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"THE AFTERNOON SESSION KICKED OFF WITH A FIRST FOR UCISA: A HUSBAND AND WIFE DOUBLE ACT"


Clay Shirky


occasion. The after-dinner entertainment was provided by John Lloyd. John has been behind some of the funniest and most successful TV and radio programmes of the last three decades, including Not the Nine O’Clock News, Blackadder, Spit ing Image and, more recently, QI. Memorable for me were the quotes from the book The Meaning of Liff which he co-wrote with Douglas Adams: "'Balerno' is the spooky sense that someone is about to explain the meaning of déjà vu,” and “an 'ely' is the fi rst, tiniest inkling that something, somewhere, has gone terribly wrong.” Fortunately, there were no elys that night! Simon Mingay, from Gartner, got the


fi nal day of the Conference under way explaining that service portfolios are more art than science. With fewer than 20 services in the portfolio and being writ en directly for the executive, I rather suspect those are not yet the norm within the sector. Up next was Dave Coplin from


organisations on why diversity mat ers, and how it produces bet er performing teams. And his talk certainly provoked a reaction: get ing your lover’s knickers off , a reference to Viagra, and his advice not to appoint the best person for the job! “In fact, never appoint the best person for the job. Appoint the best person for the team,” he said. The afternoon session kicked off with a


fi rst for UCISA: a husband and wife double act. UCISA’s own Heidi Fraser-Krauss (Head of IT Services at the University of York) and Thomas Krauss (Professor of Photonics, also at York), played out the often challenging conversation between IT and the academic – Vorsprung Durch Technik. Thomas defended his academic freedom: “I became a professor to be a leader in my fi eld… not to follow policy.” He likened leading his research group to running a small business: seeking


funding, selling output, and employing staff . Heidi gave us some take-home advice for the IT director: supporting research is non-trivial; build trust and credibility; do not assume you know what researchers want and, if you get it right, academics will support you! Following the Business Showcases (and


without the support of the sponsors, the event would not have been the success it was), day two was brought to a close with the remarkable story of Sue Black, founder of #techmums. Sue told the story of how she started out as a single mum with three children and no qualifi cations, eventually becoming a full-time academic and a voice for women in computing. Using the power of social media, she drove the campaign to save Bletchley Park. The Conference dinner at the Grand


Hotel in Brighton was superb and it was so nice to see everyone dress up for the


Microsoft. I have heard Dave speak a number of times before and he was his usual animated self. With a title of Microsoft Chief Envisioning Offi cer you wouldn’t expect any less. Dave presented Business reimagined, suggesting that we have become less productive at work with IT than we have at home. “It's not email's fault we get too much email, it’s ours!” he said. Another tip was “if you use a device for checking emails in a meeting, then don't have the meeting!” Whether you agreed with Dave’s new world of work or not, his enthusiasm for the topic was unmissable. Linda Davidson started her


presentation, Is innovation worth IT? with a video showing the 1966 prediction of the future home computer – hilarious but surprisingly not far off the mark. Davidson challenged us to think how we might use technology to disrupt the status quo. But she also reinforced using traditional methods of communication to get the message across as no one reads email anymore! The Conference concluded with a talk


by Alex Hunter. Alex describes himself as a company incubator, keynote speaker, angel investor and branding expert. He talked about loyalty, brands and how lit le gestures can make a huge impact. He certainly made me question how I treat students as customers. An excellent and inspiring end to UCISA14. ET


Most of the Conference presentations are on the UCISA website: ht p://bit.ly/Q9njXv and the vast majority of talks were webcast on the day, with recordings available for review. There was a lively Conference back channel on Twit er under the hashtag #ucisa14. Next year’s Conference will be in Edinburgh from 18–20 March, so hold the date now.


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