University showcase abstracts

UCISA-Eduserv Award for Excellence 2011 winner (Caernarfon Suite) 
Online Information Security training:  A collaborative development – greater than the sum of its parts
Colin Atkinson, University of Leicester              
Within the HE sector collaborative developments have had a very mixed track record.  However, the institutions that worked together on this project have proved that not only can such developments be successful but also that the delivered product can be of quality that individually would have been difficult to achieve.

UCISA SDG Best Practice Award 2011  (Conwy 1)
Just being good enough is not good enough: a new support desk approach
Tara Howard and Tim Ingham, University of Lincoln
A project, led by ICT, focused on changing the ICT and Estates service by embedding a new culture across both departments that delivers excellent, consistent service, underpinned by a robust framework of technology, processes, learning, development and support.

The Digital Academic Records Exchange (DARE) shared service (Conwy 2)
John Townsend, Liverpool John Moores University and Jonathan Dempsey, Digitary
DARE is a JISC UMF-funded consortium project to deliver an operational shared service for secure online delivery of degree certificates, transcripts, the HEAR and other student data. The proposed service will be suitable for deployment as SaaS on a cloud platform and is scheduled to go live in March 2012.

On route to a trusted Cloud − proof points, not promises  (Denbigh 1)
Rhys Davies  and Ed Carter, YHMAN Ltd and Hugh Lavery, Leeds Metropolitan University
Cloud promises to change the economics and agility of provisioning.  However, executives want at least the same level of trust as existing services.  Our shared service pathfinder provides a multi-tenancy resource pool hosted across the Region on a stretched DC network with virtual security. It can be done; it works; it adds value.

Student facing; the role of ICT in improving the student experience  (Denbigh 2)
Jim Nottingham, London South Bank University
The ICT department at LSBU undertook a series of projects to enhance the student experience. Projects undertaken were students points of contact, progression analysis, attendance monitoring, coursework submission, individual timetables and a student portal. The session will explore the outcomes and the strategies used to deliver these key services.

Delivering an integrated Research Management and Administration System    (Conwy 2)
Simon Foster, University of Exeter
The Research Management and Administration System (RMAS) project will help deliver savings and efficiencies by:

• Creating a procurement framework of RMAS modules.
• Developing an RMAS messaging standard (CERIF XML based) which allows RMAS suppliers to create system connectors.
• Developing institution level integration models using standard approaches which can be copied by other HEIs.

Good enough − virtualisation on a budget  (Denbigh 1)
Stephen Booth, Coventry University
How Coventry University have achieved large scale server virtualisation by switching from VMware to Microsoft Hyper-V, making significant cost savings in the process on both software and hardware

Paperless Exam Board (Denbigh 2)
Nathalie Czechowski, Coventry University
Take a paper hungry business process, apply a dollop of business analysis, a slice of web developments skills, and a sprinkling of Enterprise Architecture to produce an online assessment process for use on campus and off, at home and abroad. The story of a major process improvement at Coventry University.

Identity and Access Management − you can save time, money and drive organisational efficiency  (Caernarfon Suite)
Chris Parry, University of Nottingham
Managing Identity and Access management across the organisation and beyond is a widely talked about among analysts and solution providers offering savings and efficiencies at every level. Nottingham have been developing their Identity service over the past few years and will take you on their journey to business benefits and operational efficiency.

Re-organisation of IT services at the University of Bristol  (Conwy 1)
John Richards, University of Bristol
The University of Bristol has been through major organisational change over the past 18 months with the reorganisation of principal support functions, such as finance, HR, education and student support, as well as IT. The overall objective of this Support Process Review programme was to identify and implement sustainable staff cost savings, by improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the University's key support processes.

This session will give a frank account of the issues and challenges encountered and how they have been tackled as well as an assessment of how things stand at March 2012 in an environment which is still undergoing significant change.

Researchers as partners, not customers  (Conwy 2)
Mary Visser, University of Leicester
Interesting things happen when IT professionals work closely with researchers and their science.  We are now getting out of our corporate IT box and helping to manage and mine large data. This talk will showcase what the University of Leicester has done to build SaaS offerings to support bio-informatics research.

DIY access control at Lancaster University  (Denbigh 1)
Dan Meyers, Lancaster University
Two years ago, Lancaster University evaluated various available NAC solutions. None fulfilled all our requirements, so we decided to write our own. That system now controls all network access and speeds up network troubleshooting. Here we explain why we chose the DIY option, how it works, and what we gain.

Fair Usage Policy for the Student Residences Network  (Denbigh 2)
Nick Burd, Lancaster University
At Lancaster University a Fair Usage Policy was introduced to the Student Residences Network to address the problems of rapidly increasing outbound traffic levels and a small number of bandwidth hungry users exhausting available network resources. This presentation will demonstrate how a bespoke fair usage system was implemented to enforce the policy; detailing the factors that led up to the need for a policy, showcasing the overall system architecture, evaluating the effect it has had on network utilisation and highlighting trends in users’ network usage.