University of Sydney hires new CIO

The University of Sydney has hired Mike Day as its new CIO. Day started in the role this month and has taken over from Bruce Meikle, who is now director, enabling technologies at the university.

Meikle had been CIO at the university since 2007.

In his LinkedIn profile, Day says he is well versed in “developing both technical and digital strategies, recognising and exploiting the differences between leading digital transformation and traditional IT management methods.”

He has worked in the education sector since the early 2000s and most recently was director of information systems at Nottingham Trent University in the United Kingdom.

He spent the past one-and-a-half years as director of the university’s ESCuk Education Support Centre, a shared service capability. He was also head of ICT at the University of Lincoln in the UK between 2008 and 2011.

A Sydney University spokesperson said the university is delighted to have someone of Mike’s calibre join the organisation.

“Enhancing the digital experience for our staff and students will be essential components of the next strategy, and I am sure his sector experience will be invaluable in helping us achieve this goal,” the spokesperson said.

Day told CIO Australia that he was pleased to be joining the university at an “exciting time in terms of the use of digital technology in higher education and at the beginning of the university’s 2016-20 strategy.”

He declined to comment further on his plans for this year.

In 2014, Sydney University created the ‘X-Lab’ at the Charles Perkins Centre. This audio visual initiative allows multiple science practical classes to take place simultaneously with each computer running multiple high definition video streams.

The university also rolled out Adobe’s Marketing Cloud platform in 2014 to improve its digital interactions with students, staff and alumni on its website.

Additional reporting by Byron Connolly.