eduroam – the worldwide single sign-on secure network which provides Wi-Fi connectivity access for education and research – reached more than 600,000 internet-enabled devices in the UK last month.
During October a total of 608,131 devices were successfully authenticated using the eduroam national infrastructure, which is managed through the Janet network provided by Jisc. This is in comparison to 487,437 devices in the previous month, and is almost double the amount year-on-year (337,109 in October 2013).
Over the last three years an exponential increase in the number of devices counted roaming between member organisations has resulted in this milestone being reached. It is a measure of just how many students, teachers and researchers are benefitting by being able to connect to eduroam networks away from their home organisations when travelling.
There are over 220 member organisations now providing eduroam in the UK. Membership includes 95% of higher education (HE) and 20% of further education (FE) institutions. Other public sector bodies that support education and research and local authorities, including almost 100 hospitals, participate in eduroam across the UK, and in addition there are thousands participating organisations overseas.
eduroam is widely available throughout the rest of Europe and in over 50 countries globally, including Australia, Canada, Japan and the USA, making learning and research on the go seamless.
Users are able to gain authenticated logon and internet access using a single Wi-Fi profile, wherever the service has been made available by participating organisations. The result is a combined saving in time for the individual and expense for organisations, as users simply connect to Wi-Fi services without needing to sort out guest credentials or change device settings.
The service is also designed to provide maximum security confidence. Users are never prompted to enter their credentials onto a web page, which is vulnerable to being hijacked. Instead the infrastructure is based on 802.1X standard technology, a best practice authentication solution that provides end-to-end encryption and protects against ‘man-in-the-middle’ attacks.
Ed Wincott, who manages the eduroam service at Jisc, said:
“The proliferation of mobile devices and growing trend for bring your own device (BYOD), coupled with increasing fears around managing cyber security, are creating a demand for easy, ubiquitous and safe access online.
Reaching more than 600,000 devices in October demonstrates just how valuable eduroam is in helping registered users get high quality and secure internet connections as they move between locations and across various devices.”
via Jisc news
eduroam – the worldwide single sign-on secure network which provides Wi-Fi connectivity access for education and research – reached more than 600,000 internet-enabled devices in the UK last month.
During October a total of 608,131 devices were successfully authenticated using the eduroam national infrastructure, which is managed through the Janet network provided by Jisc. This is in comparison to 487,437 devices in the previous month, and is almost double the amount year-on-year (337,109 in October 2013).
Over the last three years an exponential increase in the number of devices counted roaming between member organisations has resulted in this milestone being reached. It is a measure of just how many students, teachers and researchers are benefitting by being able to connect to eduroam networks away from their home organisations when travelling.
There are over 220 member organisations now providing eduroam in the UK. Membership includes 95% of higher education (HE) and 20% of further education (FE) institutions. Other public sector bodies that support education and research and local authorities, including almost 100 hospitals, participate in eduroam across the UK, and in addition there are thousands participating organisations overseas.
eduroam is widely available throughout the rest of Europe and in over 50 countries globally, including Australia, Canada, Japan and the USA, making learning and research on the go seamless.
Users are able to gain authenticated logon and internet access using a single Wi-Fi profile, wherever the service has been made available by participating organisations. The result is a combined saving in time for the individual and expense for organisations, as users simply connect to Wi-Fi services without needing to sort out guest credentials or change device settings.
The service is also designed to provide maximum security confidence. Users are never prompted to enter their credentials onto a web page, which is vulnerable to being hijacked. Instead the infrastructure is based on 802.1X standard technology, a best practice authentication solution that provides end-to-end encryption and protects against ‘man-in-the-middle’ attacks.
Ed Wincott, who manages the eduroam service at Jisc, said:
“The proliferation of mobile devices and growing trend for bring your own device (BYOD), coupled with increasing fears around managing cyber security, are creating a demand for easy, ubiquitous and safe access online.
Reaching more than 600,000 devices in October demonstrates just how valuable eduroam is in helping registered users get high quality and secure internet connections as they move between locations and across various devices.”
via Jisc news
In his blog post, Frank Manista, Jisc APC community engagement officer, discusses how the Jisc Monitor project is exploring whether a user-centred, shared national service could potentially help institutions to manage their open access activity effectively. The post is read in full by Tom Mitchell in our podcast.
via Jisc news
In his blog post, Frank Manista, Jisc APC community engagement officer, discusses how the Jisc Monitor project is exploring whether a user-centred, shared national service could potentially help institutions to manage their open access activity effectively. The post is read in full by Tom Mitchell in our podcast.
via Jisc news
Code42, the leader in endpoint data protection and management for business and enterprise, today announced an agreement with Jisc to provide its SharePlan Enterprise File Sync and Share to institutions and researchers.
