Through case studies, surveys, toolkits, best practice guides and benchmark reports, ucisa supports institutions and individual members with the information you need to make informed decisions and effective service improvements.
You can also use the resources library to browse presentations and resources linked to recent ucisa events as well as resources relevant to each of ucisa's special interest groups.
Use the filter functionality below to search the resources by resource type, then sort on title, author or date.
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311
Collecting and using data and feedback to inform approaches to digital capability development
Post covid AV
Five activities for commercial EdTech Professionals on Generative AI
Benefits measures library
Navigating Priorities: Strategies for Success in Higher Ed Projects
Digital Accessibility in Higher Education: Providing a Way Forward
Navigating the Virtualisation Market in Higher Education
DEG-DCG Digital Education Survey – Early Insights
UCISA24 Thought Leadership articles
Categories:
Event resources
Description:
Building on the discussions held during the thought leadership session at UCISA24; a series of articles on each topic has been published in our blogs section.
Should you have missed any, or if you simply wish to re-read, the full series can be downloaded
Jisc insights into HE Sustainability
SSG24
Delivering Operational IT
Go the distance: navigating infrastructure and cybersecurity challenges
Navigate Beyond Windows 10
CIS 2023 Survey results
Categories:
Survey
Description:
Each year UCISA provides a survey of Corporate Information systems used across the sector. This is an invaluable resource made freely available to all UCISA member HEIs and FEIs looking to share experiences with other institutions and understand trends in the marketplace. The ucisa CIS survey is carried out annually and provides a simple snapshot of the core CIS in use by UCISA members. The survey is open to all UCISA members and collects basic information about the main corporate information systems (CIS) in use in the HE sector.
Shifting our Perceptions: User-Centric Approaches to IT Security in Higher Education
Agile Metrics: Measuring What Matters
A strategic approach to generative AI for IT and digital leaders
Rethinking AI and impact on Business and Humanity
The new UK Procurement Act
SUG24
WIT24
AI and automation
Windows 10 End of Life Planning Huddle
Ellucian Product Roadmap Updates and Priorities
UCISA Information Security Awareness Training Course 2024 edition
Categories:
Toolkit
Description:
UCISA’s information security training has been refreshed and updated for UCISA Institutional members. The new materials provide a fresh new look and feel, with up-to-date content on the key risks for today.
Details of how and where to access the new toolkit are on the website
Spotlight24
Future Campus: How CIOs are shaping the next-generation of computer labs
Learning from others to make agile at scale work
New Information Security Training for UCISA members
UCISA Technology Academy
The Rise and Fall and Rise of AR
AI bots
Establishing a PM community of practice
Podcasting in HE
UCISA24 Leadership Confernce
The imperative to accelerate the digital shift in HE location
Connect and Collabrate
Microsoft licensing implementation and security controls location
PM Networks
Curriculum management as the enabler of change and the foundation of student success at King's College London location
Optimise delivery of IT systems location
AI - Enhancing Learning and Teaching Experiences location
Motivation Lab: Experimenting with Techniques to Supercharge Your Team location
Striving for consistency in VLE module design
Timetabling Systems: Is it time for a change?
Maximise your Microsoft investment with Box’s unlimited storage
Upping the game for ransomware defence
Digital poverty and digital capability – a vicious cycle?
Elevating Diversity: Strengthening Cyber Security through Inclusivity
Give researchers the power they need whilst still maintaining control
CISG-PCMG23
Two Steps Forward, One Step Back: Practical Insights and Lessons Learned in Securing the Modern Campus
Launching the UCISA Business Relationship Management community
Reflections on the use of ChatGPT in the Higher Education Landscape
Pressure, isolation, drop out… Addressing the student crisis with a student engagement platform
Technology at the Heart
Seamless and secure applicant onboarding – UCL’s path to success
Using Jamf/Intune for managing devices, to comply with Cyber Essentials controls
Enterprise Architecture: a culture, not a project
Increase student flexibility and reduce IT complexity
It takes a village
Why Non-Production Environment Management (NPEM) is critical to Digital Transformation success
Practical applications of the HERM business capability model
Exploring the cyber challenges facing the education sector
Campus in the Cloud: CIOs discuss the next era of computer laba
AI in Higher and Vocational Education
Power Platform for Exam Paper Management
Making it stick
DIG23
Change Champions: Improving Digital Skills at Scale at Kingston University
HE Technology Talent of Tomorrow
UCISA – Digital Transformation Higher Education Maturity Assessment Report second edition
Categories:
General, Case Study
Description:
The second UCISA Sector Maturity Report which provides an interesting insight into digital maturity within UK Higher Education.
The report highlights areas of strength and weakness as well as providing some practical suggestions for areas the sector should focus on to increase it’s digital maturity.
The report is available for institutional members
NCSC resources for education
Categories:
General
Description:
The National Cyber Security Centre have brought together key resources and guidance for people across the education sector, from senior leader through to technical leaders, and academics and researchers. These resources are available via their website
Intelligent support, management, and optimisation of your networking infrastructure
Your Checklist for Rolling Out Digital Assessment Technology
Procurement in HE Innovating for Tomorrow
Project transition to live Lob it over the fence
SSG23 recordings and presentations
Defending your unstructured data in the era of data security
Rethinking Transformation: A Blueprint for Changing the Way We Change
Bring your own cyber risk
The UCISA Annual Review June 2022 to May 2023
Categories:
General, UCISA update
Description:
Highlighting the progress we have made as a community in the last year, as we work to achieve the ambitions set out in our Strategic Plan 2022-27 – Building on Success, published in January 2022. We are excited to share the results of this last year with you and hope that you will find the contents of this Review an encouraging indication of the positive direction our organisation and sector at large, is heading in.
