CIO 100: Victoria University of Wellington

THE RISE OF digitalisation is a key factor in the business strategies undertaken by the Information Technology Services (ITS) team at Victoria University of Wellington.

The university’s top technology investments are related to ensuring digital tools bring benefits to our diverse customer base which includes students and both academic and professional staff, says Stuart Haselden, director of ITS.

“The use of technology in this digital age is a key component of how Victoria plans its overall experience for students. The ongoing development of the campus and modernisation of equipment and information technology are used to enhance research, teaching, the student experience and administrative efficiency.” This year’s key projects are around customer relationship management, enhancing learning spaces, changes in learning platforms, replacement of storage systems and identity management.

The 135 staff members in the ITS team manage some 28,800 screens, of which 21,000 are BYOD smartphones, laptops and tablets.

This year’s top technology investments for the university are around cloud services, enterprise architecture, collaboration technologies through Office 365 and digital tools.

“Victoria will continue to offer enhanced services in the digital area. This includes upgrades to the website, ongoing free wireless to all Victoria staff and students and upgraded administration systems,” says Stuart.

“Another area we are increasingly working on is collaborating with the university’s marketing team on using digital technologies to reach more students around the world and grow the university’s student base.”