Through a strategic partnership with Q Associates, we added Code42’s SharePlan to our File Sync and Share dynamic purchasing system (DPS) for meeting criteria across all four certification areas: basic sync and share, integrated user authentication and identity management, European economic area hosting and data protection, and file encryption and security.
Andy Hardy, EMEA managing director for Code42, said:
“Education institutions and researchers need secure, reliable file sync and share to protect and store sensitive, confidential data. SharePlan meets all four of Jisc’s criteria for security and compliance, providing members with secure access to their most important files anywhere, anytime.”
Today’s announcement adds to Code42’s growing momentum in UK higher education, with a customer roster that includes The University of Sheffield, Imperial College London and National Institute for Medical Research.
Dan Perry, director of product and marketing, Jisc, said:
“The ongoing evolution of file synchronisation and sharing products presents exciting new opportunities for research and education organisations to work together, but it’s imperative that they have appropriate safeguards in place with regards to data protection and storage.
Working with suppliers who have met our rigorous assessment criteria, we are able to offer consistent, reliable and flexible sync and share solutions that support collaboration.”
SharePlan Enterprise File Sync and Share allows users to easily and effectively collaborate by securely sharing documents, without restrictions on file size and type. SharePlan can be deployed on-premises, and enables teams to work efficiently while IT maintains control of endpoint data shared inside and outside the enterprise.
Andrew Griffiths, director for Q Associates, added:
“Education institutions and their researchers should not have to choose between ease-of-use and data security when it comes to selecting a file sync and share solution. Through our strategic partnership with Code42, we’re delighted to offer SharePlan through the File Sync and Share DPS, delivering industry-leading, file sharing capabilities combined with the highest levels of compliance and security.”
For more information on the Jisc File Sync and Share DPS, visit the website or contact service@ja.net.
via Jisc news
Code42, the leader in endpoint data protection and management for business and enterprise, today announced an agreement with Jisc to provide its SharePlan Enterprise File Sync and Share to institutions and researchers.
Through a strategic partnership with Q Associates, we added Code42’s SharePlan to our File Sync and Share dynamic purchasing system (DPS) for meeting criteria across all four certification areas: basic sync and share, integrated user authentication and identity management, European economic area hosting and data protection, and file encryption and security.
Andy Hardy, EMEA managing director for Code42, said:
“Education institutions and researchers need secure, reliable file sync and share to protect and store sensitive, confidential data. SharePlan meets all four of Jisc’s criteria for security and compliance, providing members with secure access to their most important files anywhere, anytime.”
Today’s announcement adds to Code42’s growing momentum in UK higher education, with a customer roster that includes The University of Sheffield, Imperial College London and National Institute for Medical Research.
Dan Perry, director of product and marketing, Jisc, said:
“The ongoing evolution of file synchronisation and sharing products presents exciting new opportunities for research and education organisations to work together, but it’s imperative that they have appropriate safeguards in place with regards to data protection and storage.
Working with suppliers who have met our rigorous assessment criteria, we are able to offer consistent, reliable and flexible sync and share solutions that support collaboration.”
SharePlan Enterprise File Sync and Share allows users to easily and effectively collaborate by securely sharing documents, without restrictions on file size and type. SharePlan can be deployed on-premises, and enables teams to work efficiently while IT maintains control of endpoint data shared inside and outside the enterprise.
Andrew Griffiths, director for Q Associates, added:
“Education institutions and their researchers should not have to choose between ease-of-use and data security when it comes to selecting a file sync and share solution. Through our strategic partnership with Code42, we’re delighted to offer SharePlan through the File Sync and Share DPS, delivering industry-leading, file sharing capabilities combined with the highest levels of compliance and security.”
For more information on the Jisc File Sync and Share DPS, visit the website or contact service@ja.net.
via Jisc news
In her blog post, Gill Ferrell, synthesis consultant for the Jisc electronic management of assessment (EMA) project, outlines some of your concerns around moving to EMA and encourages your contributions for potential solutions. The post is read in full by Kate Steel in our podcast.
via Jisc news
In her blog post, Gill Ferrell, synthesis consultant for the Jisc electronic management of assessment (EMA) project, outlines some of your concerns around moving to EMA and encourages your contributions for potential solutions. The post is read in full by Kate Steel in our podcast.
via Jisc news
In his blog post, Paul McKean, customer advocate, further education and skills, has identified some of the next steps in helping to achieve the recommendations of the FELTAG report and government response. The post is read in full by Richard French in our podcast.
