About
This collaborative event brings together colleagues from the University of Southampton and Jisc to explore how people, capability and culture underpin effective digital transformation. Through keynote talks, real‑world examples and hands‑on workshops, participants gain practical ways to build digital confidence, enhance user‑centred services and apply Jisc frameworks to guide our digital development. Attendees leave with a clearer shared understanding, a common language and defined next steps for advancing people‑powered, value‑driven change across the University.
Participants will leave with:
- Clear insight into what people‑powered digital transformation looks like
- Practical actions to help build capability across teams and services
- A deeper understanding of how value, impact and user experience shape meaningful change
- A shared language and framework to shape Southampton’s digital future
Agenda
Arrival, registration and refreshments
University of Southampton and Jisc welcome
Speakers:
- Wendy Appleby, vice-president (operations), University of Southampton
- Heidi Fraser-Krauss, CEO, Jisc
University of Southampton’s digital transformation story
Why digital transformation matters now; people, process, technology alignment and how Jisc frameworks support the University of Southampton journey.
Introducing the 3 themes we will explore throughout the day and while continuing our journey - people & culture, service & student experience & data, technology & ways of working
Speaker: Wendy Appleby, vice-president (operations), University of Southampton
Accessibility as a driver of digital transformation
This session explores why accessibility is essential to digital transformation and how inclusive design from the outset improves experiences for everyone. It covers disability trends, future needs, and the University’s work to strengthen accessibility maturity, showing how strategy turns into meaningful change. Through practical examples such as the new Student App, accessibility‑first procurement, and innovative uses of AI, the session illustrates what good accessibility looks like in practice. Lived experience from the co‑chair of the Disability Equality Steering Group and the SUSU VP Education highlights the impact accessibility can have across learning, teaching, and everyday digital interactions.
Speakers:
- Matthew Deeprose, accessible solutions architect, iSolutions
- Dr Ben Whitburn, associate professor of education at the Southampton education school and co-chair of the disability equality steering group
- Joshie Christian, SUSU VP Education
Break & move to workshops
Breakout sessions - deep dives into pivotal areas within digital transformation
1) People and culture
Facilitators:
- Annie Millard, senior project manager, iSolutions
- Hayley Whitlock, resource manager, iSolutions
B) Service and student experience
Facilitators:
- Cato Rolea, head of digital innovation and AI, iSolutions
- Will Baker, business analyst, iSolutions
C) Data, technology and ways of working
Facilitators:
- Abbie Orton, senior project manager, iSolutions
- Dan Adams, principal architect, iSolutions
Lunch and networking
Agile delivery in action: the new student app
Agile helped us move from long delivery cycles to rapid, student‑led development. This session will unpack what that looked like in practice.
Speaker:
- Kelly Weber, director of digital strategy, iSolutions
Break
Prompting as the new literacy: building a university-wide communication skill for the AI era
A provocation: we don't have an AI skills gap. We have a communication clarity gap that AI has made visible. Prompting is not a new technical skill but a direct descendant of capabilities universities already develop clear instruction-giving, context-setting, evidence evaluation, and critical judgment. Evidence from UoS shows that when professional services staff develop structured prompting skills, the benefits extend beyond AI into clearer briefs, better-specified projects, and improved human-to-human communication. In this hands-on workshop, participants experience the difference between vague and precise prompting in their own domains, map prompting onto existing capability frameworks, and design approaches that improve both AI effectiveness and student-facing service quality simultaneously.
Speakers:
- Cato Rolea, head of digital Innovation and AI, iSolutions
Close and next steps
Speakers:
- Wendy Appleby, vice-president (operations), University of Southampton
- Sarah Knight, director of digital transformation, Jisc