During this episode of the Tech takes podcast, we chat with Jason Oliver, director of IT, and Claire Gryce, deputy director of IT, both of the University of Sussex.
Jason and Claire explore the relationship and challenges that exist between research communities and the provision of IT services centrally. They also delve into the importance of developing a culture around digital transformation. We then move into discussing how digital was key for collaboration during the pandemic and how necessary digital skills are.
Together they conclude by discussing staff retention and recruitment, as well as the impact and challenges that exist around cyber security.
This episode is sponsored by KHIPU Networks, an award-winning international cyber security company, who provide a wide range of next-generation network, wireless and cyber security solutions, technologies and services into the education sector. Find KHIPU Networks at the security conference to learn more about the Jisc Managed Firewall Service.
Jason Oliver
Chief digital transformation officer at University of Sussex
View Jason's twitter profile
Clare Gryce
Deputy IT director at University of Sussex
Andy Powell
Cloud chief technology officer, Jisc
Mark Lennon
Digital campaign manager, Jisc
via Jisc news
Colleges and universities will also benefit from cost savings.
Jisc has partnered with immersive learning expert, Metaverse Learning, to improve access to augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) teaching and assessments within the tertiary education sector.
The partnership will provide cost savings to Jisc members using Metaverse Learning’s library of products, and those who wish to create their own bespoke training experiences.
Metaverse Learning collaborates with consortiums of further education (FE) and training providers, and corporate employers to create custom, online training resources.
Resources are already available for a wide range of industries, from construction and renewables to nursing and health and social care. New consortiums are being formed to launch a host of innovative new programmes, each developed in line with the needs of industry partners.
Paul McKean, director of FE, skills and training at Jisc, said:
“Jisc is delighted to be working with Metaverse Learning to explore how AR and VR can improve the teaching and assessment experience for vocational learners.
“Metaverse Learning resources allow tutors to retrospectively take learners through individual scenarios, and to observe students in the live AR/VR environment. This provides opportunities for constructive, continuous, and timely feedback as part of course assessment, and allows educators to quickly identify and act when problems arise.
“AR and VR can be especially powerful when used as part of vocational courses, allowing students to apply their theoretical knowledge in a secure, risk-free environment.
“We look forward to co-producing advice and guidance for the sector on sound pedagogical approaches to using AR/VR.”
Stevie Cooke, head of technology enhanced learning at Cardiff and Vale College (CAVC), said:
“Metaverse Learning has helped CAVC excel in our blended learning approach. Working with partnership colleges to design resources has allowed us to produce useful AR/VR products that give meaningful learning opportunities to our students.
“By linking these resources to our existing digital infrastructure, we have seen improved outcomes and increased engagement from learners in shorter timescales. It has also helped learners choose appropriate career pathways at an earlier stage.
“We welcome this improved accessibility to AR and VR, which is instrumental to the development of our learners.”
Jason Holt, CEO at Metaverse Learning, said:
“At Metaverse Learning, we believe that no learner should be left behind. This is what drives our immersive online approach to learning: to simulate the real world so that, no matter where you are, you can learn the skills you need to progress in life.
“We are delighted to be partnering with Jisc with these aligned values and goals and look forward to sharing our knowledge and expertise to support the digital transformation of the sector.”
Metaverse Learning will be showcasing its AR/VR capabilities at the Jisc innovations lab during the Association of Colleges (AoC) annual conference on 15-16 November 2022.
via Jisc news
Jisc has welcomed Bangor University as the 100th UK institution to join the international ORCID (Open Researcher and Contributor ID) consortium.
ORCID is an open, non-profit, community-based organisation that provides a hub to connect researchers with institutional, funder, publisher, and other researcher identifier (the unique number given to every researcher which can be attributed to all their work) systems.
Through the consortium, members are provided with guidance to automate the movement of research information between internal and external systems.
The UK research community, under the stewardship of Jisc, has led the way in ORCID adoption and continues to be the gold standard in ORCID consortium support.
This milestone highlights the mass adoption of ORCID, with over 14 million ORCID IDs issued worldwide, almost 250 thousand of which are based in the UK.
Liam Earney, managing director HE and research, and executive director of digital resources at Jisc said:
“As the founding member of the UK ORCID consortium, established in 2015, we are delighted to reach the milestone of 100 member institutions. Jisc is proud to support persistent identifiers that are essential to open and trusted research.”
Michelle Walker, repository and research data manager at Bangor University said:
“Bangor University has joined the Jisc ORCID consortium to improve the interconnectedness of the systems our academics use, to improve data quality and overall take steps towards greater automation of data transfer.
“Our aim is to reduce the administrative burdens on our academics wherever possible. ORCID offers our academics a unique identifier for accurate affiliation from a not-for-profit community initiative.”
Ivo Wijnbergen, director of engagement at ORCID said:
"ORCID consortia are communities of practice that can share knowledge through pooled resources, which drive ORCID community adoption and in turn help ensure that researchers are connected to their contributions across disciplines, borders, and time.
“We congratulate the UK ORCID consortium on reaching the milestone of 100 members. With Jisc's support, the high level of ORCID participation in the UK higher education sector enables best practices to be shared among institutions and value to be maximised for both the national and international scholarly communities."
As well as a discount on membership, the ORCID consortium gives access to community events and allows members to reach out to Jisc or fellow organisations for training and engagement materials.
Find out more about the UK ORCID consortium.
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For the first time at its annual security conference, Jisc is creating a cyber threat intelligence bar where delegates can hear expert advice.
Professional services staff (‘ethical hackers’) and colleagues from protective services teams will be available to discuss issues in person with anyone attending on 7 and 8 November.
Operating on a drop-in basis, the bar is designed to offer a supportive, safe space for members to discuss their concerns one-to-one with a Jisc expert.
Members can pick up information on current threats and how best to combat them, together with advice on the process, technical measures and services necessary for a robust cyber security strategy.
Delegates can also use the bar to check whether they are drawing best value from Jisc in terms of making use of all the protective cyber security services included as part of their membership.