via Jisc news
In his blog post, Paul McKean, customer advocate, further education and skills, has identified some of the next steps in helping to achieve the recommendations of the FELTAG report and government response. The post is read in full by Richard French in our podcast.
via Jisc news
Digital collections are not always as discoverable as they could be through the channels and devices most commonly accessed by users. Karen Colbron, digital content manager, discusses some of the challenges in making resources more discoverable and offers a few top tips.
via Jisc news
Digital collections are not always as discoverable as they could be through the channels and devices most commonly accessed by users. Karen Colbron, digital content manager, discusses some of the challenges in making resources more discoverable and offers a few top tips.
via Jisc news
The Higher Education Policy Institute (HEPI) today publishes a new report entitled Jisc: a hidden advantage for higher education, written by the chief executive of Jisc, Martyn Harrow, with a foreword by Nick Hillman, director of HEPI.
The report highlights the £200m annual savings from the current shared infrastructure provided by Jisc and charts the potential for new shared services – including a ‘university in a box’ concept that could free up university spending on technology for reinvestment in research, teaching and learning.
Ahead of anticipated changes to Jisc’s funding model, the report warns that policymakers and institutions need to recognise the value generated through the UK’s shared infrastructure for higher and further education.
Jisc works with every publicly financed higher education and further education institution in the UK, more than 600 in total, and is one of the key pillars on which the world class reputation of the education sector depends.
Nick Hillman, director of HEPI, said:
"Ministers and civil servants have not had to worry about IT infrastructure in our universities because it has generally worked well. That reflects Jisc’s world-beating success. Other countries look jealously at our successful shared service.
Jisc’s achievements, which often take place off the radar, are in stark contrast to other big IT projects, which have typically been over budget, late and not fit for purpose. Yet forthcoming changes could make Jisc a victim of its own success. Funding changes will put the onus on individual universities to subscribe to Jisc’s services for the first time.
In the rearview mirror, Jisc’s history looks comparatively smooth but the road ahead is bumpy and laden with obstacles. The best way to address those challenges is to recognise the benefits of collective provision for individual institutions and the education sector as a whole."
The author of the report, Martyn Harrow, said:
"Jisc does the things that it makes sense to do on a UK level once rather than a hundred times over. If our coverage were to be reduced because of decision making that is not informed by the full value that the UK’s infrastructure brings to each institution, that would put the economies of scale and the specialised knowledge that we provide in danger.
There has never been a more important time for institutions to think about their use of technology. A new dialogue is needed at the highest level of each and every university to determine how the digital needs of their institution will be met, both in the immediate future and in the longer term.
We have a great opportunity in the years ahead to make the most of new developments in technology. If the UK is to cement its competitive advantage in higher and further education, we need to help universities tackle the new challenges head on."
Listen to Martyn Harrow discussing the HEPI report with Times Higher Education reporter Chris Parr.
via Jisc news
Jisc is enabling researchers across the UK to safely and securely share health data to progress their research with a collaborative initiative.
This initiative is showcasing how the UK’s research and education network Janet, provided by Jisc, can offer additional controls and safeguards for researchers working with sensitive data.
Jisc is working in partnership with leading UK universities to support three new initiatives. Rather than each of the research programmes and organisations developing one-off solutions to manage collaborative secure communication and user authentication between partners, Jisc is securing the networks across the organisations so that approved researchers working in one partner organisation can gain access to the data they need wherever it is stored.
The first is the development of the Farr Institute of Health Informatics Research, a UK-wide virtual organisation with four connection points and ten funding organisations. The Farr Institute provides a cutting-edge collaborative infrastructure for the safe use of patient and research data for medical research. This will lead to advances in preventative medicine, improvements in NHS care and better development of commercial drugs and diagnostics. It will also allow researchers to discover new insights into the causes of ill health, which in turn will lead to new therapies.
The second initiative, Medical Bioinformatics, is funded by the Medical Research Council, and will provide capacity for the safe use and analysis of biological and patient data for medical research across all diseases.
The Administrative Data Research Network is the third programme, and is the first phase of the Big Data Network funded by the Economic and Social Research Council. This network aims to facilitate access to and linkage of de-identified administrative data routinely collected by government departments and other public sector organisations.
Jeremy Sharp, Janet's director of strategic technologies, says:
“Providing researchers with controlled access to data and resources through the network is key to enabling them to focus on their research. In validating this use of the Janet network for sensitive, anonymised health data, we are ensuring that the UK’s investment in Janet will reap larger returns in the future and continue to respond to the considerable challenges facing those people who are doing valuable work analysing large quantities of data.”
