Please tell me about your role at the university.
The main part of my role is to improve the student experience at university. I work with the support staff to make changes in the systems used by staff and students. I work on new developments that help students with their everyday activities and help staff to support students more effectively. By discussing this with the business I get an insight into the difficulties faced by the students and support staff, which encourages me to help them more and make their work easier. I am currently working to improve student enrolment by developing online facilities so that support staff can easily identify students who are having issues with enrolment and quickly resolve these issues.
How did you come to work in higher education? Please tell me about your career background.
I have been working in IT for 10 years in different areas from desktop and infrastructure support to various areas in development. I pursued an opportunity at a university in infrastructure support and I enjoyed the working environment. I realised the benefits of working in the education sector, such as wellbeing support and job security, and I have worked in higher education ever since.
Would you say your job is rewarding/meaningful?
I find the job very rewarding because the work I do helps thousands of students go through university life. With the developments and improvements, I see how things were before and can evidently see how the work I do would make things easier. I need to consider keeping things up-to-date in an ever-changing world in IT because the expectations of newer students are to see up-to-date systems at university.
How do you think working in higher education compares to working in the commercial/government sector?
I feel that working in higher education offers more support for wellbeing and accommodates for personal circumstances more than in the private sector. In addition, I feel that it is more driven and provides more opportunities for career development and learning than the government sector. I feel that this is a good setting to achieve the right work-life balance.
Please highlight any development opportunities you’ve had
I was given training in software development using Javascript/jQuery, which is related to some aspects of my work. Furthermore, the university pays for me to go to an annual convention by our application software suppliers, which is a great opportunity to learn about new updates and features, learn about how existing features are being productively used and network with people from other companies and universities.
Please tell me about your experience of the facilities on campus for university life/wellbeing
I work in a recently refurbished building with up-to-date facilities including a fully furbished kitchen with a dishwasher. The tea and coffee selection is kept topped up so you do not need to worry about running out. There are locker and shower facilities, which is great for people who cycle to work. There is support available for those in difficult situations and staff is well informed with important updates.
What do you like most about working at a university?
The working environment is really good at the university. The people I work with are very friendly and the managers show concern about our health and wellbeing (not just about meeting our targets). Sometimes the managers give a choice on the type of project you want to be working on and you can work at your own pace, which I find motivating to manage my time to meet deadlines.
What has been your career highlight whilst working in higher education and why?
On one of the projects, I helped the Residential department, which deals with accommodation and facilities for students staying on campus. I developed a system where students can pay the accommodation fees automatically in full or in instalments in a way that they can choose. The system also makes sure that the finance department knows when to expect payments and also notifies relevant staff and students of the payment agreement and schedule. The head of the Residential department emailed the IT director and praised my work detailing an approximate number of hours and the associated costs that were saved by using the new system. I felt really appreciated and I was glad that the time I put in to develop this was returned manifold and that it really helped staff and students.
This interview was conducted before the Coronavirus Pandemic. Working arrangements on university campuses may have changed due to social distancing measures.