Jisc is using the security conference as a launchpad for a new campaign to encourage members to take up these ‘included’ services. Jisc’s head of cyber security, David Batho, explains:
“Together, this suite of cyber services provides the basics of a robust cyber security posture, yet we know that not all members are taking advantage of them.
“Our new campaign, ‘defend as one’, encourages members to work with us to build strong defences for their organisation and to share their experiences to collectively support the sector’s cyber posture.
“The barstaff, who will be wearing distinctive navy blue or red T-shirts, are highly skilled and knowledgeable, and I encourage delegates to pick their brains. There’s no need to book a slot, just drop by and someone will be able to help.”
via Jisc news
The British Library joins us as a new partner in the delivery and organisation of the Discovering Collections: Discovering Communities conference series.
The Discovering Collections: Discovering Communities (DCDC) series is one of the largest cross-cultural sector conferences in the UK and sees archivists, librarians, heritage professionals, and academics exploring ways of enhancing cross-sector collaboration between professional communities.
Founding DCDC partner, Research Libraries UK (RLUK), is stepping back from the formal partnership to focus on other priorities, but will continue to give its support and advice informally.
Neil Grindley, director of content and discovery at Jisc, said:
“We are delighted to welcome the British Library to DCDC and look forward together to evolving and growing DCDC, drawing on the strengths of the three partners. In particular, we welcome the British Library’s strengths in research, presentation and engagement and its global visibility, which will help us reach new audiences and networks.”
Dr Valerie Johnson, director of research and collections for the National Archives, said:
“We want to thank RLUK for everything it has done to build DCDC since the first conference back in 2013: building the DCDC reputation and brand, navigating successfully through the huge challenges posed by COVID and setting us on such a positive course even as they step back. The DCDC principles of collaboration and inclusion, breaking new ground and sharing best practice will continue strongly.”
Liz Jolly, chief librarian at the British Library, said:
“We are excited to join this ground-breaking and interdisciplinary initiative, which is doing so much to promote knowledge sharing and collaboration across diverse sectors. We share our partners’ commitment to the core DCDC principles of collaboration and inclusion and look forward to fostering new collaborations in the library sector through the wider DCDC network.”
David Prosser, executive director, RLUK said:
“It has been a privilege to nurture the DCDC conference series to its current status and we are proud of our association with it. We look forward to seeing it go from strength to strength with its new leading partners and we wish them every success.”
Attracting more than 400 delegates each year, the DCDC conferences bring together speakers and delegates from across the UK, Europe, and internationally, to explore a range of issues, from the impact of collections to digital transformation. Jisc began sponsoring DCDC in 2016 and did so for the 2017 and 2018 conferences. It became an organising partner in 2019.
Dates and formats for the next event in the series will be announced by the partners in due course. For any enquiries regarding DCDC, please contact research@nationalarchives.gov.uk
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Recruiters increasingly depend on service that aims to drive down degree fraud.
Prospects Hedd, the UK higher education system’s official qualification verification service, has reached the landmark of passing one million verifications for employers and education institutions.
The service was founded in 2011 and helps recruiters check if applicants have the qualifications they claim and if they attended the institutions that awarded them.
Verification requests are steadily increasing, year on year. Hedd currently checks more than 20,000 qualifications a month and it is predicted it will pass the 2 million verifications mark in less than three years.
It operates on behalf of UK universities to verify qualifications centrally. It collaborates with enforcement bodies such as the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau and several overseas authorities, to investigate and force closures of bogus universities and unauthorised providers.
Hedd has identified more than 300 bogus organisations and helped to force more than 80 to close.
The one-million verifications milestone – as well as the increasing popularity of the service – illustrates the importance of dealing with degree fraud to protect institutions from reputation damage. Chris Rea, Jisc’s head of commercial services, student services, said:
“We are delighted to have reached this significant achievement. Qualification fraud is a growing and challenging problem for the UK education system. By stopping individuals from cheating, we are helping to create confidence and add value to the UK’s qualification system. Verification by verification, we are making a difference.
“After 11 years building the service and streamlining our customer service, we are delighted to verify our millionth qualification. We are seeing an increase in demand as employers realise the importance of qualification verification, and we project that we will pass 2 million verifications in under three years.”
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Jisc welcomes the Office for Students' blended learning review and its recommendations, says Liam Earney, managing director of higher education and research at Jisc.
Liam Earney, said:
"The pandemic accelerated the adoption of digital technology in learning and it has become an essential part of the mainstream education sector.
"However, its rapid adoption has meant that experiences for students and teachers have varied across the country. Jisc has worked hard to understand these challenges and help our members use digital technology more effectively.
"The Office for Students' review asks vital questions about new course design and delivery, and we were glad to see the review panel’s inclusion of data from Jisc’s annual digital experience insights student survey to inform its conclusions.
"For the first time this year, the survey found students preferred a blended learning approach to mainly face-to-face learning. We believe blended approaches will become more popular as digital infrastructure and learning platforms improve.
"Jisc agrees with the review panel’s assertion that 'the balance between face-to-face and online delivery is not the key determinant of teaching quality'. Digital teaching practice must be driven by the needs of the student and the course."
"We also agree with the panel’s recommendation that academics and institutions prioritise tracking student engagement with online content and use this data to identify and then address the needs of students who are struggling.
"The effective use of data and learning analytics can help institutions to respond to the review and create positive feedback loops.
"Learning analytics systems can help higher education institutions review engagement with course content and highlight where it is low. Incorporating data collection and review like this can feed back into course design revisions that benefit learners quickly."
"The review also recommends providing support and development opportunities for teaching staff and students. We support this position and call on the sector to invest in the skills of both groups to help build effective and fulfilling courses that deliver above and beyond student expectations.
"A high-quality student experience is critical to the success of the sector. Student feedback can be fed into responsive course design, allowing rapid innovation and improvement to both experience and outcomes. Rethinking curriculums and assessments through the lens of today’s digital possibilities can help educational organisations drive better educational outcomes.
"Jisc is committed to helping the education sector digitally transform to help its learners more effectively. The report’s findings and recommendations reflect our guidance to institutions: digital delivery methods must be deployed using pedagogically sound practices, first and foremost."