The longer term aim is to create the conditions for a national infrastructure for secure access to data for researchers across various academic disciplines.
John Ainsworth, senior research fellow at the University of Manchester and e-infrastructure lead for the Farr Institute, says:
“The network is changing the way we do data analysis. It will provide a secure infrastructure for collaboration and the sharing of resources for data science. This will enable researchers to concentrate on what they do best – discovering new knowledge.”
via Jisc news
Jisc is inviting proposals from training providers in the further education (FE) and skills sector, in England, to develop new online interactive resources for apprentices.
We are looking for bids between £5K and £30K, with over £400,000 available in total for development of learning content.
The new interactive resources created during this opportunity will enable providers to move towards a more blended learning offer. This is a high priority at present as providers are now required to measure the amount of online and blended delivery they offer as part of the FELTAG report.
Jisc is inviting proposals from a number of vocational areas:
Automotive engineer
Broadcast / digital media production
Broadcast engineer
Business administration
Classroom assistant / childcare
Construction / bricklayer
Creative industries / theatre tech / scenery workshops
Creative industries / fashion / upholstery
Food / live events
Hairdresser
Health and social care
Horticulture / heritage sector
Laboratory technician
Logistics
Plumber
Rural / land-based
Successful proposals will have to demonstrate considerations of metadata, ‘curriculum mapping’ and Creative Commons licences are an integral part of the proposal to ensure the resources are discoverable, relevant and recyclable.
The aim is that these online interactive resources will help to improve access to and exploitation of open educational resources (OERs). The commissioned content will be deposited on the national repository for open educational resources, Jorum and made available for teachers and learners to share and exploit.
Ruth Hansford, manager of the interactive learning resources for skills project at Jisc, says:
“There is a time-honoured teacher tradition of spending evenings creating learning materials, taking them into work and swapping them over the photocopier. But how do teachers in the FE and skills sector locate and exploit suitable learning content in the digital age?
We’re offering the possibility to create varied and high-quality multimedia and interactive content which will be available to all in the sector.”
The deadline for proposals is Thursday 16 October 2014 at midday. If you have any questions please contact Ruth Hansford, r.hansford@jisc-collections.ac.uk.
via Jisc news
The BBC calls on developers, publishers, digital agencies and startups to help students, teachers and researchers get the most out of online educational resources.
Working with the British Universities Film & Video Council (BUFVC) and Jisc, the BBC is looking to fund the development of software applications which will improve learning and study by facilitating access to a vast range of online resources which have been licensed for educational use.
The funding comes through the BBC Connected Studio team and is the latest stage of the Research and Education Space (RES), a three-year programme of activity which aims to bring together an extensive catalogue of publicly held resources which can be used as the basis for educational software, learning resources, classroom teaching aids and research tools.
Drawing on material from libraries, museums, galleries and broadcasters, RES will provide a platform for developers and publishers to build new products, tools and services with the aim of enhancing education and research. A preview version of the RES open platform, Acropolis, is now available and the RES Connected Studio will bring developers, publishers, digital agencies and startups together to work on ideas and prototypes for RES-based tools, some of which will be funded as pilots and assessed by the BBC.
As RES is a partnership between Jisc, the BUFVC and the BBC, it will cover material relevant to education and research at all levels, from primary schools to post-doctoral research.
Tony Ageh, controller of archive development and digital public space at the BBC, said:
“We’re really excited about what developers might produce when they get access to the RES catalogue, and the Connected Studio has a track record of encouraging innovation around the latest technologies.
We want the best people coming up with the best ideas, so we can really explore the potential of RES in education.”
Ben Showers, Jisc’s head of scholarly and library futures, added:
"This is a wonderful opportunity for anyone who wants to really make a difference to educators and their students in the UK and beyond.
We know that the most innovative ideas could come from inside or outside our schools and universities, so we welcome applications from all talented individual developers or teams that have experience of creating this kind of content."
The BBC has released a creative brief that gives more detail about the types of proposals it is looking for, and is inviting developers to register for the BBC Connected Studio Briefing, which is taking place at Shoreditch Village Hall at 17:30 on 4 September 2014. This will explain the process in detail and the information from the briefing will be posted online on 5 September 2014.
RES is an open platform that anyone can work with, and the briefing will provide the background information needed to develop applications, but will also be relevant for those who are not part of the Connected Studio process.
via Jisc news
Research in the UK has been given a boost this week as specialist data centre provider, Infinity, has secured a five year framework agreement with Janet, the UK’s national research and education network, provided by Jisc.
The deal sees the creation of a Jisc data centre to support the requirements for academic research and will be the first shared data centre for medical and academic research in the UK. The funding of approximately £900,000 to make the facility happen has been provided by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE).
