This week I took part in a second workshop looking at next steps and ways of working in regard to E in NREN.
Did some more planning and objective setting for the year ahead. Reminded that though everything is important, we can’t do everything. Sometimes we need to prioritise and rationalise what we are doing and what we want to do.
Had an useful meeting with a Jisc colleague in regard to LLE and modular study. The implications of LLE is that this will lead to an increase in modular study in higher education. This did get me thinking about the mode of study for modules, we shouldn’t necessarily assume that modular always means part-time.
I got to the Bristol office on Friday. I also took a day’s leave this week and headed to Brixham.
I was recently at an (online) event looking at estates. I was chairing the first half of the event and presenting in the second half. The event was entitled Next steps for university estates in the UK.
It was a really interesting online conference with a keynote from the CEO of AUDE, along with panel sessions on a range of topics. There was quite a focus on net zero and decarbonisation. I personally found the discussion on electrification of university campuses really interesting.
Many in the sector, as part of their net zero ambitions are looking at decarbonisation of their campuses. One method is to move from oil and gas use to electric in the main for heating and hot water. Generation of electrical power can be then derived from sustainable and renewable resources such as wind and solar.
I was reminded of some of the work we did a few years ago on smart energy.
It’s in the management and storage of energy that we perhaps see the greatest opportunities for the application of intelligence. The ability to use data from a number of sources, combined with the use of the Internet of Things and an array of monitoring devices, provides a range of new possibilities.
There has been lots of work on smart energy solutions, not just for industry, but also in the home. These solutions have the ability to utilise and store solar (or other renewable) energy and then draw down for peak times, as well as understanding the impact on and balance the grid. This balancing is about moving off-peak energy generation, through storage and other means, to peak time consumption.
For example, an university campus has solar panels installed across their estate. This generates significant amounts of power, which if stored, can then be drawn down when there is demand, but no solar, such as in the evenings. A smart energy system could also use the stored energy to balance demand from the grid, as well as exporting power to the grid.
The work we did on the intelligent campus though took all this smart energy potential one step further. Currently most smart energy solutions will look at generation, storage, demand, peaks and the grid.We did think that the issue of smart energy use is likely to be addressed not through a single solution but through the integration of a range of technologies and data collection. For example, the linking of weather forecasting data, timetabling information and event management with energy control, will allow developments such as intelligent use of energy to heat and light buildings. The forecast of an impending cold snap could allow buildings, that will be used the next day, to be warmed in advance, not only making them more comfortable but also allowing the use of “off peak” energy. Similarly, when the weather is warming, heating can be reduced beforehand. If there is a regular, predicted, energy peak for a short time, such as during a major event, power being used for air conditioning in another building might be diverted to the event location for an hour or two, smoothing out that peak demand.
The concept of the smart campus is not new, but often, as with the example of smart energy, is can be siloed to individual use cases. The intelligent campus is much more about using data to change behaviours and activities in order to be smarter about energy generation and consumption.
Still had issues with the hosting company behind the blog, but think I have sorted it now. I have added previous week notes in the correct weeks.
Did more planning this week, as well as planning some trips to Europe where I am attending various meetings and a conference. Some are in awkward places, so took a while to work out the best way to get there, and where to stay.
We had an E in NREN workshop this week, as we start to decide how best to move forward over the next twelve months. It would have been nice to have that in person, but in the end it was undertaken online. It is the first of four workshops over the next four weeks.
One distraction, we had a wildfire in the local area, about 200m from my house. The area around here is very dry and, it didn’t take much (a few sparks from a constriction site) for the grass to catch fire. Luckily it didn’t spread, and the local fire and rescue service managed to contain it.
I had planned to go to the Bristol office this week, but my lunch meeting was rescheduled to September. I decided that I would avoid the traffic and work from home, especially as it was cooler as well.
A start of a new year for Jisc, our year runs from the 1st August to 31st July. This new year means for me, a new line manager. This will be my seventh manager in seven years. I hope that doesn’t say too much about me…
One of the things I have learnt both as a manager and one who had been managed is that an effective management relationship is about understanding one another. Its early days so much to learn about what works and what doesn’t.
