Welcome
As you come up for air after this term’s assessments and administration, we hope you’ll be able to find some time to enjoy the Summer issue of JISC Inform.
We’ve listened to you about what you’re reading and the most popular article in the last Inform was Sarah Porter’s seven predictions for tech-enabled institutions. As it’s our job to not only deliver for you today but to future gaze on your behalf so that you are in a better place to make decisions, we’ve structured this edition around that topic. Along with the events, features and advice that you’ve come to expect, in this issue we’ve pulled together our predictions for the future, including wise forecasts from key people you’ll recognise as strategic thinkers.
We’re aware that you are facing tighter budgets and targets. Ahead of her appointment as President of the Association of Colleges (AoC), we speak to Maggie Galliers about her vision for the sector, and explore her view that tighter budgets can be a good incentive for staff to use technology. Our three minute interview with Maggy Blagrove at 2nd Chance Project, an FE skills provider, highlights how social media can work for learners in the community.
Aaron Porter, former president of the National Union of Students, shares his opinion that students remain sceptical of how technology is currently enhancing their studies – but concludes that change is apace. In two years’ time, we predict, more and more students will be expecting mobile access to services, so we provide an analysis of how you might get there. There’s advice for academic libraries, too, on making the best use of your activity and other data to help improve front facing services.
We know that you take time to understand your students, and that insights into their experiences are valuable. Taking the long view, we analyse groundbreaking research from the new JISC and British Library study on Researchers of Tomorrow, which provides an in-depth picture of our current PhD students and what universities might do to support them.
In the shorter term, we ask our experts what you can do to meet your carbon reduction commitments and what tasks IT managers might be prioritising in the coming months.
Speaking of futures, we are also, of course, changing to meet the demands of the people we serve. We’re currently working hard at JISC to improve the way we run our services and respond to your needs and we expect to be able to share more about our reshaping in the next edition of JISC Inform, in November.
Until then, we welcome your comments both on individual articles and by email to informeditor@jisc.ac.uk
Best wishes
Rebecca and Nicola
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Contents
Would you prefer a PDF? To help ease the transition to a digital-only version, we’re providing a simplified version of JISC Inform in PDF format. Please bear in mind that this is a non-interactive version so won’t mimic the full digital magazine experience. You can download it here.Edited by: Rebecca O'Brien and Nicola Yeeles
Design: iD Factory
Contributors: Isabel Brough, Jane Charlton, Nick Cicero, Christine Gormley, Caroline Ingram, Michelle Pauli, Caroline Prichard, Aaron Porter, Nicola Yeeles.
We’d also like to thank all the many people who have contributed their expertise to this edition.
JISC Inform is produced by JISC to raise awareness of the use of technology in supporting further and higher education in the UK. Contributing authors include members of the JISC family of services and initiatives, JISC's partners and staff working in the further and higher education and skills sectors. The views expressed by contributors are not necessarily those of JISC.
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