At launch, in September 2014, the Jisc data centre will house the IT of a consortium of six of the UK’s most successful scientific and academic organisations.
Tim Marshall, executive director Jisc technologies and CEO Janet said:
“By having the shared data centre users can access off-site data storage and services. This world-leading facility will mean that users can consolidate their sensitive data in one safe environment and increase collaboration, whilst saving money both in terms of their operational costs and by not having to repeatedly procure facilities.
The data centre will be connected to the Janet network core and part of its backbone, therefore facilitating access, reducing costs and meeting the bandwidth requirements of large data sets. As space becomes premium on campus this is a significant step on the journey to the cloud and already indications are that this will be a major breakthrough for the UK education and research community.”
Infinity will operate the data centre at its flagship Slough data centre in the UK. The design combines a traditional three tier datacentre with a flexible range of low to high power rack densities and an aggregated discount pricing structure across all organisations using the service, ensuring that the infrastructure is workload focused and value driven. This is the first large scale example of high performance computer environments being placed in an outsourced co-location facility.
Stuart Sutton, Infinity’s CEO, says:
“Infinity is immensely proud to be selected as the best in class data centre provider for the development of this nationally important facility. The work that the education and research sectors do can be life changing and the technology used will further the UK’s position as a global leader in medical and academic research. We are extremely pleased to be a part of that.
The creation of an unsurpassed community of interest for the education and research sectors here at Infinity Slough is a fantastic opportunity for us and something that we are very excited about. Infinity’s flexible and innovative approach to data centre services was key to securing this deal.
This is a great example of Infinity’s opinion that the outsourced DC market is no longer a place for property transactions – it is a flexible, scalable, partnership that delivers an important component to the overall IT solution. We look forward to working collaboratively with Jisc.”
The new Jisc data centre which will grow to more than 800 racks’ capacity will be a significant enabler in achieving its aims of improving the speed and quality of UK research. This will allow the community to share large swathes of data, helping to push the traditional boundaries of teaching, learning and research methods. For researchers, the high capacity of the Janet network backbone allows the linking of large data storage and high performance computing facilities at national and international levels.
The initial Jisc partners are: University College London (UCL), Kings College London, The Sanger Institute, The Francis Crick Institute, The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) and Queen Mary University of London (QMUL). The consortium firmly believes the initial community of six customers will grow over time, as the number of institutions, both nationally and internationally see the importance of a shared data centre and the benefits of IT clustering as integral to future UK research.
For universities and colleges interested in finding out about how they can make the most of the Jisc data centre please contact 0300 300 2212 or visit our web pages.
via Jisc news
Hairdressing students and their lecturers will now be able to access Jisc's pioneering Hairdressing Training videos any time, anywhere through their mobile.
From today the award-winning service Hairdressing Training will be available as a mobile app. The app showcases the existing portfolio of hairdressing and barbering training videos developed by Mimas, a part of Jisc.
There are many benefits to mobile learning. Research by the former Learning and Skills Network (LSN)1 has found that the use of mobile technologies in work-based and vocational learning contexts can result in increased:
To maximise these benefits further the videos included in the app were created by those who teach NVQ/SVQ Levels 1-3 in further education in the UK, ensuring accuracy for learning and teaching.
The app is an easy way to view over 60 educational hairdressing training and barbering video tutorials – all mapped to the NVQ curriculum. Users will be able to save their favourite videos to a playlist and even share them socially. The videos are organised into different categories, making searching simple, and new content will be added when available.
Susanne Boyle, senior manager for learning, teaching and professional skills at Mimas, a part of Jisc, says:
"The Hairdressing Training service is a mature and highly valued service. It is much-loved and well-used and has grown over the years, with training videos amassing 1000s of hits on YouTube. It’s predominantly used by further education teachers and students but also by those who work in salons, both in the UK and abroad.
The launch of the mobile app is another exciting development and offers our users the benefits of flexible access 24/7, supplying quality resources at their fingertips."
Lorraine Estelle, Jisc’s executive director digital resources and divisional CEO of Jisc Collections, said:
“Our vision is to ensure that learners and teachers realise the benefits of mobile technology by delivering content onto any device, at any time and anywhere. This app is an important step in realising this vision and improving the student experience.”
Currently the app has been optimised for use on mobile devices only. A version for iPads and other handheld tablets may be looked at in the future.
The Hairdressing Training app is available to download for iOS devices from the Apple Store and for Android devices from Google Play.
via Jisc news
Jisc offers over 400 colleges free access to a new collection of curriculum focused e-textbooks through e-books for FE.
