Feature

Leading the future: digital transformation as the catalyst for resilient universities

How strategic, people-led digital transformation is helping universities build resilience in a changing sector.

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Higher education stands at a pivotal moment. Pressures on financial sustainability are intensifying, student demographics and expectations are shifting, and regulatory requirements are growing. To add to this, the rapid rise of artificial intelligence has the potential to fundamentally change how institutions operate, teach and research.

For executive and senior leaders, the challenge is not whether to pursue digital transformation, but how to do so in a way that delivers real impact.

Digital initiatives can often be fragmented with technology disconnected from institutional strategy. What is needed now is clarity and a practical framework that supports leaders to make confident, evidence-based decisions.

A strategic approach to digital transformation

Over the past four years, we have worked closely with the higher education sector to support exactly this shift. Our toolkit for digital transformation has helped universities to assess their digital maturity, benchmark progress against the sector, and prioritise action in the face of constrained resources. Crucially, it has enabled digital transformation to be understood as part of institution-wide strategy by decision makers, not as just a stand-alone IT programme.

Leadership at the centre

Together, we have explored how a structured approach to digital transformation can strengthen organisational resilience, enhance the student experience, support research ambitions and improve operational efficiency. A strategic and holistic approach to digital transformation creates space for reflection. It prompts leaders to review existing processes, governance structures and ways of working, and empowers them to ask critical questions about organisational readiness, investment priorities and future vision. It also provides a shared language that enables more meaningful conversations across academic and professional services teams.

What has been particularly striking is the extent to which successful digital transformation is people led rather than technology driven. Institutions that make the greatest progress are those where senior leaders actively champion the work, embedding it within their institutional strategy and encouraging collaboration across their organisation. Since 2022, we have worked collaboratively with 30 universities, engaging executive and senior leadership teams and supported over 600 delegates from institutions across UK higher education through our demonstrating digital transformation events, to foster that approach.

Digital transformation in practice: Bath Spa University

Bath Spa University offers a clear example of how a collaborative, university wide approach can support meaningful change. From the outset, digital transformation was positioned as a strategic priority owned by the institution as a whole, rather than an initiative led solely by IT.

Senior leadership buy-in was key. A digital oversight group was established, bringing together senior academic and professional services leaders to shape and guide the work. This ensured that digital transformation was aligned with institutional priorities and reflected the lived experience of staff and students.

Professor Georgina Andrews, vice chancellor at Bath Spa University, explains:

“We felt it was really important that digital transformation was not seen as something imposed on the university by the IT department. It was a deliberate strategic decision to have a digital oversight group that encompassed senior level academic and professional services representation from across the whole university.

“It is also absolutely vital that the senior leadership team embrace and champion transformation. It is about being authentic and showing that this is not just a strategy on paper, but a commitment we are making in practice.”

Using our maturity model for digital transformation, the team mapped the framework’s six themes against the university’s strategy. Stakeholders from across the institution were involved in a self-assessment process, building a shared understanding of current maturity and helping to identify clear priorities for development.

Read our member story about Bath Spa's transformation journey

Creating shared understanding at scale: University of Westminster

The value of a common framework becomes particularly clear in large, complex institutions. At the University of Westminster, our digital transformation maturity model has been used at departmental level, with a specific focus on organisational digital culture within professional services teams. By introducing the framework across a wide range of staff, the university created a shared language for discussing digital transformation and its role in strategic planning. The process also enabled teams to gather robust evidence about their current state, strengthening the case for future investment and change.

Professor Gunter Saunders, director of digital capability development and AI leadership, reflects on the impact:

“It is harder for people to ignore the outcomes of our work because we have taken the time to collect hard evidence. This process has reinforced themes that are crucial to the Westminster vision and uppermost in the mind of those leading the university, which adds significant value.”

Westminster will host the people-centred digital futures: building capabilities and shaping value-led transformation event in 2026, continuing its focus on people centred digital futures and senior leadership engagement.

Read our case study about the University of Westminster

Sustaining momentum: Queen’s University Belfast

Long term impact depends on continuity and adaptability. At Queen’s University Belfast, we have worked in partnership for more than three years, supporting the adaptation of our framework to underpin the university’s digital and AI transformation.

The framework has informed activity not only around digital and data, but also learning and teaching, curriculum development and the expansion of transnational education provision. This holistic approach reflects a growing recognition that digital transformation touches every aspect of institutional life.

We will return to Queen’s University Belfast in April 2026 for the IgnitED: accelerating innovation and collaboration in digital transformation event, to support how this work continues to evolve and how the framework is supporting strategic priorities across the university.

Watch the video: AI strategy at Queen’s University Belfast

Building sector wide momentum

Alongside our work with individual institutions, we have brought senior leaders together through a programme of demonstrating digital transformation events that has been running for four years. These events are designed to create space for reflection, peer learning and strategic discussion at executive level. Leaders from across the UK explore how digital transformation can strengthen institutional resilience and support long term strategy. They benefit from sharing experiences, testing assumptions and learning from peers who are navigating similar challenges.

What this means for executive and senior leaders

Several themes emerge clearly from this work across institutions and events. Digital transformation is most effective when it is:

  • Led and championed by executive and senior leaders
  • Aligned with institutional strategy and values
  • Grounded in evidence and shared understanding
  • Focused on people, culture and ways of working, not just systems

For leaders navigating uncertainty and rapid change, our digital transformation toolkit offers a structured way to strengthen resilience and improve decision making as well as preparing institutions for the future.

Looking ahead

As pressures on the sector continue to intensify, the need for confident, informed digital leadership has never been greater. Through our digital transformation toolkit containing our framework, maturity model, action plan and roadmap templates, events and leadership development programmes, we will continue to support our members to move beyond isolated initiatives and towards sustained, strategic change.

Digital transformation is an ongoing journey that requires clarity, commitment and collaboration amongst members. With the right approach, it can be a powerful catalyst for resilient, future focused universities. Learn more about how we can help support you with trusted frameworks, sector intelligence and expert guidance.

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