Higher Education workforce of Tomorrow
Categories:
Survey
Description:
Launched at the the UCISA 23 AGM, the Hays-UCISA Digital Workforce of Tomorrow survey report is available to download by all institutional members upon login
Corporate members available on request from admin@ucisa.ac.uk
Eco-Friendly Inboxes: Streamlining Email Practices for UK Universities
A sneak peek into SSG23, what why and how
Categories:
Audio and Video, Event resources, Webinar
Description:
The recording and resources from A sneak peek into SSG23, what why and how is available
Tanium's Endpoint Platform for Education
WIT23 recording and presentations
Digital transformation 101
An executive view of UX in HE
Moving Virtual Desktops to the cloud with George Washington University
Curriculum courseloop
CIS 2022 Survey results
Categories:
Survey
Description:
Each year UCISA provides a survey of Corporate Information systems used across the sector. This is an invaluable resource made freely available to all UCISA member HEIs and FEIs looking to share experiences with other institutions and understand trends in the marketplace. The ucisa CIS survey is carried out annually and provides a simple snapshot of the core CIS in use by UCISA members. The survey is open to all UCISA members and collects basic information about the main corporate information systems (CIS) in use in the HE sector.
Hybrid cloud
In The Thick of It: Major Incident Management and Communications Best Practices
Employment and Equity in the IT industry
UCISA23
Today’s Cyber Security Challenges in Higher Education
Shared Experiences of Getting Started with Enterprise Architecture in Higher Ed
Digitising the student journey
Design systems
Protecting cyber assets
Cyber incident toolkit
Categories:
Audio and Video, Toolkit, Webinar, Event resources
Description:
Universities have increasingly become targets of ransomware and other cyber-attacks. Such attacks can result in major disruption of operations, with significant financial and reputational impact.
The Cyber Incident Communications Toolkit, developed by the UCISA Security Group, provides information and resources for planning the communication response of a major cyber incident. The toolkit focuses on the importance of collaboration both internally and with partners to ensure provision of an effective and coordinated communications response with students, staff, funders, and other stakeholders.
The recording from the launch webinar is available to all members
Job tracks and career maps
Balancing BYOD and Cyber Essentials
Starting the year on the right foot
UCISA CPD Programme
How to understand your users part 2
Backup and recovery as a foundation for cyber security
Resource and Capacity - Show & Tell 2
CISG-PCMG22
Recruitment - The Real UniversITy Challenge
Security Conference 2022
The New Digital Education Landscape
Resource and Capacity - Show & Tell
TEL 2022 Pulse survey
Categories:
Survey
Description:
This year’s TEL Survey was developed as a short ‘pulse survey’ to focus on key areas that might have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and the rapid shift to online learning. The survey retained and adapted 16 questions from the 2020 Survey to enable longitudinal analysis to be undertaken with previous TEL surveys.
The Survey provides an invaluable insight of provision within institutions and the emerging patterns of learning technology usage across the UK HE sector. The 2022 findings report an increased provision of centrally supported TEL tools, an increase in outsourcing of TEL provision and an increase in TEL staffing. The findings also show that the sector is undergoing a continuous review cycle for TEL services, note a small growth in fully online delivery and the limited impact of new forms of delivery such as hybrid or hyflex learning.
Enterprise Architecture does it add value
Hacker’s perspective on remote working: know the risks, learn the tricks
IT Procurement as an enabler of HE Technology
Categories:
Directors cut
Description:
As an early initiative, of the reformed UCISA Transforming IT Procurement Practices Working Group, considered the feedback from a UCISA survey across member institutions from earlier in 2022. Following a roundtable at the inaugural Ahead by Bett in March 2022, the key findings of which were released in a previous Directors Cut publication, members were ask to complete a survey to gage current practices in IT procurement across the sector.
This edition of the Directors' Cut - IT Procurement as an enabler of HE Technology outlines three broad areas, drawn from the findings, which the sector might focus on to address the challenges of internal procurement set-ups in HEIs and to better enable the procurement function to act as a strategic value creator for delivery of information technology services.
Sustainability: Digital technology and procurement
DIG22 recordings and presentations
Facing the BYOD challenge
How to understand your users - a user research special
Diversity in tech
Navigate the Changing Landscape of IT in Higher Education
Service Excellence in Higher Education
It's not all about the Cloud!
Managing security related issues in higher education
I am enough
Categories:
Audio and Video, Webinar, Event resources
Description:
The recording and presentation from the I am enough - Imposter Syndrome Seen Through a British Pakistani Lens webinar, where Mehnaz Aziz, Educational Technology Advisor, from Birmingham City University considered the impact of imposter syndrome on her own career as an Educational Technologist and focusing on the influence of her cultural heritage as a British Pakistani.
Information Security and Compliance
Micro-credentials in higher ed: Trends, adoption strategies and technical solutions
PMO3
Mesh and Metaverse
Citizen development
Categories:
Audio and Video, Event resources, Webinar
Description:
With the advent of tools such as PowerApps, Citizen Development is a keen area of interest for the IT industry. Many IT professionals remember the days of Access databases springing up and challenging organisations as the developers of key apps moved on and support was needed for poorly written programmes. The recording from the Citizen Development webinar is available to all members via login
PMOs working together
SSG22
Accessibility in HE recording
Proactive Data Governance with Cranfield University
Embrace Digital: promoting the use of digital technology in HE recording
Categories:
Audio and Video, Event resources, Webinar
Description:
The recording of the webinar which took a look at the work Lancaster University has done over the last two years to support staff and students to make effective use of digital technology to enhance teaching and learning, and improve work practices. Focusing on in-house developed resources, including Embrace Digital guidance, Digital Skills Certificate and a Digital Skills Self-Assessment tool, all of which led to being awarded the UCISA 22 Award for Supporting Excellence in Teaching, Learning and Research.
Major Incident Processes
UCISA – Digital Transformation Higher Education Maturity Assessment Report
Categories:
General, Case Study
Description:
The UCISA – Digital Transformation Higher Education Maturity Assessment Report, is the first maturity assessment for the Higher Education sector, presents the findings from the first cohort of six institutions implement the Business Technology Standard
The report is available for institutional members only
Information insight recording
Categories:
Audio and Video, Event resources, Webinar
Description:
The business of Education generates a lot of information, which is rarely utilised to its full potential. How can we tap into this oft-overlooked resource to good effect? Extracting the value from this data could help our institutions react swiftly to change, flag future challenges, and facilitate timely interventions to help nurture students to reach their full potential. The recording of the Information insight webinar is available to all members via login
UCISA Career Mapping Toolkit
Categories:
Toolkit
Description:
Developed as a practical response to assist you in meeting the current talent management challenges faced by the sector. Our new Career Mapping Toolkit is Based on the ‘job track’ methodology developed at Lancaster University and comes packed with resources to enable you to develop streamlined job families suitable to your IT organisation.
