This year UNE will unveil a series of portfolios that will bring the University’s strategic plan, Future Fit, to life over the next ten years. These portfolios are Digital Plus, Place Plus, People Plus and Sustainability Plus.
The first to launch is Digital Plus, led by Megan Aitken, who explains in this video that Digital Plus is a digital transformation program.
The first of these is Digital Plus, led by Megan Aitken who explains that Digital Plus is a digital transformation program.
“Digital Plus is the roadmap for how UNE is planning to deliver services and products for students in this new, highly digitised future. The whole world is changing and post-COVID, all universities are now operating in a hybrid or online manner, and making significant investments in new products, services and delivery channels in response to this new world,” Megan said.
“For UNE, the next 10 years will be very important part of our history as we prepare for a new digitised future.
“Digital Plus is fundamental to our service offering and our student experience moving forward. For students, they are coming to expect bigger and greater things from all universities, particularly in the online space as they are wanting seamless integration with their on-campus activities and a personalised journey where they choose their educational pathway. This is a new way of thinking for many universities.”
Digital Plus is made up of eight key programs that will be rolled out across the next decade.
“For staff, this portfolio will not only will help the university be sustainable in the future, but it will provide some stimulating and creative environments that we can all contribute to and grow from and be part of leaving a legacy for a regional university.
“An important part of the initial phase of Digital Plus is to improve the digital skills and training we provide to all staff, so they can support this transformation and future-proof their own skills.”
The eight projects are:
- Connected Research
- Connected Learning
- Connected Alumni
- Future Fit Campus
- Data Insights
- Workforce Capability
- Future Students and Admissions
- Micro-credentials, badging, e-portfolios and industry (Careers)
“In the next six months, we will be starting to perform some student and general competitor research to better understand what students and industry need from us in the next decade and to ascertain where we can quickly address gaps in systems, processes and new technologies,” Megan said.
“From that, we’ll start to build digital design requirements for our eight projects within with the help of IT, Security and Enterprise Architecture experts. Next year, staff will start to see some of the projects come to life, probably in small prototypes, and that’s really where you’ll see Future Fit as a strategy land in the truest sense.
“Like our students, we have an obligation to keep pace with what is happening in this new digital world so we can future-proof our own skills. From a professional development perspective, it’s a really exciting phase in UNE’s history where people can be involved in cutting edge digital projects.
“I would encourage staff to access as many courses through Udemy and other online providers to stay up to speed new skills and new trends. Look at how these changes will impact your students, future and present, your communities, your industry stakeholders, and your own professional development.
“It’s really important that we start to think in the context of what a digital world is, what changes are going to be coming forward and how we can work together to Future Fit ourselves for this transition.”