Read the Office for Students' blended learning review.
via Jisc news
To celebrate the Association of Colleges (AoC) #LoveOurColleges week, Jisc hosted an event for its members in collaboration with education technology experts from across the further education (FE) sector.
It featured the premiere of Jisc’s ‘Future is Here’ video, which highlights how far the FE sector has come on its digital transformation journey and the opportunities that lay ahead.
The event took place online and included speakers from FE institutions who shared their innovative use of digital technology to overcome challenges and prepare their learners with the best skills for the digital workplace of the future.
More than 60 attendees from 31 colleges joined to collaborate with sector and Jisc experts to ensure digital transformation is at the heart of their curriculum planning.
Robin Ghurbhurun, Jisc’s UK managing director for further education, skills and FE/HE advice and training said:
“As the UK digital, data and technology agency for the tertiary education sector, Jisc has a responsibility to ensure our members are achieving digital transformation in a way that works best for students and staff.
“We are proud to introduce our ‘Future is Here’ video, made in collaboration with the UK FE sector, which highlights how further education has digitally adapted to meet the needs of our economies and our communities.
“We know through speaking to FE leaders that they do not want to be told how to digitally transform, they want to hear from colleagues across the sector who are doing it well and receive guidance on how this could best work for them.
“Events such as this drive the conversation and encourage collaboration and innovation to improve the sector both now and in the future.”
Scott Hayden, head of digital learning at Basingstoke College of Technology said:
“Further education provides those second, third, fourth chances for people who do not learn in traditional ways, which is a large chunk of us. People who learn differently see things differently and those perspectives and skills are needed for the future of the workforce.
“Those skills aren't necessarily traditionally academic, skills such as compassion, originality, responsibility, and empathy, what were once disparagingly called soft skills.
“Institutions with access to artificial intelligence, machine learning and technology can use these tools to augment and accelerate our lives and analyse where there are gaps in our learning, which students can then take back to the classroom. Research has found that retention of information is up to 70% higher when learning through mixed reality. “For teachers, this means more time to spend one-on-one with students, ensuring they are prepared for the expectations of industry.
“When I consider the use of technology in education, I think of how it can enhance one-on-one learning, not how it can replace it, and a blended learning approach ticks all the boxes.”
At the event Scott Hayden discussed the importance of digital wellbeing, while Stevie Cooke, head of technology enhanced learning at Cardiff and Vale College, spoke about the initiatives and projects that have helped them develop as a college and a community.
Karen Spencer, principal and chief executive of Harlow College reported on the benefits to students and staff as a result of their digital transformation journey.
Jisc will be exhibiting and hosting sessions at the AoC annual conference on 15-16 November 2022. Our Digifest lab will showcase the latest in our innovative solutions, technology that seeks to enhance and add value to your digital transformation journey. For further information, and details of how to register, visit the Jisc at AoC Annual Conference 2022 event page.
via Jisc news
Jisc has launched a new film celebrating innovation in the further education (FE) and skills sector as part of #LoveOurColleges week run by the Association of Colleges.
‘Choices – the future is already here’ shines a light on how FE has always kept learners at the forefront of industry, as the custodian of a thousand years of skills transmission. As technology has evolved, so has FE.
The short film produced by Jisc was shot at Barking and Dagenham College and USP College, with some additional footage from Weston College.
Robin Ghurbhurun, Jisc’s UK managing director for further education, skills and FE/HE advice and training said:
“As the UK digital, data and technology agency for the tertiary education sector, Jisc has a responsibility to ensure our members are achieving digital transformation in a way that works best for students and staff.
“We are proud to introduce our ‘Choices - the future is already here’ film, made in collaboration with the UK FE sector, which highlights how further education has digitally adapted to meet the needs of our economies and our communities.
“We know through speaking to FE leaders that they do not want to be told how to digitally transform, they want to hear from colleagues across the sector who are doing it well and receive guidance on how this could best work for them."
The film was premiered at an online event, hosted by Jisc, where over 60 attendees from 31 colleges got to hear from sector experts about digital innovations. Robin added:
“Events such as this drive the conversation and encourage collaboration and innovation to improve the sector both now and in the future.”
Scott Hayden, head of digital learning at Basingstoke College of Technology said:
“Further education provides those second, third and fourth chances for people who do not learn in traditional ways, which is a large chunk of us. People who learn differently see things differently and those perspectives and skills are needed for the future of the workforce.
“Those skills aren't necessarily traditionally academic, skills such as compassion, originality, responsibility, and empathy, what were once disparagingly called soft skills.
“Institutions with access to artificial intelligence, machine learning and technology can use these tools to augment and accelerate our lives and analyse where there are gaps in our learning, which students can then take back to the classroom. Research has found that retention of information is up to 70% higher when learning through mixed reality.
"For teachers, this means more time to spend one-on-one with students, ensuring they are prepared for the expectations of industry.
“When I consider the use of technology in education, I think of how it can enhance one-on-one learning, not how it can replace it, and a blended learning approach ticks all the boxes.”
At the event, Scott Hayden discussed the importance of digital wellbeing. Stevie Cooke, head of technology enhanced learning at Cardiff and Vale College, spoke about the initiatives and projects that have helped them develop as a college and a community. While Karen Spencer, principal and chief executive of Harlow College, reported on the benefits to students and staff as a result of their digital transformation journey.
Jisc will be exhibiting and hosting sessions at the AoC annual conference on 15-16 November 2022. Our Digifest lab will showcase the latest in our innovative solutions, technology that seeks to enhance and add value to your digital transformation journey. For further information, and details of how to register, visit the Jisc at AoC Annual Conference 2022 event page.
via Jisc news
How industry, academia and government are working together to benefit the defence community
In a ground-breaking collaboration, researchers from Airbus and Cardiff University have used artificial intelligence (AI) to deliver a new, more effective way to protect computers and other devices from cyber-attacks.
Together with experts from Airbus, researchers from the university are combining AI, machine learning (ML) and big data analytics to protect corporate IT networks, intellectual property and critical national infrastructure against emerging challenges in cyber-security.