The UCISA Annual Review May 2021 to May 2022
Categories:
General, UCISA update
Description:
Highlighting the progress we have made as a community in the last year, as we work to achieve the ambitions set out in our Strategic Plan 2022-27 – Building on Success, published in January this year. We are excited to share the results of this last year with you and hope that you will find the contents of this Review an encouraging indication of the positive direction our organisation and sector at large, is heading in – in spite of all the turbulence of the last two years.
Digitising curriculum management
Where to start and where should you go with your PMO?
The university of the future - what is the cost of sustainability?
Launching the APUC CRM procurement process
Research and Information Technology recording
WIiT22 presentations
DCG Spotlight on digital capabilities: Digital skills, a priority or lip service?
UCISA22
CIS 2021 Survey results
Categories:
Survey
Description:
Each year UCISA provides a survey of Corporate Information systems used across the sector. This is an invaluable resource made freely available to all UCISA member HEIs and FEIs looking to share experiences with other institutions and understand trends in the marketplace. The ucisa CIS survey is carried out annually and provides a simple snapshot of the core CIS in use by UCISA members. The survey is open to all UCISA members and collects basic information about the main corporate information systems (CIS) in use in the HE sector.
Delivering Projects Successfully via Agile Approaches (2)
Treating Strategic Tech Sourcing as a Specialism in HE.
Categories:
Directors cut
Description:
The latest in our Ad Hoc Directors’ Cut series of publications which describes the six key findings of the UCISA roundtable session at Ahead by Bett and how they relate to flexible processes, pragmatic governance, and a deeper understanding of IT sourcing skillsets This publication is available to institutional members only upon login.
Delivering Projects Successfully via Agile Approaches (1)
Measuring Performance (2): A Quantitative Model based on Efficiency
The Digital Futures Toolkit
Categories:
Toolkit
Description:
The Digital Futures Programme offers support and opportunities for people starting out in their IT careers.
It enables them to develop worthwhile learning opportunities that will hopefully lead to full time permanent employment either with their current or other employers.
UCISA22
Portfolio Management: Challenges and Solutions
Embedding a UCD mindset in HE
Measuring performance 1 - A University Score Card based on Effectiveness
Mental health matters
IT Contemporary InterSystems 2022
UCISA Strategic plan 'Building on Success’ 2022 - 2027
Categories:
General, UCISA update
Description:
Our new five-year plan ‘Building on Success’ 2022 – 2027 shows how we are going to deliver increased value and emphasises what unites our sector (Higher Education, Further Education and private universities) and our commitment to represent our members with authority and authenticity. It is also about enhancing our connections and building strategic partnerships with government and sector bodies, to amplify the power of our collective voice – moving further and faster to meet member needs at both an individual and institutional level.
Managing Project Portfolios
Apprenticeships and graduates
Veeam webinar
Culture Change and Colleague Engagement
The Transition to Power BI
Sustainability – getting it right for the future of IT
The university of the future – are we ready? - recording
Portfolio Management: Organising for Success
2022 CIO and Technology Executive Survey: A Higher Education Perspective recording
The return to campus recording
Categories:
Audio and Video, Event resources, Webinar
Description:
UCISA-SSG hosted a webinar entitled the return to campus were they discussed what has been learnt from the start of the academic year and understand how these lessons will result in changes to how people support students and staff into the future.
Changing your institution's security culture webinar recordings
User journey mapping
Categories:
Audio and Video, Webinar, Event resources
Description:
The UX Community of Practice ran a webinar on user journey mapping with Paul Boag who discussed his top tips and lessons learnt when using journey maps. Paul has over 25 years’ experience in UX and has worked with many HEIs during his career.
HESA Data futures
Making IT accessible for all!
CISG-PCMG21 recordings and presentations
UCISA 2020 TEL Survey Panel Session 4 - Teaching models
Categories:
Audio and Video, Survey
Description:
The UCISA 2020 TEL Survey highlighted that blended learning (supplementary) approaches remained more prevalent than active modes of blended learning and fully online learning remained primarily an activity for individual academics or departments. This panel session considers the changes that institutions made to their teaching model during 2020/21 as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic and how their plans adapted with the changes in Covid-19 related restrictions. It concludes by asking how teaching models may change in the future and what differences might be seen within particular subject areas.
How four top European universities navigated COVID-19 and enriched student outcomes
Global HE Capability Model
Categories:
Event resources, Webinar, Audio and Video
Description:
Recording from the launch webinar of The Global Higher Education Capability Model, jointly launched by CAUDIT, EDUCAUSE and UCISA. The reference models comprise a Business Capability Model, a Business Model Canvas, and a Data Reference Model for Higher Education.
The Transformative Impact of BI
Apps and education
UCISA 2020 TEL Survey Panel Session 3 - Culture and institutional Drivers
Categories:
Audio and Video, Survey
Description:
The UCISA 2020 TEL Survey reported an increased focus on equality and widening participation as driving factors for the use of TEL. This panel session considers what effect the Covid-19 pandemic had on institutional drivers for TEL, institutional cultures and whether there were any changes in adoption and innovation patterns across the institution in terms of instructional design and assessment modes. It concludes by asking how the pandemic has impacted on the wider digital agenda in terms of topics such as digital skills development and digital accessibility.
UCISA 2020 TEL Survey Panel Session 2 - Team and Organisational Structures
Categories:
Audio and Video, Survey
Description:
The UCISA 2020 TEL Survey survey reported that since 2018, the number of staff supporting TEL had increased in 40% of institutions and this was evidenced by an overall growth in the mean FTE of staff supporting TEL across an institution. Since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, the sector has experienced a large increase in demand for learning technologists and similar roles. This panel session considers the impact that the pandemic had on the number and type of roles providing TEL support across an institution, and how the wider organisational structures supporting TEL and working relationships with other teams have changed. It concludes by considering how panellists envisage TEL support within their institutions changing in the future.