E-books for FE will be benefiting UK further education providers by offering access to additional new suite of 162 e-textbooks. These books will supplement over 200 other e-textbooks previously acquired.
The new collection has been chosen using feedback from customers to ensure the new books are of the highest possible value to their users and focus in supporting the curriculum across a variety of subjects.
E-books for FE provides further education colleges in the UK with access to a collection of e-textbooks on a platform that offers functionality suitable for the needs of the community. The new collection will be available to colleges free of charge for another two years from 1 September 2014 until 31 August 2016.
Catherine John, FE licensing manager of Jisc Collections, says:
“We have been working closely with our FE members to ensure that we procure content that is relevant, titles selected are based around curricula, and also the most current editions. The platform offers learners the opportunity to access content at any time and from any location allowing them to carry out their work when it suits them, which is key as part of a modern learning system.
“The previous top title in e-books for FE, BTEC Level 3 National Business Student Book 1, has been accessed in over 165,000 user sessions in a single year demonstrating the value students are gaining from the content.”
E-books for FE does not only save users time and money, but also supports distance learning. Neil Prior, head of e-learning at BCA tells us:
“We find e-textbooks to be a valuable resource that enables us to provide 24/7 access to the awarding bodies learning resources that accompany the qualifications. To do this in the traditional manner would be vastly expensive and difficult to facilitate. The feedback from students and staff is very positive. In fact we are actively increasing our premium e-book provision on the basis that it provided far better value for money.”
For those further education providers who do not currently have access to the content that is freely offered by e-books for FE, please subscribe by placing an order at the Jisc Collections website.
via Jisc news
Today the Wellcome Library and Jisc are pleased to announce that they have strengthened their successful working relationship by signing a new three year agreement for the digitisation of more than 10 million pages of 19th century published works.
These are focused on medicine and related disciplines and drawn from university and other research libraries across the UK.
The Wellcome Library is one of the world’s major resources for the study of medical history and provides access to a growing collection of resources relating to contemporary medicine and biomedical science in society.
The Wellcome Library is digitising its 19th century collections. Jisc will support the digitisation of complementary collections which are housed within universities to create a comprehensive online resource for the history of medicine and related sciences. The Wellcome Library will also provide support to allow non-university research libraries to participate in the project. Open access to all of the content will be provided across multiple platforms, including the Wellcome Library’s website, the Internet Archive and through Jisc.
By collaborating on the creation, dissemination and aggregation of digital content the charities will streamline the provision of digitised historical medical content by deploying common standards, infrastructure and best practice.
The project will significantly increase the availability of digitised text for teaching learning and research. The project is being undertaken in partnership with a number of higher education and specialist libraries, co-designed with Research Libraries UK (RLUK), and informed by an academic advisory group.
Simon Chaplin, head of the Wellcome Library said:
“We are building on the success of the US-based Medical Heritage Library, which already has over 50,000 digitised books online – our project will add significantly to this. For the Wellcome Library, this forms part of a bigger project that will digitise over 50 million pages of historic medical books, archives, manuscripts and journals by 2020.”
Stella Butler, chair of RLUK and chair of the academic advisory group for the project said:
"RLUK is delighted to be working with Jisc and the Wellcome Library on this important project which will make a step change to the availability of research resource for humanities scholars enabling important projects in areas such as medical history, ethics and the social sciences.”
Lorraine Estelle, Jisc’s executive director content and discovery and divisional CEO Jisc Collections said:
“By working with the Wellcome Library and the Internet Archive to aggregate dispersed medical collections of books and pamphlets, we are building the UK’s research capability in the most sustainable way.
High quality digitisation allows text to be liberated from its page, and the resulting data enables new forms of research inquiry. The project also meets the increasing demand, from our customers, that traditional content should be made digital for use and reuse.”
via Jisc news
The Networking People (TNP) and Jisc are pleased to announce TNP’s appointment to the nationwide telecommunications framework, a service from Jisc.
This will bringing innovative high-capacity connectivity to further education (FE) and higher education (HE) institutions and research organisations across the UK. This provides these organisations flexibility with access to TNP’s range of innovative and cost-effective point-to-point wide-area network solutions.
The new framework began on 20 June and runs for four years until 19 June 2018. Split into two lots – namely, managed transmission services and dark fibre – it may be used by further and higher education purchasing consortia, specialist colleges and research council establishments in the UK. The framework enables the purchase of transmission services including leased circuits, dark fibre, wide-area Ethernet and xDSL.
“We’re committed to providing our community with the best value services to suit business needs,”
said Steve Kennett, head of operational services at Janet: a part of Jisc.