Dr Matilda Rhode, head of cyber innovation and scouting at the Airbus Centre of Excellence in Cyber Security Analytics at Cardiff University, says:
“As attackers become more and more adept at avoiding detection, we need to focus on real-time defences to help secure not only our laptops and computers but also our smart speakers, thermostats, cars and refrigerators as the ‘internet of things’ becomes more prevalent.
“Where traditional antivirus software detects threats as they occur, this new method uses AI to monitor and predict the behaviour of malware.
“This is an important step towards automated real-time threat detection: as a result, a virus can be detected and killed in 0.3 seconds and up to 92% of files on a computer can be protected from corruption.”
Harnessing sophisticated AI and data analytics for attack detection is a key approach in the future protection of critical systems. Ultimately, it will enable security teams to handle more threats, of greater complexity, with fewer people.
Security incident and event management (SIEM) involves large pattern analysis, which is where AI and ML really excel as they are able to draw out patterns from huge volumes of data. AI and ML are already proving their worth in spotting zero-day malware, identifying and prioritising threats and – in some cases – taking automated actions to quickly remediate security issues at scale.
But this new method goes a step further, as Dr Rhode explains:
“Security solutions are predominantly reactive. Traditional antivirus software will look at the code structure of a piece of malware, say ‘that looks familiar’ and then add it to malware lists or monitor for known behaviours. The problem is, though, that malware authors can exploit the detection software to make it look like something unknown.
“The new AI algorithms work by first learning from real-world malicious threats running alongside the normal programs that a user would have on their PC.
“The ability to react in real time using automation means we can now respond immediately to how a piece of malware behaves. Once it starts attacking a system – opening a port, creating a process, or downloading some data in a particular order – it leaves behind a fingerprint. We can then use that to build a behavioural profile.”
Using data modelling, cyber-security analytics enables the detection and blocking of malicious behaviour before it reaches maximum impact. It also helps build an understanding of what motivates the behaviour, what its likely impact will be, and how best to communicate security alerts among decision and policy makers.
The new system is just one result of a collaboration – the first of its kind in Europe – between Cardiff University, Airbus and the Welsh Government.
This collaboration allows rapid transfer of research into operational activities and allows academics to feed directly into the UK Government’s strategy to make the UK more resilient to cyber-attacks. It has already delivered tangible results: new AI-based behavioural DNA profiling of machine activity has been integrated into Airbus’ security operations centre.
Find out more about the collaborative work between Cardiff University and Airbus at Jisc’s security conference on November 7: From research to product: AI for cyber security innovation by Dr Matilda Rhode and Dr Pete Burnap, professor of data science and cyber-security, Cardiff University. They will also introduce the Cyber Innovation Hub - a £15 million programme to boost cyber startups and skills in Southeast Wales.
via Jisc news
New dashboards give universities an even more accurate picture of how their engagement with communities, businesses and other institutions compares to similar institutions.
Research England has released an updated version of its Knowledge Exchange Framework dashboards, which was developed in partnership with the Jisc data analytics team.
The Knowledge Exchange Framework aims to showcase the value of knowledge exchange activities between higher education providers (HEP) in England and their diversity of partners.
By quantifying the performance of institutions and grouping those with similar profiles, the framework helps them to evaluate their own performance in new ways. It also improves the status of knowledge exchange across higher education, drives strategic and evolved approaches, and enhances sector data.
KEF2 builds on the first iteration of the framework, launched in March 2021, after feedback from HEPs to improve its performance. It uses updated data and an evolved methodology to examine the performance of English HEPs from a variety of new perspectives.
The Jisc data analytics team, in partnership with Research England, have created the new dashboards to deliver methodological and user-focussed improvements, along with updated data on the knowledge exchange activities of the sector.
It incorporates new data from the last two years, ensuring HEPs have an up-to-date representation of their performance.
The new improvements in KEF2 include:
The interactive and simple-to-use dashboards allow HEPs to explore the scores of all participating institutions across England and compare them to others quickly and easily.
Take a look at the new KEF2 site, and read more about the new features of the dashboards in this blog post by our data analytics team.
via Jisc news
Jisc has struck a deal allowing higher education and research institutions in the UK to publish in Optica Publishing Group’s portfolio of optics and photonics journals
The read and publish agreement, which runs until December 2024, gives access to read its content and allows authors to publish articles openly and immediately via a CC BY licence. So far, 22 institutions have signed up.
A similar deal has been made with the Irish Research eLibrary (IReL) covering authors at nine institutions in Ireland.
Elizabeth Nolan, Optica Publishing Group deputy executive director and chief publishing officer, said:
“Optics and photonics researchers in Ireland and the UK have long been active members of our community. Throughout the years, they have regularly made significant and influential contributions to our journals.
“We are thrilled to be working with IReL and Jisc to support researchers in both of these countries and to ensure that they can continue to read and publish in our journals, while simultaneously meeting the obligations of their funders.”
Anna Vernon, head of portfolio: content licensing at Jisc, said:
“We are delighted to offer the sector an agreement that will allow optics and photonics researchers to publish their work as open access in 10 OPG-published journals within the Optica Publishing Group portfolio. It will also allow greater access to high-quality content in this field of research.”
Mathew Barber, a PhD student and author at the University of Southampton, which is participating in the new agreement, said:
“I'm very pleased there is now a read and publish agreement for the journals that are particularly important for our field. The Jisc agreement is a positive step forward that will allow us to easily make our work open access in line with our funder’s requirements.”
Further information
Details of the institutions and journals included in the agreements are available on the OPG website.
Read more about how Jisc is supporting UK institutions to comply with UKRI’s open access policy.
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New resources to help the post-16 sector in Wales develop online learning capabilities have been created by Jisc following a commission from the Welsh Government.
The resources are free and have been published on the Welsh Government’s national digital learning platform, Hwb, providing educators with access anytime, anywhere and in both Welsh and English
The resources accompany newly developed learning design workshops, produced in response to an Estyn (the Welsh education and training inspectorate) thematic review: Developments in remote and blended learning practice.
