Speaker profiles and abstracts

The learning cloud: performance and productivity matter!

Bill Graves, Senior Vice President, Academic Strategy, SunGard 

Tertiary education around the world is facing both systemic funding challenges and persistent academic performance issues. Colleges and universities collectively are being asked to increase both credentialing rates and the proportion of the working population holding tertiary credentials. Meanwhile, demographics at many levels are trending toward increased diversity in both cultural and economic dimensions. Increasing the proportion of degree holders in the population therefore implies the need to recruit, enrol, retain and credential a student body weighted more towards underprepared, financially needy students. Maintaining affordability accordingly will squeeze per-credential expense rates.

In this context, this presentation will help IS leaders:

• Understand the policy pressures facing tertiary education’s executive leadership.
• Explain to their executive colleagues why and how IS enables the only academic and organisational strategies available for improving upon and accounting for performance in ways that meet both external policy expectations and tertiary education’s societal and economic obligations.
• Understand, through examples, three IT enabled strategies already proven effective for measurably improving upon and accounting for both academic performance and institutional productivity.

Dr William H Graves, as Senior Vice President for Academic Strategy, is a member of the executive team at SunGard Higher Education. He is also a member of the Board of Governors of Antioch University and a professor emeritus at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) where, after earning a mathematics PhD from Indiana University, he served as Dean for General Education, interim Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, senior Information Technology Officer, and Founder and Director of the Institute for Academic Technology (a UNC/IBM alliance). First at UNC and now at SunGard Higher Education, Graves has helped pioneer technology enabled strategies for measurably improving upon and accounting for institutional performance in higher education, especially academic performance. On this theme, he has published 80+ articles and books, given hundreds of invited presentations, and advised hundreds of institutions. Graves is currently a co-founding board member of the National Center for Academic Transformation, the IMS Global Learning Consortium, and the Alliance for Higher Education Competitiveness.

He serves also on the National Advisory Group for the Lumina Foundation’s Making Opportunity Affordable initiative. He formerly served on the boards of EDUCAUSE, the Coalition for Networked Information, and CAUSE. He helped launch Internet2 and EDUCAUSE’s National Learning Infrastructure Initiative (now the Learning Initiative) and chaired the latter's planning committee from 1994-2004. He served on the Tenth Anniversary Commission of the Council for Higher Education Accreditation and participated in a national work group on Enhancing Accessibility, Reducing Costs, and Promoting Productivity in conjunction with the Department of Education’s March 2007 national summit, A Test of Leadership.

Living life on the edge... with an unsecured computer

Edward Gibson, Chief (cyber) Security Adviser, Microsoft Ltd 

Despite the mutating threats of cyber attacks, online extortion, or spam, a well structured information security strategy can safeguard your business and ensure that risks are managed with commitment and understanding. It can also help to reassure your customers who rely on you to protect their proprietary information. What happens if your laptop (filled with highly personal or business confidential data) is one of the 900-1,000 lost or stolen at London’s Heathrow Airport every week. Yet, because the internet is not territorial or jurisdictionally bound, organised crime efforts to steal everything you hold dear by extortion, threats, intimidation – not in the bricks and mortar world but in the online world – our normal responses to attack are not as effective. But, there are solutions . . . and sometimes they are free. Ed will give you a peek inside his cyber life at Microsoft while utilising anecdotes from his 20 year career as an FBI Agent, including the most recent 5 years when he was assigned as a Diplomat to US Embassy London in charge of all the FBI's cyber investigations in the UK. The reasons he was asked by Microsoft to be its Chief Security Advisor in the UK may not surprise you, but most certainly your view of the need for computer security will forever be changed.

Ed’s primary role is to serve as the senior advisor to Microsoft’s customers, partners, government elites and the public on how to best respond to the current security environment (from internal leakage of intellectual property to best practices for online cyber security) and how to improve their security through Microsoft's solutions and services. As Microsoft's Trustworthy Computing (TWC) initiative continues, one of the key skills Ed brings to Microsoft is his ability to forge and maintain strategic alliances across public and private sector organisations in an international environment. He is the link between Microsoft and industry specialists, law enforcement, government and academia, facilitating the sharing of security knowledge between these groups.

Ed’s experience and knowledge was gained through a 20 year career as a Special Agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). During this period, he was a recognised expert in investigating international money laundering and fraud schemes, economic espionage, and intellectual property theft.

From early 2000- June 2005, Ed was assigned to the American Embassy in London where he served as the FBI's Assistant Legal Attaché in the UK and Ireland. During this period, he was responsible for all FBI hi-tech, internet extortion, blackmail, cyber terrorism, intellectual property theft, crimes against children, and infrastructure protection investigations. His focus on how criminals exploit the internet and his investigative abilities have made him an ideal figurehead for Microsoft's efforts in secure computing.

Before his appointment to the FBI, he served for five years as an in house lawyer for a multi-national corporation based in the USA. He is a qualified solicitor in England and Wales, has completed a 2 year computing programme at the University of Oxford, serves on several technology association steering committees and advisory boards, and is a Fellow of the British Computer Society.

