the provision of safe and equitable access to generative AI for all staff and students at The University of Edinburgh.
Laying the Foundation for AI: Safely Integrating Microsoft 365 Copilot into NTU's Digital Ecosystem
Claire Miles-Hayler, Lead Digital Experience Analyst, Nottingham Trent University
This session will provide insight into how we are tackling Information Management and using artifical intelligence (AI) at Nottingham Trent University (NTU). Microsoft 365 Copilot is a great tool that many of our users would love to use. How can we adopt this safely in an ever-growing Microsoft 365 environment? In this session, we will look at the two pilots we have undertaken to understand how we understand our data, how we protect it moving forward and how we can best use AI tools such as Microsoft 365 Copilot.
Reimagining Postgraduate Admissions at Queen's University Belfast
Michelle McGaughey, Digital Transformation Architect and Suzie Burns, Analyst Programmer, Queen's University Belfast
The Digital Transformation Team at Queen's University Belfast have reimagined the Postgraduate Admissions process using Microsoft Power Pages and Dynamics 365. The new system offers smoother application and evidence submission, real-time status tracking, and embedded Power BI dashboards for insights into application data, processing times and recruitment patterns, highlighting a gender gap in some subjects. Automation now handles scholarships, partnership discounts, and application transfers. Ongoing development includes AI integration for eligibility data to speed up offer generation, enhancing the experience for both applicants and Admissions staff.
Women are designing and building a better future for tech
Sedef Gavaz, Digital and Technology Director of Student Experience, University of the Arts London
In this talk, come and be inspired by how women are designing, building and delivering better digital experiences, how we are positively shaping culture, and why women in tech matters. I'll share examples of what's worked, what hasn't and what I learned along the way.
AI Learning Lab: a people-centered approach to technology adoption
Susan Halfpenny, Head of Research and Learning Information Services, University of Aberdeen
Technology should enhance and expand what people can do. We therefore have a responsibility to equip our communities with the digital literacies, to empower them to meaningfully adopt new technologies.
Advances in foundational AI models and the creation of user-friendly, natural language interfaces offer opportunities to develop new ways of working. However, staff can feel disengaged and disillusioned - even threatened - when technology is implemented without consultation, transparency and training. At Aberdeen, we are taking a people-centred approach to the adoption of AI. Our AI Learning Lab aims to provide a safe space for staff to share ideas, experiment and explore how AI and automation can be responsibly adopted to help us undertake our work.
Empowering Innovation and Transforming Workflows: Unleashing the Power of Automation at King's College London
Laura Harvey, Digital Skills Trainer, Digital Literacy and Productivity, King's College London
Join Laura from Organisational Development at King's College London, as we discuss how we are empowering our staff to use Microsoft's Power Automate to transform their ways of working. What are the concerns around using new technology? How are we helping staff embrace and feel confident using these tools, even if they feel intimidating? All of these questions (and more!) will be answered, as we reveal how we enabled our colleagues to revamp a critical and manually intensive process. Find out about the expected and unexpected benefits of flows, and how we provide support to allow our colleagues to succeed.
Embedding Ethical AI and Automation: Insights from QMUL's Journey
Hannah Beeson, Head of Enterprise Architecture, Kirti Bodhmage, Solution Designer, Enterprise Architecture, Ella Rice, Solution Designer, Enterprise Architecture, and Cathie Jayakumar-Hazra, Training and Policy Manager, Information Security, Queen Mary University of London
Queen Mary University of London's 2030 strategy commits to being the most inclusive university of its kind, upholding the highest ethical standards and integrity. Aligned with this vision, we will share our approach to AI and automation for specific use cases at QMUL. This session will explore how we have navigated cultural challenges, shaped governance, data protection and policy updates and addressed ethical considerations. We will also reflect on the challenges we faced, the lessons learned, and the steps taken to overcome them, offering practical insights for institutions on a similar journey.
Technology and Stand-Up Comedy: How did one inform the other?
Felicity Stonehill, Business Intelligence Engineer, University of Bristol
We as women can all offer a perspective about working in a male dominated industry, and I want to offer my perspective and a particular experience from a few years ao, that if happened now, I would handle completely differently. This change in me is partly informed by becoming an amateur stand-up comedian. This presentation will discuss how harnessing this new skillset outside of my professional career helped me to find greater courage within my own voice.