These workshops will help advance remote and blended learning design, teaching, and training, and improve the quality and consistency of online learning.
Workshop themes include:
Helen Griffiths, lecturer: computing and information technology – NPTC Group of Colleges said:
“Attending the learning design workshops has given me a fresh insight into how I plan and deliver my teaching. The sessions have provided me with reassurance over the teaching methods I already use, but more importantly, I have been introduced to new and innovative ways of delivering learning.”
Jisc’s director for Wales, Alyson Nicholson, said:
“This new package of learning resources will help post-16 leaders and teachers develop best practice when designing remote and blended learning. The project should also encourage consistency across the sector and ultimately improve the student experience."
Marian Jebb, Welsh Government, said:
“We wanted to make sure practitioners in Wales have the tools they need to design engaging, relevant content for their learners. The new resources designed by Jisc provide a range of techniques that can be used to enrich learners’ experiences and we are keen to encourage practitioners from the FE, work-based and adult learning sectors to take part in the upcoming series of workshops to help extend their professional learning.”
The learning design workshops provide an opportunity for the post-16 sector in Wales to experiment with a range of digital tools and techniques that can be incorporated into teaching practice.
Sector workshops will commence this autumn and run throughout the 2022/23 academic year.
Should you require any further information, please contact your Jisc relationship manager.
via Jisc news
The two tertiary education sector bodies officially join forces from 4 October 2022.
Jisc, the UK’s digital body for tertiary education, and HESA (Higher Education Statistics Agency) have announced a merger, taking effect from the beginning of October 2022.
The move will see all 171 HESA colleagues, including its CEO Rob Phillpotts, move to Jisc, creating a new data collection and statistics directorate. Phillpotts, who has led HESA since November 2021, will head up the directorate and join Jisc’s executive leadership team.
Following consultation with the sector and the agreement of the Department for Education, the legal status as the sector’s designated data body (DDB) for England now transfers to Jisc, managed through the newly defined directorate. This merger means the responsibility for collecting and publishing statutory data for all higher education providers across the UK now lies with Jisc.
Jisc CEO, Heidi Fraser-Krauss, said:
“This merger has been a long time in the making, with Jisc welcoming on board HESA’s skilled data analytics team back in 2019.
“This month, the transfer of the remaining colleagues will consolidate the considerable expertise of both organisations to create a resilient, joint capability for delivering the sector's data and digital needs.”
Rob Phillpotts said:
“I am delighted that we have completed this merger and are now able to focus on developing the services we offer and delivering benefit to our provider customers, students and other data users.
“Our work will continue without disruption as we bring our two organisations together.
“I am really looking forward to working with Heidi and the rest of the leadership team at Jisc to enhance Jisc’s combined digital and data capabilities and to provide trusted, expert advice and guidance along with a broad range of services across the sector.”
For more information, contact media@jisc.ac.uk or 07780 062648.
via Jisc news
Students and staff can now track progress, create learning material ‘playlists’ and examine performance through updated dashboards.
The Jisc building digital capability discovery tool has released a significant update that makes it easier for users to understand their development needs and for organisations to target training resources.
The tool, initially launched in May 2018, can be used by an HR function to benchmark digital skills within an organisation. Individuals can also use the tool to grow their own knowledge and abilities.
The update uses the ‘individual digital capability framework’, Jisc’s model for developing users’ technological capabilities. The discovery tool is one of the ways the framework is helping organisations across the country to transform digitally.
New features include:
Jisc’s Head of Digital Capability, Paulette Makepeace, said:
“The update to the discovery tool provides many new features which give users and their organisations the opportunity to craft a more effective digital capability development journey.
“We’ve seen the difference the discovery tool can bring to organisations looking to achieve digital transformation, and these new updates, developed in partnership with our dedicated user base, will help them to achieve even more.”
Leeds Trinity University (LTU) is using the discovery tool to help staff develop the skills they need to support students.
Using a custom layout built with staff during a pilot project, the Human Resources team at LTU used the discovery tool first to benchmark their staff’s digital capabilities. They then used the results to target the deployment of training and development resources.
Every staff member was encouraged to anonymously use the tool to track their progress after their training and then discuss their development objectives and targets with managers.
A discovery tool question set is now completed by every new member of staff.
Leeds Trinity IT systems trainer, Patrick Turner, said:
“We wanted to create a structured, trackable portfolio of digital skills training for staff. Implementing the discovery tool was an important first step.
“We talked to senior leaders to get their buy-in. We need them to make sure time is given for training, and we want their enthusiasm for it to cascade down. We keep the conversation going on Teams channels and give progress updates in staff newsletters. Talking about it shows people we’re serious about supporting their development.”
Find out more about the discovery tool and its features.
via Jisc news
Government procurement framework for 2022-23 now includes extra Jisc services to help drive digital transformation.
Jisc is offering additional cloud services via the new Crown Commercial Service (CCS) G-Cloud 13 framework, making it easier for UK public sector organisations to accelerate digital transformation.
The latest iteration of the government’s procurement framework, G-Cloud 13 goes live on 9 November. It enables the public sector to save money and time when procuring common cloud-based services. By making it easier to find and purchase technology services and specialists for digital projects, the framework helps users achieve maximum commercial value.
As the UK’s digital body for tertiary education, Jisc has been included in the framework since 2019 and has expanded its offering for 2022-23.
Newly available via Jisc’s superfast and highly reliable Janet Network, services including managed firewall, session border control and learning analytics will support the move of public sector organisations to the cloud.
Jayne Davies, managing director, customer and sector engagement at Jisc, said:
“Through G-Cloud 13, institutions looking to boost their use of the cloud can now buy more of Jisc’s services.
“The ability to improve security, telephony and data management by accessing services through the cloud rather than providing them in-house can save significant costs, boost flexibility and ease the journey towards digital transformation.”
Jisc’s fully managed firewall service provides a cloud-based security solution to keep users ahead of current threats, while session border control ensures high quality voice telephony. Using Jisc’s learning analytics services, institutions can transform students’ learning experience by driving engagement, helping them to achieve their potential and improve overall retention.