Remote working
NCSC
DIG21 recordings and presentations
UCISA 2020 TEL Survey Panel Session 1 - The TEL Toolkit
Categories:
Audio and Video, Survey
Description:
The UCISA 2020 TEL Survey survey reported that a wide range of TEL tools are supported across institutions, with the virtual learning environment, text matching tools, reading list management software and electronic management of assessment tools forming part of an institution’s TEL toolkit. This panel session considers the impact that the Covid-19 pandemic had on the usage of TEL tools, for example a growth in the use of virtual classroom tools, what the appetite is for reviewing these platforms and which tools might remain in the medium/long term.
Working in partnership to build a Research Information Management System at the University of Westminster
Project Planning and Agile
Categories:
Audio and Video, Event resources, Webinar
Description:
Recording from the UCISA London October 2021 webinar: Project Planning and Agile
Over a year of hybrid working: What the data tells us (about women)
The Glass Tube
Ransomware-proofing during Covid-19, NCSC compliance and 64% TCO savings
Categories:
Audio and Video, Event resources, Webinar
Description:
The recording from the webinar giving an insight into the challenges faced by Canterbury Christ Church University when identifying a vendor to transform how they provide Multi-Cloud data control and protection across their most critical applications.
Benefits clinic
Categories:
Audio and Video, Event resources, Webinar
Description:
The recording of the final webinar in the series on Benefit Management brings together speakers from the previous sessions Grasping the nettle: Benefits Management, how to start and Smoothing the way: Measurements and Tracking in a Q&A session.
ucisa London Women in tech
Categories:
Audio and Video, Event resources, Webinar
Description:
The recording from the ucisa London September event which explored how we can encourage women into the sector, better support women currently working in tech, and develop the next industry leaders.
ucisa London Women in tech
Post-Pandemic learning and teaching transformation at scale
Categories:
Audio and Video, Event resources, Webinar
Description:
This webinar cover the journey that Falmouth University have been on since their founding roots as a traditional art school to a leading university for the creative industries who are paving the way for online learning in creative subjects.
Smoothing the way
Places and Spaces - Planning for the next academic year in uncertain times
Digital Poverty (Equality)
Online harassment – a very real issue for students
Grasping the nettle
SSG21
CIS Power BI Dashboard
Categories:
Survey
Description:
Each year ucisa provides a survey of Corporate Information systems used across the sector. This is an invaluable resource made freely available to all ucisa member HEIs and FEIs looking to share experiences with other institutions and understand trends in the marketplace. The ucisa CIS survey is carried out annually and provides a simple snapshot of the core CIS in use by ucisa members. The survey is open to all ucisa members and collects basic information about the main corporate information systems (CIS) in use in the HE sector.
This new Power BI dashboard has been designed to help members visualise and interrogate the data in a simple to use format
Job Description Bank
Effective Communications and Public Relations after a Cyber Security Incident
ucisa EA CoP 2020 Survey report
Change Management - the new Superpower for IT leaders
Cloud Data Management and Ransomware-immune backups – A real life story
Service desk and service management
ucisa IT Comms Toolkit
Categories:
Toolkit
Description:
The aim of this Toolkit is to provide the ucisa community with a resource that anyone involved in IT communications can use. Whether you have an embedded communications team, a central university team or it’s everyone’s responsibility, there’s always room for improvement, and we hope that even someone who has worked in comms for several years can learn from this resource.
Please note the new url of the toolkit
The ucisa Annual Review June 2020 to June 2021
Categories:
General, UCISA update
Description:
Highlighting the progress we have made as a community in the last year, as we work to achieve and exceed the ambitions set out in our 2018-2022 Strategic Plan. We are excited to share the results of this last year with you and hope that you will find the contents of the Annual Review an encouraging indication of the positive direction our organisation, and sector at large, is heading in – in spite of all the turbulence of the last 15 months.
Digital champions
ucisa London May event
Categories:
Audio and Video, Event resources, Webinar
Description:
The recording and presentations from the ucisa London May 2021 event on Information Security. Security of data and systems has never been more important than it is now. The challenge of balancing the academic behaviour and a security-conscious culture is not an easy one. This session seeks to explore some of the challenges and some of the ways that other institutions have risen to the challenge.
DCG Spotlight 2021
Improving Online Access Overseas 3
CIS2020
Categories:
Survey
Description:
Each year ucisa provides a survey of Corporate Information systems used across the sector. This is an invaluable resource made freely available to all ucisa member HEIs and FEIs looking to share experiences with other institutions and understand trends in the marketplace. The ucisa CIS survey is carried out annually and provides a simple snapshot of the core CIS in use by ucisa members. The survey is open to all ucisa members and collects basic information about the main corporate information systems (CIS) in use in the HE sector.
Procurement frameworks 101
Categories:
Audio and Video, Webinar, Event resources
Description:
Hosted by Tina Pask, Chair of the ucisa Software Procurement Group, the Procurement Frameworks 101 recording discusses the HE sectors extensive use of framework agreements, why we use them and what benefits they bring institutions.
2020 TEL survey report
Categories:
Survey
Description:
We are pleased to announce that the results of the tenth ucisa Survey of Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL Survey) are now available.
This survey offers a longitudinal perspective of TEL developments over a 19-year period within UK institutions, while incorporating some new areas of interest based on sector developments. These new additions include: accessibility; inclusive practice; partnerships for fully online learning; and an expansion of the systems included in TEL reviews.
The Report provides an invaluable insight of provision within institutions and the emerging patterns of learning technology usage across the UK HE sector.
IT Contemporary - InterSystems
Categories:
IT Contemporary, General, Event resources
Description:
Showcasing the digital transformation experience of a major teaching hospital with numerous insights for higher education, our third IT Contemporary offers an excellent case study for the benefits of data interoperability.
With input from University Hospital Southampton (UHS) and InterSystems, this paper provides a great overview of a recent ucisa webinar, “The Journey to Interoperability with University Hospital Southampton” – ucisa members can access the recording via login.
