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objectives. They focus on things like student intake, teaching and learning, research and innovation and people, culture and sustainability. The list of defined KPIs is more extensive but QUT measures itself on the quality of undergraduates we attract, attrition rates on bachelor degrees, higher degree research completions, the quality of their publications and the income they generate, plus operating margins and workforce sustainability.
To achieve the level of ICT support services that underpin these objectives, we have to build an organisational structure within our technology division that upholds a culture of continual improvement, customer focus and accountability. Part of that structure is a team of service delivery specialists responsible for supporting the organisation’ s technology and improving the levels of satisfaction in students, academics and administrative staff. In other words, being a thriving, optimal‘ help desk’.
We recently won a prestigious national award for the approach we have taken to a help desk transformation that was, in part, about re-aligning our ICT services to support the objectives mentioned above. Fundamentally, this ongoing project includes implementing new tools, processes, roles and responsibilities and facilitating unprecedented levels of flexibility to future-proof our ICT investments.
One of the discoveries we made in the help desk transformation is that good governance is key to gaining and retaining buy-in from stakeholders. To sustain support from executive management, we need to be transparent and accountable. Obtaining that commitment from the business starts with preparing a comprehensive plan with defined objectives and benefits and then using simple metrics to demonstrate that we are achieving the projected results.
Our students have reported consistently high levels of satisfaction with their experiences, but it is clear that innovative and creative strategies will be needed to meet the learning needs of diverse groups in the future. As part of this, QUT seeks to harness technology to connect, engage and creatively support learners in both face-to-face and virtual environments.
Our challenges as an ICT services delivery operation are numerous. If you think the impact of technology over the last 20 years has been significant, it is daunting to think what there might be around the corner. The rate of change is accelerating and the lifecycle of new technology is shrinking. Progressive education institutions have to be nimble and agile to meet challenges that are, at this stage, unknown. ■
Mark McCormack is manager, technology support, learning environments and technology services, Queensland University of Technology.
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