All Jisc services on the G-Cloud 13 framework are scalable, flexible and can be shaped to meet an organisation’s specific short and long-term needs.
Through Lot 1, Cloud Hosting, customers can now access Jisc’s session border control and managed firewall as well as managed Amazon web services, managed Azure, managed GCP and Janet cloud connect.
Lot 2, Cloud Software, now includes Jisc’s learning analytics and certificates services in addition to Govroam and managed Microsoft 365 and website protection.
Lot 3, Cloud Support, continues to include Jisc’s cloud migration, Office 365 migration, cloud architectural review, cloud strategy and roadmap, managed database, cloud design and deployment, and cloud professional services.
Find out more about Jisc's cloud services.
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The new three-year plan covers topics such as cyber security and sustainability.
Two of the tertiary education sector’s expert bodies in digital technology have formally agreed to work more closely together on a range of strategically important themes.
Following the signing of a three-year memorandum of understanding, which runs until July 2025, Jisc and UCISA will initially deepen collaboration around the following subjects:
This list may expand in future.
The alliance brings together two of the sector’s trusted partners: Jisc, the UK’s sector agency focused on digital, data and technology in tertiary education and research, and UCISA, which brings a unique ability to represent digital practitioners with insight, authority and authenticity.
Joint activities will include co-authoring publications, promoting good practice within and beyond the sector, and arranging expert speakers at each other’s events. Most importantly, it will enable a greater level of knowledge-sharing across the sector, creating a stronger voice on key issues.
Benefits to the sector include:
Jisc’s MD for higher education and research, Liam Earney, said:
“A formal framework for exchanging information, expertise and insight on a variety of key topics is a natural extension of the increasingly strong relationship that exists between Jisc and UCISA. It will help us identify common challenges and enable joint working to find solutions.
“For Jisc, one of the most significant benefits is improved communications with and support for senior IT and information security officers represented by UCISA. That link, including the sharing of expertise, has become crucial over the past couple of years, for example in the cyber security space.
“We also anticipate that stronger mechanisms for feedback will help us respond to sector needs by informing decision-making, particularly around the product and service portfolio, and the need for advice and guidance.”
UCISA CEO, Deborah Green, said:
“We are delighted to be embarking on this new chapter in our working relationship with Jisc. UCISA’s vision is centred on harnessing the collective strength of our membership’s voice for the benefit of the sector.This partnership cements the increasingly close collaboration between our two organisations and can only strengthen that collective voice.
“The initial topics we have prioritised are important to our membership, and we are looking forward to working on them with Jisc over the next three years.
“Our members are leaders in digital transformation and IT development. With their help and insight into these projects, we will be able to progress with speed and an authoritative voice, enhancing the depth and breadth of engagement across the sector and beyond to enable the digital transformation we all seek.”
via Jisc news
For 17 days after The Lincoln College Group was hit by a serious cyber-attack, Graham Harrison and his key staff hardly slept.
The group director of IT, information management and projects, explains:
“Our average working day in that period was 20 to 22 hours. The toll was huge, especially during those first two and a half weeks. I really didn't sleep during that time, and neither did the head of IT/chief technical architect.
“Getting the IT estate back within such a short space of time was a good result, but it created a lot of stress, pressure and anxiety for a lot of people; and not just technical staff. Teachers, administrators, managers and students were affected, as well as key stakeholders like suppliers and employers.
“There was immense pressure and the human impact is not always fully appreciated.”
Like so many ransomware attacks on the education sector, this one occurred at a time when staff were least likely to notice – at 8pm on Friday, November 20, 2020.
Graham says:
“We had good fortune in that IT staff happened to be logged in performing out-of-hours maintenance when the attack began, so we got a very early warning.
“I was called around 8pm. At that time there was insufficient evidence for us to be sure an attack was underway; it might have been a virus or malware. We continued to monitor the situation until about 4am when we took the decision to shut down the entire network.”
This turned out to be the right decision since a later investigation showed the attack would have spread to other servers.
Because of the shutdown, almost all the IT systems across all campuses were immediately unavailable, apart from Microsoft Office365 (so email and Teams were online) and the virtual learning environment, which was also hosted externally.
Teaching was able to continue because, as Graham notes:
“Teachers are resourceful and committed and will find a way to teach whatever obstacles are thrown in their path”, but day-to-day operations were severely impacted.
Then the hard work began, as Graham explains:
“Crucially, the launch point for the attack was identified and secured: more than 80 servers were fully restored, 1,600 desktop and laptop computers across multiple sites were wiped and reimaged, and passwords were reset for 1,000 staff and 5,000 students.
“The college’s technical team fast-tracked procurement of a long talked-about advanced threat protection capability, including out-of-hours automated and expert human monitoring in a service operations centre (SOC).
“My IT team and I worked in partnership with our cyber consultants to implement all their recommendations, which included eight major system changes.
"We listened to them because there’s no point just restoring what was in place before the attack – it’s crucial to build back better, even if some of those changes are unpopular with users.
“It was very hard work, but all systems and services were restored and brought back online within 17 days.”
Changing user credentials was a huge task, but volunteers came forward to man a pop-up helpdesk. They set about calling all staff in person, verifying their identity and resetting their passwords. This was one of the measures recommended to address the possibility that a hacker had obtained usernames and passwords.
Besides the technical, logistical and operational challenges there were a range of reporting and communications obligations.
Graham explains:
“While my team was dealing with the technical issues, I led on the reporting to the Information Commissioner’s Office, the insurer and the legal team appointed by the insurer, the Education and Skills Funding Agency, and the police, which also included Interpol because we discovered the attackers were a well-organised, professional gang operating internationally.”
At the time of the attack, Graham felt Lincoln College Group had a strong level of traditional security measures like firewalls, anti-virus, anti-malware, policies, processes and procedures in place.
Investment had been made in IT infrastructure and an industry-strength backup system and the college had also achieved the government’s Cyber Essentials Plus accreditation, but as Graham points out:
“Accreditation, certification and audits are no guarantee of defence against sophisticated, professional cyber-attacks.