An Ambitious Vision Digital Transformation driving Strategic Ambition
Categories:
Audio and Video, Event resources, Webinar
Description:
The webinar recording of An Ambitious Vision Digital Transformation driving Strategic Ambition
The University of Portsmouth has bold plans for the future. The webinar brought together SThree PLC / Real Public Sector along with the Portsmouth team and Salesforce in discussing them.
Education and the Cloud
Wellbeing pedagogies practices to improve the student experience online
Accelerating the Development of Open Standards
Enabling Hybrid Learning for Higher Education Practical Solutions
Quiet Leadership and Crisis Management
Securely enabling todays remote Learning Environment
CEO update for Corporate members March 2021
CEO update for Institutional Members March 2021
Categories:
UCISA update
Description:
The CEO update for full institutional members gives a run down on what has happened in the first quarter of 2021.
This publications is for full institutional members only and can be accessed once logged in.
ucisa Jobs Board
Categories:
Jobs
Description:
Check out the some of latest jobs in the sector
Green paper response
Leading and Developing people
Home Office update on the Graduate immigration route change
Planning for recovery and economic growth
2021 - The year for embracing IT Innovation and change
A new learning experience: what’s next for the education sector?
Building a simplified back up solution for all data security
The Shifting Axis of Cyber Crime
Diversity and Digital Leadership
The potential of organisational frameworks
The Perfect Storm
The Shifting Axis of Cyber Crime
Augmenting the reality of Education
Establishing a Business Analysis Practice in the HE Sector
Categories:
Toolkit
Description:
Business analysis is rapidly gaining momentum in the higher education sector, with many universities having a business analysis practice already established in one form or another.
In this resource we provide several tools and techniques you can use to measure and understand the maturity of your own practice and outline some building blocks for developing your practice. We discuss how business analysis can add value to your organisation and highlight some potential solutions to common issues your practice might face. Case studies are included from institutions across the UK in order to give an insight into established practices sitting at different levels of the maturity model.
Lean for Your Team approach to Business Continuous Improvement
Delivering an engaging remote student experience
Data Protection Lessons Learned from a Departing DPO
IT Contemporary - HPE
Categories:
IT Contemporary, General, Event resources
Description:
This report will explore how the experience of the Covid-19 pandemic has put the foundations in place for universities to reshape the way they deliver higher education and manage their facilities into the 2020/21 academic year and beyond.
With input from two Russell Group universities, HPE and ucisa, the paper offers examples of how technology can help higher education run more efficiently and demonstrates how lessons learnt through innovating at speed can continue to benefit institutions in the months and years ahead.
DIG-SSG Security workshop
Categories:
Audio and Video, Event resources, Webinar
Description:
The recording from the joint DIG and SSG Community Day With a mix of presentations, round table discussions and exercises the day provided different perspectives on cyber security to challenge assumptions and improve your planning and responses.
Designing Effective Governance Models
SSG20
Fluency with Teams and Office 365
Categories:
Audio and Video, Event resources, Webinar
Description:
In April 2020, the Lancaster University ran a MS Teams Live event called ‘Getting the most out of Teams & Office 365’, Following on from that Ben & the team at Lancaster University gave an update on staff proficiency, usage and development with Office 365 across academic departments and professional services at Lancaster. During the webinar, they explored the features in Office 365 that have proved the most popular, invite comments and insights from other institutions, and discuss thought-provoking forward-looking questions such as whether the traditional VLE has a place with Teams embraced by so many, and what the future of email looks like.
Portfolio management
Student Multi-Experience: re-imagining mobile enabled services in HE
Categories:
Audio and Video, Event resources, Peer to Peer CPD, Webinar
Description:
This peer to peer CPD session provided 3 webinars over 3 days. Entitled Student Multi-Experience: re-imagining mobile enabled services in HE Multi Experience means Multi technology and Multi-Collaboration: Are you really ready for a University App? these webinars explored and invited continuous debate around the topic of a mobile enabled student experience.
CISG-PCMG20
The challenge for Education
Categories:
Audio and Video, Event resources, Webinar
Description:
The ucisa London group ran a webinar on the The Challenge for Education. In March Covid-19 suddenly taught education institutions that there were other ways of working than congregating in rooms for meetings and teaching. Collaboration software that most IT departments were using were suddenly taken up by the whole organisation and their potential started to be understood.
IT Contemporary - AWS
Categories:
IT Contemporary, General, Event resources
Description:
In June 2020, ucisa hosted a roundtable discussion between CIOs from institutions across Europe, considering their responses to the COVID-19 crisis as well as the current challenges and opportunities that have resulted from the most tumultuous year in recent memory. We thank AWS for their support of this discussion.
It is the valuable content of this engaging, high-level discussion that has formed the basis for our inaugural ucisa IT Contemporary piece. It will form part of an ad-hoc series under the banner of IT Contemporary - Articles that Connect Ideas, Share Best Practice and Transform IT Delivery.
The CAUDIT HE Business and Data Reference Model
Categories:
Audio and Video, Webinar, Event resources
Description:
To coincide with the release of their new version 2.5, the ucisa EA |Community of Practice ran a ucisawebinar with the co-chairs of the CAUDIT Enterprise Architect Community of Practice and architects of the CAUDIT Higher Education Business and Data Reference models.
DIG20
Categories:
Audio and Video, Event resources, Webinar
Description:
Recording from the DIG20 Conference entitled Infrastructure in a world of Digital Transformation: Nirvana or Neverland?.
Digital Transformation, and the integration of digital technology across all aspects of our institutions to bring business value, is something that is certainly a hot topic across the sector. What does Digital Transformation mean for those of us responsible for designing, implementing and managing IT infrastructure and networks? How do we ensure that our infrastructures are a cornerstone of Digital Transformation and demonstrate the true value of IT to the business?
Journey to modernisation
Categories:
Audio and Video, Event resources, Webinar, Peer to Peer CPD
Description:
In ucisa’s second peer to peer CPD session Journey to modernisation – building an integrated infrastructure service and remaining relevant in the Cloud Era, Mehmet Batmaz the Head of Infrastructure at the University of Greenwich, took us through his approach to building an agile and adaptable Infrastructure service, and covering topics such as leadership and relationships, applying architectural principles, and redefining team structure and scope in the modern world.