Since taking on his role with Microsoft UK, Ed has lectured widely on cyber threats, internet crime, social networks, and e-business. He is a sought after speaker given his ability to bring security to life and make it personal. You can contact Ed by email at edgibson@microsoft.com

Bath, drains and Web 2.0

Rod Angood, Director of Computing Services, University of Bath 

This presentation describes the challenge of the impact of Web 2.0 services on data traffic created by first year students at the University of Bath. A sudden increase in data rates and bandwidth consumption generated by students living in city centre residences threatened to overwhelm the University’s network links. The solution was to install dark fibre through the City’s waste water system which proved fast and cost effective with very little disruption to road traffic.

In partnership with H2O Networks © and inuk © the University of Bath installed new, resilient (dual) circuit fibre infrastructure to connect all of its city centre facilities to the campus network backbone and provide a range of value added services for all students (on and off campus) in the form of free TV and Radio channels plus additional subscriber elected channels and Voice Over IP Telephony services to every single student room.

Rod was appointed to the University of Bath as Director of Computing Services in September 2001. He has been responsible for ICT strategy and network borne service development at the University for seven and a half years.He has strategic oversight and control over a central ICT services unit numbering around 90 staff, organised into 3 divisions covering Management Information Systems, User Services and Systems and Networks through 3 Assistant Directors.  Rod spent 7 years at the University of Luton (now the University of Bedfordshire); originally appointed as the Computing Services Manager but rising to the position of Director of Information Services during that period. He was appointed to the University of Luton (Bedfordshire) on retirement from the Royal Navy (Submarine Service) following a 16 year Officer Commission, retiring in the rank of Lieutenant Commander.

Getting it right - taking good institutional decisions about IT

David Sweeney, Director of Research, HEFCE 

The Dearing Report contained recommendation 42 − All HEIs should develop managers who combine a deep understanding of C&IT with senior management experience.

Various steps have been taken over the last decade; to educate and inform senior managers; to involve IT professionals in the senior management team; to hire a new breed of Chief Information Officers. Indeed, a recent press article suggested that, in business, CIOs were no longer required as the necessary skills and knowledge were embedded within company senior teams. This talk will consider how true that is in HEIs and how good decisions can be taken as we move into a leaner period after several years when resources were available to invest in priority areas.

David Sweeney has been Director (Research, Innovation and Skills) since 2008. In this role he is responsible for developing policy on Research (including the Research Assessment Exercise and Research Excellence Framework), Business and Community and Employer Engagement. He is also responsible for the London and East regional teams and for the Strategic Development Fund. A statistician, David worked at two BBSRC research institutes, developing mathematical models of plant growth then moving into senior management in the IT area, becoming Director of Information Services at Royal Holloway, University of London and serving in a national role as Chair of UCISA. He became Vice-Principal (Communications, Enterprise and Research) in 2004, responsible for research strategy, the 2008 RAE submission and for developing Royal Holloway's research led commercial and consultancy activities, knowledge transfer and development programme. He remains interested in IT and especially applications of IT in learning and research.

The new JISC Services Management Company: from promise to practice

Derek Law, Chair, JISC Services Company 

This presentation describes the setting up of the new Company. It looks at the developing vision, the links to other JISC companies and considers prospects for the future. It also discusses the importance of community engagement.

Derek Law was Head of the Information Resources Directorate at the University of Strathclyde where he still holds a chair in the Department of Computing and Information Science. He has worked in several British universities since 1970 and is a frequent author and conference presenter. Most of his work has been to do with the development of networked resources in higher education and with the creation of national information policy. Recently he has worked on the use of wireless technology in developing new methods of teaching and learning. He is a past Treasurer of IFLA; Past President of CILIPS (the Scottish Library Association) and past President of eIFL, which promotes electronic access to journals for developing countries and has served on a wide range of national level committees relating to electronic libraries and archives and was directly involved in setting up both the BIDS and AHDS projects.

He was awarded the Barnard prize for contributions to Medical Informatics in 1993, Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 1999, an honorary degree by the Sorbonne in 2000, the IFLA medal in 2003 and Honorary Fellowship of CILIP in 2004.

Myths and realities of the Google generation

Jeff Haywood, CIO and Vice Principal, University of Edinburgh 

Studying young people’s experiences of, and attitudes towards, technology has become a mainstream activity, especially pronounced in the education sectors of developed countries. Conclusion drawn from research range from the apocalyptic (older staff do not understand the space their students inhabit) to the visionary (applying these new technologies can transform education). For HE/FE Information Services, which in various shapes and sizes provide the library, IT and e-learning support, the question about what to do about an expanding range of technologies and applications has become pressing. Unfortunately, reliable answers are elusive due to the mixed messages from the literature, academic staff and senior managers, and of course the students themselves.

In this presentation I shall review recent studies of young people, education and technology, drawing out consistencies and paradoxes, and set the key messages from them alongside predictions from technology horizon scanning reports. I shall then offer my own views on how Information Services in HE and FE should respond in the next 5 years to continue to provide high quality and relevant services.