“Because of the number of cyber-attacks against the sector and nationally, insurers are setting tighter criteria. This will lead to better cyber-security, but often requires significant investment. It is exactly the same with Cyber Essentials accreditation; it helps but won't guarantee safety. Organisations need to go beyond these measures and I recommend advanced threat protection and a security operations centre provided by experts.”
Graham believes that organisations that don’t have this level of protection are vulnerable, explaining:
“Having all the usual protection measures in place, like firewalls, strong passwords, multifactor authentication (MFA) and robust policies is like having a castle and building a better outer wall or a deeper moat or reinforcing the front gate.
“Advanced threat protection works totally differently. It assumes that all those traditional defences have been breached and bad people are roaming around inside the castle walls looking for an opportunity to steal the crown jewels.
“The software and service work to spot that these people dress a bit differently, have a different accent or behave suspiciously and it clamps on the handcuffs until it can be certain of their intentions.”
As Graham notes:
“Top-level support is critical: senior leaders must be interested, supportive and committed to cyber security because it requires investment and can involve making unpopular changes. The board also needs to be regularly briefed.
"My role is part of our executive leadership team so technology, data and cyber security all have a ‘voice’ at the top table.
“While I had that critical senior level support prior to the attack, the experience laser-focused the need for additional resources to avoid a recurrence.”
Now, almost two years post-attack, Graham sleeps easier at night and is confident the Lincoln College Group is “stronger”.
His advice to others is that investment is worth it.
“I've concluded that further education (FE) colleges probably ought to be investing about a half to one percent of turnover on cyber security and ring-fencing that budget to ensure critical measures are implemented.
“Affordability is a constant consideration in FE, but as we discovered on that November night, the financial and human costs of dealing with a cyber-attack can far outweigh the cost of building a robust cyber security capability to keep staff and students as safe as possible.”
via Jisc news
As cyber security continues to make headlines for all the wrong reasons, speakers, panel sessions and training opportunities at Jisc’s 2022 security conference are designed to encourage everyone to help build strong defences.
Because cyber security is a collective responsibility, this year’s conference takes a holistic approach, bringing together a range of education sector and industry specialists.
The event will be a mix of live and virtual sessions, taking place 7-8 November at the ICC in Newport and entirely online on 9 November,
Keynote speakers include Alison Wakefield, professor of criminology and security studies at the University of West London, who will talk about the evolving threat landscape, business continuity planning and harnessing the current heightened awareness of cyber attacks.
Reflecting the sustained increase in ransomware attacks against the sector over the past couple of years, there are also sessions from professionals with first-hand experience.
Among them is Jonathan Wilson, executive head of IT at Milton Keynes College, who will describe the impact of attacks, the process of recovery and lessons learned.
In addition, Jisc experts are running several sessions. Head of policy and strategy for the Janet network, Dr John Chapman, will reveal results of Jisc’s annual cyber security posture survey of members, while security director Henry Hughes will give a ‘state of the nation’ report.
Jisc ‘pen testers’ Ben Chapman and Paul Knee describe attack and defence of Active Directory using PowerShell, and head of information data and analytics, David Reeve, talks about building a strong foundation for data and information security.
Senior security analyst Joe Pitt covers intelligence sharing between Jisc and the NCSC, and head of protective services David Batho informs members about the range of key cyber services Jisc offers, especially those included as part of the Jisc subscription.
Each Jisc member organisation is entitled to one free in-person ticket, while access to online sessions on the third day is free for all, although attendees need to register.
For more about the conference, the programme and how to obtain tickets, see the event web pages.
via Jisc news
Sarah Knight chats with consultants Helen Beetham and Sheila MacNeill about their recent review of learning and curriculum design in higher education.
We chat with Helen and Sheila about the findings from their review, which included a desk-based literature review, a survey of over 155 professionals and 20 interviews with staff from within higher education.
Alongside this, they also share examples of how universities are evolving their learning and curriculum design practices, and discuss how we can integrate things that worked well during the pandemic.
Helen Beetham, consultant
Sheila MacNeill, consultant
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Sarah Knight
Head of learning and teaching transformation, higher education, Jisc
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Mark Lennon
Digital campaign manager, Jisc
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But Jisc report finds more support is needed for online studies and access to devices.
One of the largest datasets of student experiences in the UK shows that more prefer a blended learning approach than learning mainly on site.
The 2021/22 digital experience insights survey of higher education students (pdf) outlines how students use technology in their learning, their attitudes towards it and the benefits and challenges; the survey was conducted between October 2021 and April 2022 and attracted 33,726 respondents.
Key statistics include:
Overall, the students who responded to the survey reported an improved digital learning experience: 74% rated the quality of their online learning environment as above average (best imaginable, excellent, or good), up 7 percentage points from 20/21, and only 6% rated it as below average, half the previous figure.
However, most respondents do not have a say in the digital tools their courses use and don’t feel there’s adequate support for online learning:
The report also shows digital access and support improved in several areas:
However, the majority of respondents (63%) still faced challenges accessing digital resources, assessments, or lectures.
Digital and data poverty remains an issue too: 51% reported problems with wifi/broadband signal, and 15% struggled with the cost of mobile data.
The percentage of students without access to a suitable computer or other device reduced slightly by 3 percentage points (from 15% to 12%) between 2021 and 2022.
In the foreword to the report, Professor Steve West CBE, vice chancellor of UWE Bristol and president of Universities UK, said the key to building successful blended courses was student involvement and supporting students on lower incomes with devices, training, and more:
“There’s no one-size-fits-all answer to the question of what students want, so we must involve students in the design of the educational experience and the technology to support it, embracing continuous co-creation at all levels with students as partners.
“The sector also needs to deal with the continuing challenges that online study creates for some students: digital and data poverty have been around as long as the internet, but it took a pandemic to highlight the plight of a significant minority of disadvantaged students who don’t have access to the vital basics – suitable devices, a reliable internet connection, a safe and private place to work – and who cannot afford mobile data or broadband costs.
“We have some way to go as a sector, but as Jisc’s CEO Heidi Fraser-Krauss has advised, universities cannot risk under-investing in technology if they are to deliver a high quality, digitally enhanced, blended learning experience.”