WiT20: Supportive, Disruptive, Resilient
Categories:
Audio and Video, Event resources, Webinar
Description:
The inaugural Women in Tech Group conference sponsored by Domain 7 offered an opportunity to discuss ways everyone can all help in making the workplace and industry more appealing to women and help bridge the diversity and skills/recruitment gap.
CEO update for Corporate members October 2020
CEO update for Institutional members October 2020
Categories:
UCISA update
Description:
The CEO update for institutional members gives a run down on what has happened in the ucisa year up until September 2020. This publications is for full institutional members only and can be accessed once logged in.
ISO 27001: Everything you need to know
Trusted Research Environments: Presenting IT as an Enabler in developing relationships and successful partnerships
Categories:
Audio and Video, Event resources, Webinar, Peer to Peer CPD
Description:
Leading our very first CPD session was Katie Wilde, Digital Research Services Manager at the University of Aberdeen. The recording is entitled Trusted Research Environments: Presenting IT as an Enabler in developing relationships and successful partnerships
How smart data management enabled the Nightingale Hospital Birmingham to rapidly respond to COVID-19
Categories:
Audio and Video, Event resources, Webinar
Description:
This event entitled How smart data management enabled the Nightingale Hospital Birmingham to rapidly respond to COVID-19 was sponsored by Corporate Member InterSystems.
The recording explores how system integration was vital to help the NHS safely and securely share patient data between the 5,000 capacity Nightingale Hospital Birmingham, set up to cope with increased demand from COVID-19, and 16 acute NHS trust sites – including a number of university hospitals – and why the same principles can be applied to sharing student data.
Why Payment Security is more than just PCI DSS
Categories:
Audio and Video, Event resources, Webinar
Description:
This event entitled Why Payment Security is more than just PCI DSS. Payment Security - is it falling through the gaps? was sponsored by WPM Payment Security.
The recording from the event will be of interest to all ucisa members who appreciate that payment security is more than just PCI DSS compliance. It is also for those who would like to build their understanding in this critical area, as well as those who are interested in the topic of data security more generally.
Maintaining and adapting positive learnings
Adapting support for users in a locked-down world
Senior leadership digital awareness and capabilities
Categories:
Audio and Video, Event resources, Webinar
Description:
The recording from the event presented in collaboration wtih AdvanceHE entitled Senior leadership awareness & capabilities- the role of CIOs and their executive colleagues in informing, guiding, and leading organisational solutions
Redefining the data-driven intelligent campus
Spotlight on Digital capabilities webinar 3
The new educational normal
Categories:
Webinar, Event resources, Audio and Video
Description:
With the gradual dwindling of cases of COVID-19, colleges and universities are considering how to get back to usual. There are a few different ways to do this and each has different challenges. This session of the ucisa London group is designed to provide an opportunity to discuss the topic. To help organisations refine their plans and ensure that we all benefit from the knowledge and thinking within our group. The session will be in three parts and, though it will be guided, will rely on input from attendees.
The recording is available to institutional members only
Spotlight on Digital capabilities webinar 2
Categories:
Audio and Video, Event resources, Webinar
Description:
The second in a series of three webinar from the ucisa Digital Capabilities Group entitled Virtual Stratified Medicine Lab – intro to basic lab skills. (Designing a virtual lab tour to promote the learning and teaching of Stratified Medicine).
Spotlight on Digital capabilities webinar 1
Categories:
Audio and Video, Event resources, Webinar
Description:
The first in a series of three webinar from the ucisa Digital Capabilities Group entitled Co-creating through staff-student partnership to increase student employability skills
Information Security Training Awareness course Spring 2020
Categories:
Best Practice Guide, Toolkit, General
Description:
ucisa has released an updated version of its popular Information Security Awareness Training Course to reflect changes in the information security threat landscape, and to respond to new legislation such as GDPR (the General Data Protection Regulation 2016/679) and the Data Protection Act 2018.
Please note that access to the link is restricted to the named representatives of ucisa institutional full members only.
CIS 2019 Survey
Categories:
Survey
Description:
The Corporate Information Systems Group (CISG) has carried out its annual survey of all ucisa member institutions in each year since 2007.
This survey is one of the essential outputs from the CISG group; it establishes what systems and tools are currently in use, reveals the trends the tools have throughout their life cycle within institutions.
ucisa London Group May webinar on Information security
Categories:
Audio and Video, Event resources, Webinar
Description:
The ucisa London Group's webinar for May 2020 focused on Information Security and included:
Current issues arising out of changed working patterns
Security in Zoom
Risk management for home working
Remote meeting etiquette
Recruitment and Retention Guide
Categories:
Event resources
Description:
At the ucisa19 Leadership Conference, members voiced the need for us to foreground the huge range of career opportunities in the HE IT sector, to tackle the challenge faced by many in recruiting and retaining strong talent to our institutions.
A cross representative community of institutions are involved in steering the work in this area, with the deliverable objective of producing a guide on attracting and retaining good staff in HE IT that the whole sector will benefit from. We have also forged a partnership with Domain7, to deliver this project, enabling us to draw on their insight through their engagement with key stakeholder groups, from within and outside of the sector.
Uncaging the data
Categories:
Webinar, Event resources, Audio and Video
Description:
Hosted by the ucisa Enterprise Architecture Community of Practice see how the University of Leeds are using the ucisa Capability model and Information architecture to begin to unlock the potential of data by stepping beyond GDPR.
Covid-19: how London institutions are responding
Categories:
Event resources, Webinar, Audio and Video
Description:
The ucisa London Group Committee held an hour-long webinar giving participants the opportunity to gain insight from FE and HE peers in London by asking questions ans sharing experiences. The webinar focused on addressing networking and infrastructure challenges faced during the Covid-19 pandemic
University of East London MS Teams implementation experience
Categories:
Event resources, Webinar, Audio and Video
Description:
On 27 February 2020, the University of East London ran an interactive webinar where they shared their MS Teams implementation experience. They have been using Microsoft Teams since January 2018, at first for professional services and then later that year for a small number of academics and their students.
