Annual review 2008/2009
Foreword
Professor Sir Tim O'Shea, JISC Chair
JISC has been a key factor in our current success by ensuring our universities have a world class infrastructure and access to a wide and often increasing range of digital resources. So your role in encouraging e-learning has been really, really important. And that needs to continue as new applications and developments come online and on board over the coming months and years.
David Lammy Minister for Higher Education and IPR launches the JISC and Demos report The Edgeless University
Standing still is not an option at JISC and we are constantly looking to share best practice, build on what we have learnt and look to the future. So we can deliver products and services which consistently add value to the work going on in UK colleges and universities.
I joined JISC as Chair in January and have been impressed by the organisation's desire to develop the expertise and knowledge about digital technologies in our colleges and universities.
The past year has seen JISC continue to support researchers with innovative tools such as virtual research environments so they are able to collaborate. Services such as the Data Curation Centre and the National Grid Service allow researchers to process their data and we have also developed new applications such as Ethos for researchers to be able to publish, share and preserve their theses online.
Academics and learners are also supported through the use of digital technologies especially in showing how technology can solve many practical day-to-day challenges in managing curriculum design and deliver support to distance and part-time learners.
At the heart of our work this year has been a series of conversations to help inform our future strategy. Throughout the year, we have listened to the challenges currently facing vice-chancellors, pro-vice-chancellors and administrators in how they run their universities. They are essential to our new three-year strategy launching in December 2009.
A productive 2008/2009 has set even higher goals for JISC to achieve in 2009/2010, which we will aim to accomplish in an ever-changing and dynamic landscape, to position the UK as world leader in education and research.