17 October 2023 - DIG23 reflections - Satnam Tagar
When I first received my confirmation of a bursary place, I was really quite excited about attending. I had heard about UCISA from colleagues and LinkedIn posts but never really knew too much about what it was all about. As the time drew closer to attending, I was unsure about what to expect but after speaking to my sponsor I felt more comfortable.
After downloading the app, and checking the sessions, although I attended them all and learnt a great deal, I remember picking a few out which I really was interested to hear from. I was looking forward to hearing about other Universities experiences and how their use of technology may differ from how we use it at the University of Wolverhampton. I always had a perception that Universities are in great competition with one another however UCISA quickly changed this view and I saw the Higher Education sector come together to share ideas and show how they are successful.
The first day started off with a Newcomers session which I thought was a nice introduction, and to see so many other new people. This was followed closely by one of my favourite presentations of the event "How is AI, Generative AI and Digital Transforming Education". I found the speaker Sarah not only informative but also inspiring, you could tell the passion she had for the subject. Sarah made good points of how AI is already a part of the education sector and it's only going to grow, so we need to learn and adapt to use this in a positive way.
This was followed closely by "Is transformation a dirty word" which was also very informative and made a great point that Digital is a tool for growth. We then had a little refreshment break which was nicely met by some lovely cookies, pastries and hot drinks. In the afternoon sessions, another presentation which stood out to me was Mark Temple's "How we saved Glasgow's technologists", who explained how it's possible to make a lot of savings, how we can automate systems and provide more access to service desks. Mark shared giving more access and having that trust with the service desk will have a great benefit for the organisation. I felt this was a great point as I have previously worked on a Service Desk and thought there was always room for additional permissions to undertake more tasks.
Time flew by and before I knew it, we were at Dinner which was lovely! Followed by some great entertainment. Soon it was Friday morning, and Tim Purkiss was discussing the "soft infrastructure of IT" and went though some information on automation and simplification. It was nice to see the thoughts and setup at UCL which seemed exceptional. Admissions and automation was the next topic which was also interesting and opened up the way in which AI is really coming into higher education and how we can use it for our benefit. It explained how it could free up more time for staff and help filter through applications at a greater speed than if someone was to do it manually. It did however raise some interesting questions on the possibility of AI vs AI which was a thought.
There were lots of partners on show downstairs who were always open to a conversation whilst also kindly providing a few freebies!
My top three takeaways having attended the conference are:
- That I want to visit a UCISA event again. I really enjoyed my experience, and it made me want to take part in the future. As someone who never attended, I didn't know what to expect, and felt I really took a lot from the whole event. I did my own presentation at the University shortly after the event and felt I did well, and this was because I learned a lot of presenting skills throughout the sessions.
- Another takeaway from this was, I saw that Universities can come together and share ideas to help us all improve our services.
- AI is here to help transform higher education. I learned some different views on how AI is coming into Education and how we should be ready to work with it but also be aware of some of the risks.
My top recommendation to anyone attending UCISA for the first time would be to enjoy the experience and try to make the most of being in such an environment with other professionals in the same sector. You can learn a lot and its very interesting to hear other people's views and experiences.
Thank you UCISA DIG23.