Jeff is Vice-Principal Knowledge Management, Chief Information Officer and Librarian at the University of Edinburgh. He is responsible for the University’s integrated Information Service which contains the Library, the IT services and the eLearning Services, and for the current major initiatives in high performance computing, research data services, selection of the next generation VLE, the digital and information literacies programme and e-assessment including implementation of the e-portfolio. Jeff is also Professor of Education and Technology in the School of Education. His research interests are in the development of strategies for effective use of ICT in education at institutional, national and international levels, with a particular emphasis on understanding learner experiences. Jeff is a member of the JISC Board and immediate past Chair of the Coimbra Group Taskforce on E-learning (www.coimbra-group.be).

 

Directors' takeaway - ten things to do...

Robina Chatham 

The focus of this presentation is on ten actions for you to undertake when you get back to the ranch; starting Monday. When successfully implemented you will have succeeded in placing IT on the strategic agenda of your institution and establish yourself as a member of your universities inner sanctum.

The list of 10 is set against a backdrop of history and research into IT leadership. The session will begin with a brief canter thought the history of IT, then the key issues and challenges facing today’s IT leaders will be considered and, finally, the findings from three pieces of research will be presented. The three pieces for research encompass:

• Lessons from IT professionals who have made it to the position of CEO within their organisations
• What top head hunters look for when recruiting for the position of CIO or IT Director; the things that turn them on and those things that turn them off
• The expectations CEO’s have of their CIO’s

Together these pieces of research provide guidance and direction in solving those issues and challenges which have, to date, eluded us.

Health warning: Be prepared to have your thinking challenged and to listen with an open mind.

Dr Robina Chatham qualified as both Mechanical Engineer and Neuroscientist. Her career commenced within the shipbuilding industry, where she pioneered the introduction of computing onto the shop floor. Robina subsequently followed a career in IT, which culminated in the position of European IT Director for a leading merchant bank. In 1996, Robina joined Cranfield School of Management as a Lecturer in Management Information Systems where she created the acclaimed and in some cases life changing programme – Organisational Politics and IT Management. In 2000 Robina authored her book Corporate Politics for IT Managers: How to get Streetwise, published by Butterworth Heinemann. In the words of the Chief Executive of the British Computer Society “If a fraction of those who read the book do something positive with the ideas presented the state of UK plc will be for ever enriched.”

Robina now runs her own training and consultancy company and is also a Visiting Fellow at Cranfield School of Management. Her prime focus is on helping senior managers to develop political acumen, to master the art of influencing others and hence increase their personal impact at board level. Other areas of specialism include the building of high performance teams and relationship management. This year Robina was a medalist for the BSC IT industry award IT Consultant of the Year. She is currently writing her second book to be entitled Changing the CIO’s Mindset: Time for Revolution rather than Evolution.

IT's role in a low carbon economy

Simon Mingay 

IT has an important role to help organisations and society reduce their energy, material and carbon intensity. This presentation will look at what the IT organisation should be doing to reduce the environmental impact of IT itself, as well as look at how IT can be used to reduce the environmental impact of the organisation. Simon Mingay is Gartner’s global research lead on environmentally sustainable IT, and has been covering the topic since 2004. He’s been with Gartner for 11 years as an IT management analyst. Previous to that Simon was an IT Manager in the semiconductor industry. He has a computer science background, and had been in the industry for 27 years

Creating a success culture

Robin Sieger, Motivational Speaker 

The fact that 40% of businesses disappear every ten years demonstrates that businesses are continually in a state of adapting (either successfully or not), if people are the key then the means by which they can affect meaningful change − must it is assumed also change with the times.

Robin’s presentation will explore and examine the principles common to organisations that succeed year on year, manage and adapt to changing markets and effect change programmes efficiently.

The talk will cover some of the commonalities of successful business cultures that will include:

• There is a need for clearly identified and understood targets.
• It is important to create a flexible strategy to achieve the common purpose.
• Simplifying the leadership function.
• Individual responsibility and the impact of effective communication.
• The factors which truly motivate the individual.
• The fundamental keys behind sustaining growth and empowering individuals.
• Confidence at both the personal and team level is another key principle to managing people and performing at the highest levels. A strong sense of self-belief is a dynamic force and an influential factor in developing high performance teams.
• Trying a new approach is often seen as taking an unnecessary risk, but it can be seen as an opportunity to grow. Companies that are willing to try a new approach will need to become less risk averse and more opportunity aware.

Robin Sieger is originally from Scotland and now divides his time between Europe and America. He is a successful businessman, best selling author, and broadcaster with offices in the UK (London) and the USA (Charlotte NC). He is a leading success strategist and developed a reputation within media and industry as a performance expert. After studying science at university, Robin went on to have a successful career as a television writer, at the age of 29 Robin was diagnosed with cancer, it was this life changing experience that made him determine to re-examine, his notion of success. Robin set up his first company, Sieger International, with the sole aim of teaching people within organisations to develop themselves and reach their full potential. Robin has set up successful publishing and educational technology businesses. He firmly believes that organisational culture is a reflection of what people believe about themselves and the company they work for.

Robin is the author of four books including the international best seller Natural Born Winners (Random House) which has been translated into over 18 languages and sold in over 80 countries.