Unified Comms Today
Categories:
Event resources
Description:
During this one day event speakers from within the HE sector and wider industry looked at what Unified Comms actually meant to organisations and what has been done, if anything, in delivering it. The success (or otherwise) of those deployments was discussed and lessons that could be learnt was also looked at.
Supplier day resources
Categories:
Event resources
Description:
ucisa hosted a one-day event for our corporate members, the event was aimed at those companies that are already established in higher education as well as those looking to break into the sector.
Attendees had the opportunity to find out more about what ucisa does, and how they can use their membership to gain greater insight into higher education including the strategic challenges and hot topics facing this unique sector.
Cultural Challenges Study Tour
Categories:
Event resources
Description:
Presentations and resources from the Cultural Challenges Study Tour of Teesside University.
Teesside University has embarked upon one of the largest digital transformation projects in the UK HE sector, with an emphasis on 1-1 device deployment for staff and students. Over an 18-month period, the University has developed and embedded a mandatory Digital Development Programme for all teaching staff which has generated a 96% satisfaction rating from participants and enabled the University to accrue the largest concentration of Microsoft Innovative Educator Experts in the UK. Significant benefits have already been realised from this project, including measurable impact on student learning, enhanced staff digital capabilities and a revised approach to collaborative working between IT and learning and teaching functions within the University.
Digital accessibility resources
The Infrastructure survey 2018
Categories:
Survey
Description:
The first Infrastructure Group survey was conducted in 2018. The survey attracted 66 responses from a wide range of institutions, ranging from small further education colleges through to large research intensive universities. This report highlights the key findings.
The Directors' Cut edition 2 - cyber security and FOI
Categories:
Directors cut
Description:
The Directors' Cut is a briefing intended to inform CIOs and Directors of IT Services.
In this edition we discuss the recent spate of Freedom of Information requests related to cyber security experiences in the sector, and offer guidance to members that may help when institutions face such queries.
The Directors' Cut edition 1 - Accessibility legislation
Digital Capabilities Survey Report 2019
Categories:
Survey
Description:
Digital capabilities survey report 2019 published.
The report focuses on the current activity and strategic drivers for both staff and student digital capabilities in higher education institutions.
This Digital Capabilities Survey Report 2019 is the culmination of analysing the results from the third survey undertaken by the ucisa Digital Capabilities Group.
The 2019 survey built on previous surveys and the data have been analysed to give an insight into institutional activity to help further the digital agenda.
VLE Toolkit
Categories:
Toolkit
Description:
The ucisa VLE Review Toolkit provides essential guidance for institutions who are planning to review their virtual learning environments (VLEs).
Constructed using interviews from eleven experienced HE professionals and eight supplier representatives, the Toolkit considers topics such as requirements gathering and prioritisation, evaluating tenders and hosting. The resources section of the Toolkit contains templates and examples provided by universities.
Fiona Strawbridge, Head of Digital Education, University College London and VLE Review Toolkit project lead, explains, “The aim of this Toolkit is to distil the experience, insight and hard lessons learned into a digestible and practical form. It has been developed with input from heads of technology enhanced learning (TEL), project managers, change managers, procurement professionals and commercial VLE providers. Anyone considering running a VLE review should find much of interest - it is full of invaluable insights into the challenges, potential pitfalls, and the ways to achieve a successful outcome. As someone who is about to embark upon a review, I for one will be drawing on it heavily!”
CIS Survey 2018
Categories:
Survey
Description:
The survey is carried out annually and provides a simple snapshot of the core corporate information systems in use by ucisa members. It is open to all ucisa members and collects basic information about the main corporate information systems (CIS) in use in the HE sector. The snapshot is supplemented by a report which shows the trends in CIS use.
Approaches to Business Continuity in Universities
Categories:
Best Practice Guide
Description:
Approaches to Business Continuity in Universities is a concise resource for anyone responsible for a business-critical process within their institution and those, such as members of the Board of Governors, who have oversight responsibilities for these processes.
Constructed using interviews with eleven experienced professionals from across the sector, the publication looks at how to create a business continuity plan, how to test it and how to embed business continuity planning into your organisation. It also contains prompts to help the reader consider their department's readiness for significant disruptions such as severe weather, the failure to renew a contract with a major monopoly supply or a denial of service attack on the academic network.
Approaches to Business Continuity in Universities has been written for registrars, finance directors, heads of HR, libraries and estates, CIOs and other professional services, and for those with an interest with business continuity such as the audit committee.
2018 TEL survey case studies
Categories:
Case Study
Description:
This publication presents a series of case studies on institutional approaches to the management of Technology.
Enhanced Learning (TEL) services and is intended to serve as a companion report to the 2018 ucisa Technology Enhanced Learning Survey Report, which captures TEL developments across the UK Higher Education (HE) sector. This publication builds on the series of case study interviews which accompanied the ucisa TEL Survey reports in 2010, 2012, 2014 and 2016
2018 Technology Enhanced Learning survey
Categories:
Survey
Description:
The Digital Education Group has carried out regular surveys on the use of technology enhanced learning in the higher education sector. In addition to reviewing the technology in use, the survey looks at the drivers behind the adoption of technology enhanced learning in institutions. The results of the 2018 survey, the ninth in the series, have now been published. Details of all the surveys are available upon request
Privacy Impact Assessment Toolkit
Categories:
Toolkit
Description:
The ucisa Privacy Impact Assessment Toolkit explains how to carry out Privacy Impact Assessments, and has been written specifically to meet the needs of the higher education community. A template for recording the outcomes of a Privacy Impact Assessment is also included within the Toolkit, which is available as a PDF. A companion volume, available as a Word document, containing a worked example of a PIA for the introduction of Microsoft Office 365 at a fictional university illustrates how the process works and the type of privacy risks that a PIA can highlight.
Please note that these documents were published before the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018 came into force and as such may not be fully accessible.
The truth about data and analytics
Categories:
General
Description:
The truth about data and analytics is the result of a recent workshop of practitioners in this field who were prepared to share the truth about the challenges and the way of advancing data and analytics relevant to the HE sector. The workshop was hosted by ucisa and facilitated by Sero HE, a digital technology consultancy focused on the HE sector.