“Our framework makes it possible for the research and education community to save time and money when purchasing a range of transmission services. There’s no need for customers to go through the procurement process unless they wish to run a competition between suppliers that we have shortlisted and evaluated. Imagine the time that saves.”
Chris Wade, commercial director at TNP, said:
“This agreement further demonstrates TNP’s real commitment to the public sector and to education in particular. Users of the framework will be able to benefit directly from our experience in designing, building and supporting higher education based networks. In addition to cost effective leased line solutions, TNP offers the ability for customers to own their own infrastructure, reducing operating costs and leveraging existing investment with the option of using alternative technologies.
We allow much greater flexibility and long-term sustainability, which we know is sorely needed in the education sector. We’re thrilled to have received this recognition on a national scale, validating TNP as a major player within the UK education sector.”
via Jisc news
The Wellcome Library and Jisc today announce nine partner institutions whose holdings will be digitised and added to the UK Medical Heritage Library, an online resource for the history of medicine and related sciences.
Six university libraries have joined the partnership – UCL (University College London), University of Leeds, University of Glasgow, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, Kings College London and University of Bristol – along with the libraries of the Royal College of Physicians of London, the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh, and the Royal College of Surgeons of England
Approximately 15 million pages of printed books and pamphlets from all ten partners will be digitised over a period of two years and will be made freely available to researchers and the public under an open licence. By pooling their collections the partners will create a comprehensive online library. The content will be available on multiple platforms to broaden access, including the Internet Archive, the Wellcome Library and Jisc Historic Books.
The project's focus is on books and pamphlets from the 19th century that are on the subject of medicine or its related disciplines. This will include works relating to the medical sciences, consumer health, sport and fitness, as well as different kinds of medical practice, from phrenology to hydrotherapy.
Works on food and nutrition will also feature: around 1400 cookery books from the University of Leeds are among those lined up for digitisation. They, along with works from the other partner institutions, will be transported to the Wellcome Library in London where a team from the Internet Archive will undertake the digitisation work. The project will build on the success of the US-based Medical Heritage Library consortium, of which the Wellcome Library is a part, which has already digitised over 50 000 books and pamphlets.
Simon Chaplin, Head of the Wellcome Library, said:
"We are pleased that these nine institutions have chosen to add their valuable collections to the Medical Heritage Library. As well as our partners Jisc and Research Libraries UK, we will be working closely with our Academic Advisory Group to produce an online resource that is both a repository for a superb wealth of content and an effective research tool for a broad range of users."
Peter Findlay, digital portfolio manager, Jisc, said:
"We are delighted that the Wellcome Library team has been able to identify such valuable collections, which will be digitised to a high standard, freed from the confines of their original format and made openly available for teaching, learning and research. By working closely with the partner institutions to build the UK Medical Heritage Library, we are converting books into searchable data so that users can explore every aspect of 19th-century medicine and develop new insights into this period of unprecedented medical discovery."
The UK MHL initiative started in 2013 when the Wellcome Library embarked on a project with the Internet Archive to digitise their collection of 19th-century medical books. The project was extended earlier in 2014 with the support of Jisc and the Higher Education Funding Council for England. It was co-designed with Research Libraries UK and is informed by an Academic Advisory Group to ensure that the best collections are included.
For the Wellcome Library this forms part of a larger ambition to digitise and make freely available over 50 million pages of historical medical books, archives, manuscripts and journals by 2020.
via Jisc news
Data centre and IT infrastructure specialists Onyx Group have been awarded a place on the telecommunications framework, a service from Jisc, to supply IT connectivity solutions for the UK education and research sector.
This comes just weeks after being confirmed as official cloud computing suppliers to the UK public sector through the G-Cloud 5 framework.
As experts in the connectivity field, Onyx Group were one of the first providers of business-to-business broadband in the UK upon their inception back in 1994. Onyx already possess a rich portfolio of higher education clients such as Heriot Watt and Newcastle University and are looking to expand further into the market by making their services available via the framework.
As one of only 18 companies approved by the framework in the UK, Onyx Group will now be able to offer education bodies a range of connectivity solutions in a simplified and more cost-effective way. Procured on behalf of UK education and research, companies are now able to purchase a range of connectivity services from Onyx via the framework without having to go through the lengthy procurement process.
Neil Stephenson, chief executive at Onyx Group, stated:
“Being awarded a place on the framework is testament to the high quality service delivered by our team over the last two decades.
With our network ranked in the top 1% of connected networks worldwide and powering our robust wholly-owned national infrastructure, we are perfectly placed to provide education bodies with a resilient and secure solution."