To understand how the DEI surveys support member organisations, read more about the report’s methodology and aims.
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New multi-supplier framework agreement makes Jisc’s Janet txt service more easily available to the education sector
Jisc is making it easier and more cost-effective for educational institutions to communicate with students, staff and parents via instant messaging.
Schools, colleges and universities can improve engagement with stakeholders by using Jisc’s Janet txt service, a low-cost, bulk text messaging service, which is now available under a new multi-supplier framework agreement.
Jessica Wu, head of services for cloud solutions at Jisc, said:
“During the pandemic we really saw how the Janet txt service supported users. The beginning of lockdown saw an uptake of the service grow more than three-fold over the previous year as it became the preferred way for colleges and universities to communicate. This new framework agreement will offer a wider choice of services and suppliers, be more responsive to user requirements, and make it even easier for the education sector to access the benefits of Janet txt.”
The popular short messaging service is now available to users via Voodoo SMS as top-ranked supplier and PageOne and Reach Interactive as framework suppliers. Institutions can either award the contract directly to the top-ranked supplier or run a mini-competition against their specific requirements with all three suppliers.
Janet txt was created specifically to cater for the requirements of the UK education community. With instant delivery and high open rates, the service enables users to maximise the effectiveness of their communications.
Messages can be easily created, managed and distributed at any time to groups or individuals. Content can be prepared from templates and pre-scheduled for delivery, and potential recipients may be grouped for bulk delivery of messages.
Janet txt also facilitates two-way communications: organisations can push out information and solicit responses when required, such as opt-in to information bulletins, simple polling or requests for further information.
The service is highly accessible and customisable. It supports non-text-based delivery (email and text-to-voice options), multilingual formats and international delivery, and can also be integrated with virtual learning environments (VLEs) such as Moodle.
In addition, Janet txt is safe, secure and ethical: as well as full GDPR compliance, it complies with best practice related to the handling of data for minors or vulnerable adults, and operating staff have undergone disclosure and barring service (DBS) checks.
Jessica Wu added:
“This new multi-supplier framework agreement will save time and costs for institutions which want easier access to the more advanced features of Janet txt. There is no joining charge for Jisc members, and usage charges depend on the choice of supplier and features.”
via Jisc news
Jisc has published a new guide to help members consider sustainability when making decisions around IT.
The guide has been produced with funding from the Welsh government in collaboration with six* FE and skills providers in Wales, although it is relevant to universities and colleges throughout the UK.
Called Good practice in IT sustainability, the guide covers topics such as:
Examples of good practice include:
It may help institutions to consider the guidance in parallel with Jisc’s report, Exploring digital carbon footprints, which was published in July 2022, and provides insight into how the use of technology can increase carbon emissions.
As well as highlighting the ways in which digital devices can negatively affect the environment, the report also offers recommendations into how this impact can be reduced, leading to cost savings and improvements in operational efficiency, as well as positive environmental outcomes.
Alyson Nicholson, director of Jisc Wales, whose team collated the new guidance, said:
“We are grateful to Welsh Government and the FE leaders and colleges across Wales that have taken the time to share their first-hand experiences in developing more sustainable, strategic approaches to the management of and investment in IT and reducing their carbon footprint.
“We know that rising IT costs are a real concern for FE leaders, with many looking for ways to maximise their technology investments while maintaining the same high standard of teaching and ensuring digital inclusion.
“We hope that this guide provides readers with helpful insight, and in doing so, sparks a conversation across the sector to encourage collaboration in overcoming these issues.”
Jisc members wanting further information or support around financial and environmental sustainability through technology should contact their relationship manager.
*Neath Port Talbot College, Gower College Swansea, Cardiff and Vale College, Grwp Llandrillo Menai, Adult Learning Wales, St. David’s Catholic Sixth Form College.
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The American Psychological Association has signed an agreement with Jisc offering participating UK authors capped open access publishing in its journals.
Anna Vernon, Jisc’s head of portfolio, content licensing, said the agreement is the result of careful review and deliberations with its members and APA. She added:
“We are thrilled to offer the sector an agreement that will benefit psychology-based researchers to achieve 100% open access publishing in 88 APA-published journals within the APA PsycArticles portfolio."
APA's publisher for journals and books, Rose Sokol, PhD, said:
“As a non-profit society publisher, APA is mission-driven to amplify the voice of psychology in ways that are transparent, equitable and include our entire discipline.
"This deal will provide a range of options to our authors and readers in terms of publishing models, open science practices, and access. Through this agreement, we look forward to supporting the UK academic community as it embraces open access publishing.
“The consortium capped agreement will help UK institutions to bolster both research access and open access publishing and will provide a simplified process to comply with funder mandates at no direct cost to the authors.”
via Jisc news
OpenAthens, which is part of Jisc, has announced that its contract to provide secure, single sign-on facilities to NHS staff in England has been renewed.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), which procures services on behalf of the NHS in England, has renewed the three-year deal following a rigorous selection process.
Importantly, the renewal cements OpenAthens' longstanding partnership with the NHS in England and will ensure continuity for all staff.
The OpenAthens service means that NHS and social care staff in England will continue to use single sign-on to access online health and social care resources. Crucially, staff can retrieve vital published research and articles from specialist publishers. NHS organisations will continue to be part of the OpenAthens federation – a global community of information providers and publishers.
NICE recognises that the federation ecosystem is the most efficient way for NHS librarians and content providers to manage access to digital content.
Phil Leahy, key client services manager for OpenAthens, said:
“Delivering a simple, seamless access experience for health and social care staff is what our service offers. We are delighted to continue our long-term relationship with NICE and the NHS.
“The contract provides users with a wealth of valuable material from leading scientific, technical and medical publishers. Staff can continue to access this material with ease, and librarians can operate with the peace of mind that their libraries are secure.”
Felix Greaves, NICE director of science, evidence and analytics, said:
“Timely knowledge and information are crucial to conducting research and delivering health and care. Renewing the OpenAthens contract gives the NHS in England ongoing access to effective and valuable resources.”
via Jisc news