As with last week, stuff is quiet, with universities closing for the summerand lots of people going on holiday.
Spent a lot of the week writing up my quarterly review, and reflecting on the previous twelve months. This is more for me, as I am expecting my review meeting to focus on the next twelve months.
I started planning for the next twelve months too, setting up a new Jira board for my weekly scrums, and a Confluence site for notes, planning and collating documents. I will also review my use of Dovetail going forward and link it all with Teams and OneDrive.
Website was still offline and therefore writing this without a blog, and will post it later…
Well the site was offline for most of the week, problems with the site and my provider. So, at this time I am writing this post, but it won’t be on the site for a while, however I am guessing for a few days, it should be back online.
It’s July, so stuff is quite quiet, with universities closing for the summerand lots of people going on holiday.
Back at work this week, after I was on leave last week. Though I did write up a blog post on electrification, decarbonisation and smart energy based on my recent attendance and presentation at an (online) event looking at estates and work we did on the past on the intelligent campus.
Many in the sector, as part of their net zero ambitions are looking at decarbonisation of their campuses. One method is to move from oil and gas use to electric in the main for heating and hot water. Generation of electrical power can be then derived from sustainable and renewable resources such as wind and solar. I was reminded of some of the work we did a few years ago on smart energy.
I read a couple of reports this week and reflected on what this meant for higher education and for Jisc.
There was nothing new in here, as we had heard about the Education Committee Report earlier in the year, this was about the Government response. One of the key messages for me from this report, was the reinforcement and emphasis on the responsibility for the financial situation within the sector lies with the sector.
…higher education providers are responsible for managing their finances and must have robust contingency planning in place to protect students…
Though with the many different constraints on the sector, this isn’t always easy or straightforward.
The other report I read was from the Institute for Government who published a report titled Government and academia: How government can better engage with researchers. The message here was that the research sector and government could work together much better and that both sides need to work out how to function more effectively.
Again, I was involved in various consultancy meetings this week. My main role in these are about quality assurance.
I managed one day in the Bristol office this week. I wasn’t planning to to do more than one day. I do enjoy working in the Bristol office, but at this time of year, it’s a little bit quieter than normal. Working with a geographically distributed team, in-person working as a team is a rare event.
This week I was at an (online) event looking at estates. I was chairing the first half of the event and presenting in the second half. The event was entitled Next steps for university estates in the UK.
It was a really interesting online conference with a keynote from the CEO of AUDE, along with panel sessions on a range of topics. There was quite a focus on net zero and decarbonisation. I personally found the discussion on electrification of university campuses really interesting. Something I think I might write a longer blog post about, as the move from oil and gas use to electric in the main for heating and hot water is something that the sector is looking at, as they aim to achieve their net zero ambitions.
My own session was on internationalisation and the impact that this could have on estates and the way they are managed. I spoke about student mobility, what is happening in Europe with the Higher Education Interoperability Framework and the potential synergy and alignment this has with the LLE aspirations in the UK.
With our third heatwave I did head into the office, which is air-conditioned (partly powered by solar panels). I enjoyed reading David Kernohan’s article on keeping cool on campus.
I think this section is something that the sector should take note of.
Direct sunlight heats the structure of a building – bricks, glass, concrete, roof tiles – and these elements heat the inside, often for hours after the direct sunlight has gone. Dense foliage from fast-growing trees is a cheap (far cheaper than altering and adapting the building) and renewable way to cool down, all while lowering pollution. And, with appropriate maintenance, it looks fantastic.
Many of the campuses I have worked on have been very hot in heatwave weather. The cooling functionality was often not sufficient. Having also been involved in many new builds, often the planning restrictions meant that for environmental reasons air conditioning wasn’t allowed to be installed and in many cases would have been quite expensive to run.
I was involved in various consultancy meetings this week. My main role in these are about quality assurance.
Over on Wonk corner, David Kernohan discusses the legacy of Keir Starmer on higher education.
