University Information Services - Staff Learning & Development course timetable

For the first time in UIS, we are offering our new starters the opportunity to be involved in a virtual speed mentoring event. This energetic learning and networking activity will provide the opportunity to speak to some of UIS’ senior leaders and managers from different disciplines.

UIS mentors involved in the event:

• Ian Leslie - Director
• Kate Livingstone - Head of User Research
• Ron Chambers - Head of Business Systems Assurance
• Simon Clarke - Head of Digital Workplace Programme
• Gabriela Ahmadi-Assalemi - Deputy Chief Information Security
• Abraham Martin - Head of Development and Operations

UIS facilitates a mentoring scheme exclusively for the University's IT community and UIS' internal staff.

Mentoring can be a really useful tool in supporting colleagues to develop their professional lives and careers, in both roles as a mentor and mentee.

This is a welcome event (Unit 2) and part of the UIS' Mentoring training journey, for all mentees and mentors enrolled in the 2021-22 programme. This interactive workshop is designed to give an overview and introduction to mentoring, giving the opportunity to explore the key benefits for mentors and mentees, practice some key skills needed for both mentors and mentees, mistakes to avoid and become familiar with some simple models and tools to support the mentoring partnership and maximise its value and impact.

In July's content community session, we look under the hood of email marketing. Whether you're sending newsletters to your staff or event invitations to an external audience, this session is for you, with a blend of the strategic and the operational.

Email continues to defy the prophecies of its impending demise, surviving Slack, instant messaging and even WeChat/Weixin (for the most part). As email turns 50, we'll explore whether iOS 15 will end the newsletter boom, where trustworthiness and personalisation fit in to your email strategy, and if you even need email when there are social media, messenger apps and collaboration tools?

• Liam Morgan will describe how he creates high-quality newsletters that are both effective and audience-centric
• Ashley Coidan will discuss how a strategic approach to the channel can have benefits for recipient and sender alike (and he'll be seeking volunteers to be involved in developing guiding principles for the University's email marketing)

UIS colleagues, Jon Holgate, Bob Dowling, Jessica Comber- Chaney will talk about exploring the opportunities and challenges, and find solutions around effective collaboration.

The Digital Presence Programme is a five year programme responsible for improving how we provide and support websites and intranets for the University of Cambridge (amongst other things). It's important that head of departments and institutions are aware of the programme's goals and intentions to make significant changes to the University's digital landscape.

This presentation will offer you an opportunity to feed into the programme, and provide answers to your questions about it.

Whether you manage a website, write content or are just interested in how to write for the web, we welcome all abilities to this content community event.

We will show you how users read web content and explore common patterns of behaviour. Once you’ve understood how users consume your content, you’ll feel more confident that you’re helping to provide a good user experience.

The session will begin with a quick update from the Digital Presence Programme.

The Digital Admissions project aims to support the transformation of the information systems, processes and tools used in the undergraduate admissions process.

At this 'town hall' event, you will hear from project members who will show the progress made to the service and invite you to ask questions.

The Digital Presence Programme is a five year programme responsible for improving how we provide and support websites and intranets for the University of Cambridge (amongst other things). It's important that departmental and institutional heads are aware of the programme's goals and intentions to make significant changes to the University's digital landscape.

This presentation will offer you an opportunity to feed into the programme, and provide answers to your questions about it.

Ron Chambers, Kate Livingstone and Abraham Martin will be talking about identifying some best practices for our effective collaboration

It’s been a long time since we’ve seen each other in person and as the pandemic restrictions are easing, we’d like to celebrate the end of the summer with an informal outdoor gathering at Fitzwilliam College Grove and Chapel Lawn.

Afternoon tea style food, individually boxed to include:

• Freshly made white and wholemeal bread finger sandwiches (variety of vegan, vegetarian, fish and meat fillings)
• Meat and vegan sausage rolls
• Fruit and plain scones with clotted cream and strawberry jam (vegan scones with cream can be provided on request)
• Mini choux buns
• Victoria sponge
• Mini tray baked cakes
• Juice

Followed by tea and coffee

An outdoor bar is also available to purchase a selection of soft and alcoholic drinks

The Digital Presence Programme is a five year programme responsible for improving how we provide and support websites and intranets for the University of Cambridge (amongst other things). It's important that departmental and institutional heads are aware of the programme's goals and intentions to make significant changes to the University's digital landscape.

This presentation will offer you an opportunity to feed into the programme, and provide answers to your questions about it.

Learn more about the barriers people face when they read content. We will show you how to write content that’s accessible and do a few practical exercises. Making content accessible, makes it better for everyone.

An informal meeting to meet mentors enrolled on the Mentoring 2021-22 programme.

An informal meeting to meet mentees enrolled on the Mentoring 2021-22 programme.

This energetic learning and networking activity will provide the opportunity to speak to some of UIS’ senior leaders and managers from different disciplines.

UIS mentors involved in the event:

• Ian Leslie - Director
• Carys Hayler - Lead Buiness Analyst
• Steve Riley, Chief Operating Officer
• Anna Langley, Service Manager
• Simon Clarke, Head of Digital Workplace
• Rich Wareham, Principal Software Developer

Updates on UIS's Relationship Management and Portfolio Management

• User Needs, Project Priorities, and Portfolio Developments
• Relationship Management overview
  • interactions, processes, examples
  • Schools, Colleges, NSIs, UAS, et al
• IT Portfolios overview
  • purpose, governance, processes
  • Education, Research, Business Systems, Infrastructure

Join us on Friday 22 October for a whistle-stop tour of common areas of Google Analytics and scenarios its data can help you analyse.

We will focus more on the Universal Analytics interface than Google Analytics 4, as that's the version we believe most people with Google Analytics on University websites are using.

Customised Clouds?

• Amazon presenters will provide an overview of:
  • AWS (Amazon Web Services) workstations
  • various options for virtual workstations

Please note that there is a UIS AWS framework agreement - https://help.uis.cam.ac.uk/service/network-services/hosting-services/AWS

• Hashicorp presenters will provide an overview of:
  • Terraform - https://www.terraform.io
  • Infrastructure-as-Code options
  • enabling portability of servers and workstations

• Framework for University IT Community, sharing information, expertise, support, CPD
  • collaborating with Oxford, Glasgow, Edinburgh (COGEnT)
    • and US universities (Harvard, Yale, Cornell, etc.)
  • possible ‘cloud club’ - in discussions with Amazon, Google, Microsoft
    • potential for shared credits, sandbox, mutual testing (any interest?)

• Reviewing concerns of IT Community, e.g. shared planning and troubleshooting
  • From the archives - particular issues raised by the community - 2019-2021

• TechLink Advisory Group
  • improving collaboration, feedback, communication and sharing

• For Reference: Technology in higher education: defining the strategic leader - joint Jisc and EDUCAUSE report
  • https://www.jisc.ac.uk/reports/technology-in-higher-education-defining-the-strategic-leader#how_to_use