Campus, Capital and IT Plan
An update from Nat McGregor
Work is now in full swing across our campuses on the priorities outlined in our Campus, Capital and IT Plan (CCIT). The CCIT Plan supports our aspirations in learning, teaching and research by establishing and renewing the physical and virtual environments for students and staff across all campuses. It's the "building block" that sets the foundations for NeW Directions Strategic Plan 2013-2015.
For 2013 we have selected a number of strategic priorities to focus on that will provide a "springboard" for our teaching and learning, and research aspirations.
So what have we achieved so far?
During the first half of 2013 we established and realigned the Resources Division to more effectively support the NeW Directions Strategic Plan. The bringing together of IT Services, Infrastructure and Facilities Services, and Financial Services into one resource "powerhouse" has enabled us to streamline our approach to resource support and delivery across the University. This has been further enhanced by the appointment of three senior staff (Chief Operating Officer, Director, Infrastructure and Facilities Services, Chief Information Officer) to drive our strategic priorities.
Excitement is building as we initiate the NeW Space project (after the notification of the University's successful EIF bid). The project will see the development of a state-of-the-art facility supporting business and law programs into the future. This will require innovative thinking for successful design and delivery and is a fantastic opportunity for the University to establish a world-class facility in the Newcastle CBD.
The development of our new draft integrated budgeting and planning calendar is addressing the lack of linkages between our corporate planning activities and budget process. The calendar is being refined and will be rolled out over the coming weeks by the NeW Directions Implementation Group.
The establishment of a new IT Governance Framework and Resources Division Strategic Governance Office is providing essential support for the implementation of key 2013 projects within the 2013 IT Program of Works. These projects are progressing well and the benefits to the University will be communicated later in 2013. The embedding of the new IT Governance framework has resulted in greater understanding and visibility of the IT Program of Works and enhanced forward planning for the 2014 Program of Works.
Plans are also underway for the expansion of the wireless network that will deliver increased density coverage as a major component. IT Services are progressing the developing of strategies for BYO devices and mobility, cloud computing, disaster recovery and IT asset management. These are exciting endeavours that will ensure stability in our virtual environments into the future.
The Strategic Asset Management Plan (SAMP) and Strategic Asset Management Framework (SAMF) and capital planning process have been further progressed with the development of a new Strategic Asset Management Governance Framework (Strategic Asset Management Committee). Work is also being undertaken on elements within the SAMP and Asset Management Gateway process.
A brief is nearing completion on a major consultancy / project to undertake a significant refresh of the University's master plans at the Callaghan, Ourimbah and Newcastle City campuses. This project will span 2013/14 and involve significant input from stakeholders across the UoN.
The implementation of the new Archibus space management system is progressing well and the Works and Assets system implementation is largely completed, with refinement planned in the production environment for the remainder of 2013. This is a great achievement in our understanding of the use of our physical assets and teaching environments!
As you can see it is still early days, but NeW Directions is already framing our activities to ensure we provide capacity and support for our educational and research activities.
Your comments on NeW Directions are always welcome and can be sent through to newdirections@newcastle.edu.au.
I look forward to the next phase of growth of our world-class university.
Best wishes,
Nat