I’m going to go out on a limb and suggest that Keir Starmer was a prime minister who had a substantial influence on higher education.
Though overing the Starmer legacy, also in the article David says
…there are still important questions about demand for fee loan backed short courses. I’m not convinced the LLE was a good idea…
I have been looking at the infrastructure (and the importance of interoperability) in relation other student mobility in Europe, one reason for this is the applicability of the European Higher Education Interoperability Framework to the concept of the LLE in England.
When discussing LLE with colleagues in Jisc and in the wider higher education sector, that question about demand does come up quite often. Are there people out there demanding short courses and are they looking for fee loan to cover those costs? We are not seeing people wanting to do such courses, so does that mean there is no demand?
I always think that this analysis is a bit chicken and egg, and that I mean by that, there appears to be no demand for fee loan backed short courses, so the sector does not offer fee loan backed short courses. However, could it be that because sector does not offer fee loan backed short courses, there is no demand as a result,
Going back to why we are going to have LLE, the government say this.
As set out in the Post-16 Education and Skills White Paper, the government is committed to ensuring the country develops the skills needed to:
drive sustained economic growth
break down barriers to opportunity
improve the living standards of hardworking people
The LLE will deliver transformational change to the current student finance system by
broadening access to high-quality, flexible education and training
supporting greater learner mobility between institutions
This will enable individuals to learn, upskill and retrain across their working lives. It will create opportunities for both young people and adults to develop the skills needed to succeed in life, contributing to growth across the entire country.
The implication is that there is an untapped demand for high-quality, flexible education and training. It is currently not been provided as there is no demand for it. However that demand is based on charging actual upfront fees for the education and training. Remove upfront fees with fees backed by loans, then there will be renewed demand.
If this is the case then, how does the system ensure that once we have the demand, that there is a supply. Is the system agile enough to respond to changes in demand. The government believes that it is, the question is does the sector believe that too?
I have done very little travel over the last few months, my last trip was back in April when I was up in Leeds for the AUDE conference. My original plan was to head to TNC in Helsinki in June last month, but didn’t make the cut, as too many people from Jisc wanted to go. Though I enjoyed TNC last year, my main reason for attending, wasn’t in fact attending TNC, I was part of two side meetings on the Monday before TNC. Next year TNC 27 is in Belgium, this should be easier to get to for the side meetings, as I could literally drive there, well and hop on a ferry to get across the channel.
I had considered going to the EUNIS conference in Romania, I was there last year when it was held in Belfast. Last year I was speaking, if I had gone this year it would have been as a delegate. It would have been useful to go, buy I have been asked to cut back on my travel and conference attendance. I have missed a lot of conferences this year, compared to last year, but at most of these there were others from Jisc in attendance.
I didn’t write about snow, but I did write about heatwaves and response from schools and colleges.
Following the Met Office weather warning and forecasted high temperatures, we are making some temporary changes to teaching arrangements for the remainder of this week to help ensure the comfort, wellbeing, and safety of learners and staff. Campuses will be closed to curriculum teaching from Wednesday to Friday inclusive.
Margo wants to study towards a degree but wants to combine different modules from different courses across Europe. She knows the subjects she is interested in; she also knows which countries where she would like to study. However, she doesn’t know which universities across Europe offer which modules. Discovery would allow Freya to access the course and module catalogues from across a range of universities, compare different offerings and would be able to refine her search based on specific criteria. She would also be sure that the information she finds is up to date.
This was the first in a series of articles where I will be looking at student mobility in the UK. What I mean by student mobility is how a student can choose when and where to study, at a time and place that is suitable for them. It’s about enabling students to take parts of courses from different institutions. This (in theory) is possible now, but was challenging for students from both a financial perspective and administratively.
The first of these was the launch of Universities West. It is a new collaboration between Bath Spa University, the University of Bath, the University of Bristol and the University of the West of England.
Up in Scotland, the staff at Napier and Queen Margaret universities have been told of plans to create a “multi-university” with Scotland’s Rural College.
