The Future of Shared Services

Emma started working in the Higher Education sector 14 years ago at Sheffield Hallam University, she moved to York St John University in 2019 to take up the role of CIO where she has responsibility for IT Operations, Technology Enhanced Learning and for the delivery of an ambitious Digital Strategy. Emma is a Trustee and current Chair of UCISA, the professional body for IT professionals working in education. In the last four years, she has supported UCISA with the development of its Strategy and has been involved in supporting its communities of practice to grow, evolve and share their valuable expertise. She has represented the UCISA membership on several high-profile pieces of representation work with key digital suppliers and she is a member of the UUK/Jisc software negotiation strategy group.

Brian is an award-winning professional with an career spanning nearly over 35 years in Higher Education (HE), Further Education (FE) and the Public Sector. With an MBA from Strathclyde University and a Fellowship with the Royal Society of Arts (RSA), Brian has consistently demonstrated strong leadership and management skills across a wide range of technical and service disciplines.  Brian’s expertise in team management and strategic planning has earned him recognition in the industry, culminating in being awarded the prestigious UCISA Chief Information Officer (CIO) of the Year for 2024/2025 and, under his leadership, the IT Directorate at the University of Aberdeen was voted best  IT Support in the United Kingdom universities in the National Student Survey of 2023/24. With a wealth of experience and a commitment to excellence, as HEFESTIS CEO, Brian continues to support and drive innovation for the Education and Public sectors.

Liam Earney is the Executive Director of Digital resources at Jisc since August 2019. He is responsible for Jisc’s licensing, open research, content & discovery services for further and higher education and research. This includes services such as Jisc Collections, Chest, Library hub, JUSP and SHERPA which collectively save UK universities and colleges over £100 million per annum. Liam is also the executive leadership team lead overseeing Jisc’s strategy to support members’ research and innovation activity. Previously Director of licensing at Jisc, with a responsibility for the units undertaking the licensing and negotiation of agreements for digital content and software on behalf of UK universities and further education colleges. Overseeing the evolution of Jisc’s approach to the negotiation of open access agreements, in particular how Jisc could best support the sector achieve its aims around pure gold, hybrid and green open access.