But there is a paradox quietly at work in Higher Education. The pressure to differentiate has not only influenced the areas where the university is able to demonstrate unique, visible value; it has also influenced parts of the operating model where a focus on differentiation can be harder to justify and, ultimately, more costly. As competition intensifies, institutions have become wary of common approaches, even where shared services and platforms might reduce cost, strengthen resilience or free capacity for innovation and research contribution towards the things that genuinely set them apart.
Roc Technologies recently brought together a group of senior IT leaders from across Higher Education for an open roundtable conversation. The challenges they described were familiar: legacy estates, financial pressure, AI adoption outpacing governance, cyber risk rising faster than the capacity to manage it. What was more interesting was the pattern beneath them — the sense that the sector understands its situation well, but is finding it increasingly difficult to act on that understanding within the constraints of how it is currently organised.
The advent of AI has changed everything. AI does not enter a blank organisational canvas; it enters existing workflows, draws on existing data, affects existing decisions and depends on (or bypasses) existing controls. If those foundations are unclear, outdated or plain wrong, AI won’t make them better. It will simply deliver bad outcomes more quickly.
Across every sector, CIOs are being asked to deliver transformation everywhere, all at once. Modernise platforms. Introduce AI. Integrate systems. Reduce costs. Improve experience. Strengthen security.
It’s a long list, and those who try, rarely succeed.
We talk a lot about collaboration, but much of what passes for teamwork today is really noise. Endless threads, half-attended meetings, and long days spent replying digitally instead of deciding. Call me a rebel but perhaps it’s time to regain some space to think, to act, and to work together with intent.
Over the past decade, the role of the university CIO has steadily evolved from infrastructure leader to strategic partner. But as collaboration across the sector becomes more structured and strategically important, that role is expanding again.
Collaboration has long been part of Higher Education’s institutional DNA. Universities share research infrastructure, co-author papers across continents and form networks of expertise that transcend borders. Knowledge has rarely been confined to a single institution.
For years, cyber security in higher education has been focussed primarily on data – institutional research, personal information and systems. Yet for university CIOs today, the more pressing issue is broader and, increasingly, more human.
End-of-support moments often trigger defensive thinking. Get compliant. Keep the lights on. Minimise disruption. These are valid concerns — but they don’t reflect the potential value on the table.
Partnerships sit at the heart of how most organisations now operate. Whether it’s suppliers, delivery partners, or internal teams, very little is achieved in isolation. Yet partnership is also one of the areas where good intentions often outpace good design.
The best kind of change is often the kind you don’t notice happening. Systems run smoother, processes feel easier, people stop sighing at their screens – and suddenly everything just works a little better.
