Wolverhampton weekly newsletter #1

It has been a pleasure to begin meeting such a friendly team with so much experience of the University and its operations.  Thank you for making me feel so welcome.

I was really fortunate to have been able to attend the UCISA Infrastructure Group national conference two weeks ago which showcased Wolverhampton's capability.  The presentations by the team involved with two of the Digital Campus projects were outstanding.  The project representatives did a really great job and also acknowledged the involvement of so many other contributors from the team.  Truly one of the conference highlights.

During the first week there have been a number of formal and informal opportunities to meet with people and begin to understand the pressure points, challenges and strengths of the various services and teams.  It was very useful to attend the second level team meeting and weekly CAB for example, which also led to follow up discussions.  I have arranged visits next week to tour the services we provide at the Telford and Walsall campuses.  The importance of a joined up approach to services was emphasised and a good example provided of investment and support for critical student-facing AV services.

My primary objectives for the next six months are going to be delivering:

(1) A roadmap for IT across the University which has a working title of "Digital Strategy".

(2) A resourcing approach to deliver the strategy with a future Target Operating Model for sustainable delivery.

My next piece of work will be putting together and communicating a process to deliver this which will build on the success of the Digital Campus programme.  It will be based on what we know of the current leading thinking in the sector and beyond, and will harness student views, supplier insight and industry experts.  I would like to reach out for your help in this endeavour - we all have an important role to play in shaping the future.

It was great to meet James Anthony-Edwards during the week (also newly appointed as Deputy Director in Academic Services).  One of the things that we agreed is that our arrival provides an opportunity to review communications approaches and make sure we are even more joined up across the Directorate.  We already had ideas about taking a "digital" approach to the communications which builds and strengthens existing channels. Perhaps you have ideas about how we could further improve communications?

Finally, I am arranging to meet the Student Union CEO and sabs who are going to be important contributors to the development of a digital strategy which puts students first.