This report is written primarily for those with responsibility for data analytics in higher education institutions. It focuses on issues currently being experienced by institutions and provides a set of pointers for best practice identified from real world cases. It is written in a concise, practical style to provide an easily digestible thought piece, rather than an exhaustive study.
The report includes case studies from three higher education institutions, plus insights from the further education sector and overseas.
Please note that this document was published before the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018 came into force and as such may not be fully accessible.
GDPR is coming - what shall we do
Categories:
Best Practice Guide
Description:
Universities and Colleges are increasingly aware of the impending need to comply with the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) from 25 May 2018. However, in many institutions this translates to high level corporate projects that do not include or appropriately communicate with the IT community. Those charged with managing institutions’ corporate information systems are well placed to understand both the current practices with regard to data management and the feasibility and impact of changes required to comply with GDPR. Evidence, however, suggests that such colleagues are not always sufficiently included in GDPR projects.
UK HE Capability Model
Categories:
Models
Description:
ucisa Enterprise Architecture Community of Practice began a project to create a generic capability model for the UK HE sector. In simple terms this project has tried to identify, and group, all the individual ‘building blocks’ (capabilities) required to run a UK HE organisation.
UCISA Strategic Plan: 2018-22 Connecting and Collaborating for Success
Categories:
General, UCISA update, Audio and Video
Description:
ucisa's Strategic Plan for the five-year period 2018-2022 is the culmination of an ambitious two-year project to reshape and refocus the organisation to meet not only current, but the future and emerging needs of you, our members, to 2022. As an organisation run by members for the benefit of the entire membership, both the development of the Strategic Plan and the key deliverables have been driven by the collective views and priorities you put forward. It's a shared plan requiring shared input to deliver shared advantage and means ucisa will continue to create real benefit and value for all of us in the years ahead. Among the key themes are making resources more accessible and relevant to the wider community supporting technology use, opening new communication channels to share knowledge more easily and placing even greater emphasis on informing, promoting and fostering ucisa's expert member community and the know-how needed to continue to make effective use of technology in delivering an excellent student experience and operational efficiency.
The UK Higher Education Service Desk Toolkit
Establishing Process Improvement Capabilty in an HE enviroment
Categories:
Best Practice Guide
Description:
Process improvement activity is increasing in UK universities, partly in response to calls for increased effectiveness and efficiency but also as a response to today’s rapidly changing political and economic environment.
This guide seeks to evidence what higher educational organisations are currently doing to embed process improvement capability and to support those considering undertaking such activity or those already doing so.
Please note that these documents were published before the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018 came into force and as such may not be fully accessible.
The UK Higher Education Learning Space Toolkit
Categories:
Toolkit
Description:
The Toolkit provides guidance for Audiovisual, IT and Estates teams, and demonstrates why the provision of excellent learning spaces should be a strategic, institution-wide concern.
Constructed from interviews from eleven experienced professionals, the Toolkit explores pedagogical principles and their place in learning space design, and gives an honest insight in to the realities of cross-professional working in universities and colleges. The Toolkit includes advice on: managing a learning space project, working with professional advisors, considerations for particular types of learning space, using learning technologies, the evaluation of learning spaces and changing working practices.
Effective Benefits Management for IT and Business Change Projects
Categories:
Toolkit
Description:
This toolkit aims to provide an overview of the principles behind Benefits Realisation and some basic tools for use in projects in HE and other sectors, while providing some signposts to more sophisticated techniques that are available should a project require them. Benefits management aims to ensure that benefits that have been identified at the start of a project are realised and that any benefits that emerge as the project progresses are properly exploited. As many project benefits are not realised until after the project is closed it is important that appropriate structures are put in place to monitor benefits realisation post project.
Please note that these documents were published before the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018 came into force and as such may not be fully accessible.
Social Media Toolkit: a practical guide to achieving benefits and managing risks
Categories:
Best Practice Guide, Toolkit
Description:
This Toolkit stems from growing interest in the use of social media within the ucisa community. With institutional stakeholders looking increasingly to their information services departments for support in this area, our members sought a reference guide to help them answer a range of questions on related topics. More than that, however, they were seeking practical, contextual examples of use that would inspire others within their institution to take advantage of the affordances of a set of tools that offer new forms of engagement and ways to enhance many aspects of everyday business practice.
Please note that these documents were published before the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018 came into force and as such may not be fully accessible.
Establishing a PMO in and HE environment
Categories:
Best Practice Guide
Description:
The purpose of this document is to provide guidance for higher education institutions considering establishing a Project Management Office (PMO) function. It includes advice on designing your PMO and on implementation as well as providing a set of example artefacts. This guide particularly addresses the situation where the PMO is looking after business change and IT projects only, rather than a joint Estates/IT PMO, although much of the following will be applicable in both cases.
This guide forms part of a set of ucisa Project and Change Management publications including the Major Project Governance Assessment Toolkit and the guide to Effective Risk Management for IT and Business Change Projects and is intended to be used in conjunction with them. (Both available on request)
Please note that these documents were published before the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018 came into force and as such may not be fully accessible.
ucisa Information Security Management Toolkit
Categories:
Toolkit
Description:
The ucisa Information Security Management Toolkit has been constructed for use by information security/governance professionals wishing to put in place an ISMS in their organisation. It also addresses how to convey the importance of information security to the organisation, since the need for an ISMS is based upon the acceptance that information security is worth investing in. This edition of the Toolkit outlines an approach to successfully implement an ISMS based on ISO/IEC 27001:2013 (Information technology — Security techniques — Information security management systems — Requirements). It is intended as a practical resource, providing an overview of the key aspects of a successful ISMS and guidance on how to implement them. It also includes case studies, as well as templates and example resources which organisations can tailor to suit their needs.
A high quality printed copy of this publication is available upon request
Please note that these documents were published before the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018 came into force and as such may not be fully accessible.
Model IT Regulations for the use of institutional IT facilities and systems
Recent News and Views
The UCISA Mentoring scheme
The autumn iteration of the UCISA mentoring scheme is open for application to our institutional members