Efficient sharing of university data is closer than you think
Open data is enabling higher education institutions to discover and make the most of opportunities to collaborate, share equipment and expertise. Adrian Cox, project manager at equipment.data, writes about how how this kind of collaboration is helping to achieve efficiencies.
Sharing equipment – a welcome efficiency?
The dramatic cuts in capital funding in 2011 rocked academics working in scientific research. However as Lancaster University VC Mark Smith reports, this shock to the system has enabled the concept of equipment sharing to gain real ground.
In pictures: the fourth Efficiency in Higher Education Conference
The fourth Efficiency in Higher Education Conference on 25 March brought together some of the individuals working to make higher education more efficient and effective to share their experiences and knowledge with others. Here are some images from the day.
Procurement ‘health checks’ inspire high performance universities
Universities seeking ever higher standards in their procurement are benefiting from a comprehensive measuring tool. Susan Wright, head of the Southern Universities Purchasing Consortium, explains how the Procurement Maturity Assessment programme has inspired real changes in English HEIs.
Value me not my money: why students are key to good decision making
The notion of the student as a consumer is one that is gaining popularity. But NUS vice president (higher education) Megan Dunn says universities need to start seeing students as full members of their community who should play an active role in it, rather than customers, easily impressed by shiny new buildings.
Delivering better value through open data
Both public sector buyers and suppliers can experience long-term benefits from making their procurement data more open, Spendnetwork’s Ian Makgill suggests.
Data platform launched to encourage more efficient medical research
An affordable cloud-based infrastructure has been launched by Jisc and the University of Leicester to manage a growing volume of data that is threatening to overwhelm researchers. The Biomedical Research Infrastructure Software Service (BRISSKit) platform seeks to make data sharing and collaboration easier, saving time and reducing infrastructure costs.
Celebrating success
Universities are this nation’s success story and their enduring value is something to be celebrated, says Universities UK president Professor Sir Christopher Snowden, reflecting on how the sector nurtures learning and invention while pursuing value for money.
The role and value of the HE estate
A well-managed estate can help a university to improve student and staff satisfaction, generate an income and reduce overheads. In the first of our blogposts focusing on estate management, Dr Ghazwa Alwani-Starr explains how universities are maximising the value from their portfolios.
New Hefce-funded project models costs and benefits of sharing services
The shared services delivery partner of Falmouth University and the University of Exeter is starting work on an exciting new project to measure, analyse and model the costs and benefits of collaboration between UK higher education institutions. Project manager Simon Perks tells us more.