The telecommunications framework agreement enables the purchase of transmission services including leased circuits, wide area ethernet and xDSL. Billed under managed transmission, the framework may be used by higher and further education purchasing consortia, specialist colleges and research council establishments in the UK.
“Onyx Group is committed to helping research and education bodies benefit from high speed, reliable internet connectivity and the framework makes it possible for us to offer these solutions in a faster and more cost-effective manner”
continued Stephenson.
“Having passed the tough and rigorous assessment process carried out by Jisc, institutions can purchase services confident that they are working with the very best.”
Steve Kennett, head of operational services, Janet: a part of Jisc, said:
“the partnership between Onyx and Jisc will continue to support our vision for the UK to be the most digitally advanced education and research nation in the world. Working with trusted partners like Onyx ensures Jisc maintains value and quality for our sector”
via Jisc news
Professors David Maguire, vice-chancellor of the University of Greenwich and Anne Trefethen, pro vice-chancellor and chief information officer at the University of Oxford, have been appointed as Jisc trustees.
They bring much expertise to the strategic leadership of Jisc and are welcome additions to the Jisc board. The expertise we have on, and oversight exercised by, the board is crucial to Jisc’s governance model and the determination of our strategic direction and priorities to sustain digital advantage for UK education and research.
David, since his appointment to the University of Greenwich in 2011, has been working to ensure quality and raise standards. He is widely published on computer mapping and geographic information systems and has almost 20 years of experience of working in the IT industry, experience he will bring to Jisc in his new role. He said:
"I am very pleased to be joining Jisc at this important stage in its evolution. Jisc member organisations have much to contribute to the development of technology and are avid users of new and existing tools and technologies. I hope that I can introduce some of my experiences from the academic and commercial worlds into Jisc's strategic activities."
Anne is an internationally respected thinker on data-intensive research and the future of data curation. She has been chief information officer at the University of Oxford since 2012, having joined the university in 2005 to set up the e-Research Centre.
She has previously worked with Jisc on Neurohub a project which supported neuroscientists to efficiently and effectively use existing e-infrastructure. She said:
"I am delighted to join the Jisc board. As a community, we have been fortunate to enjoy the benefits of Jisc for over 20 years and I looking forward to working with Jisc and the board through this time of transition. We are all facing challenges in higher education institutions as we embrace digital technologies making the services of Jisc of even greater importance."
Professor Martin Hall, chair of the board of trustees, said:
“I am very much looking forward to working with Anne and David and welcome them to Jisc. Their roles will be key in overseeing the change and continuing development of Jisc to ensure it makes its crucial contribution to the UK higher education, further education and skills sectors efficiently and effectively.”
via Jisc news
Professors David Maguire, vice-chancellor of the University of Greenwich and Anne Trefethen, pro vice-chancellor and chief information officer at the University of Oxford, have been appointed as Jisc trustees.
Creative Commons attribution information
David MaguireAll rights reserved
They bring much expertise to the strategic leadership of Jisc and are welcome additions to the Jisc board. The expertise we have on, and oversight exercised by, the board is crucial to Jisc’s governance model and the determination of our strategic direction and priorities to sustain digital advantage for UK education and research.
David, since his appointment to the University of Greenwich in 2011, has been working to ensure quality and raise standards. He is widely published on computer mapping and geographic information systems and has almost 20 years of experience of working in the IT industry, experience he will bring to Jisc in his new role. He said:
"I am very pleased to be joining Jisc at this important stage in its evolution. Jisc member organisations have much to contribute to the development of technology and are avid users of new and existing tools and technologies. I hope that I can introduce some of my experiences from the academic and commercial worlds into Jisc's strategic activities."
Creative Commons attribution information
Anne TrefethenAll rights reserved
Anne is an internationally respected thinker on data-intensive research and the future of data curation. She has been chief information officer at the University of Oxford since 2012, having joined the university in 2005 to set up the e-Research Centre.
She has previously worked with Jisc on Neurohub a project which supported neuroscientists to efficiently and effectively use existing e-infrastructure. She said:
"I am delighted to join the Jisc board. As a community, we have been fortunate to enjoy the benefits of Jisc for over 20 years and I looking forward to working with Jisc and the board through this time of transition. We are all facing challenges in higher education institutions as we embrace digital technologies making the services of Jisc of even greater importance."
Professor Martin Hall, chair of the board of trustees, said:
“I am very much looking forward to working with Anne and David and welcome them to Jisc. Their roles will be key in overseeing the change and continuing development of Jisc to ensure it makes its crucial contribution to the UK higher education, further education and skills sectors efficiently and effectively.”
via Jisc news