Student Technology Services

1. Student Technology Services June 2012

2. Student Technology Services Team • Dedicated to creating a holistic strategy to improve the technological services available to students on campus: • Research, Policy & Advocacy for the applications and services most needed by students • Communication, engagement & fostering a culture of student development • Blended approach to fulfilling technological needs (purchase or develop depending on the service) • Manage projects for development of new services, ensuring technical requirements and all phases of the project meet student needs • Provide access to data and api’s to facilitate student development

3. Mission • Implement viable applications in the mobile and electronic space that address university needs for contemporary interaction and communication with students • Foster a culture of student development through access to accurate and timely open data

4. Founding Principles • Approach mobile application and service development strategically and centrally • Renew focus on students and customer service within IST • Empower students to set the research and development agenda • Foster a culture of student development – provide students with the data, policy, resources and support to develop student applications

5. Purpose & Objectives • “Implement viable applications in the mobile space  that address university needs for contemporary interaction and communication with students and that are in keeping with Waterloo’s stature as a leading technology innovator. • Foster a culture of student-led application development through safe access to data, engagement of student developers, and a clear policy framework for development.”

6. Project Overview • Provide resources and infrastructure for student-oriented, student-driven mobile and technology advancement

7. Business Need • Motivated by the need for improved capacity for student service areas to leverage mobile applications, technology, and student data to improve communication with students and services available to students

8. Business Objectives • Enterprise: position uWaterloo to excel in the areas of student engagement, innovation and reputational excellence • Business: improve student experience by strengthening engagement, and technological tools available

9. Technology Objectives • Open data infrastructure • Framework for governing access to data • Contemporary technology-enabled communication • Flexible platform that supports purchase, development and blended applications

10. Project Work Flow Student Technology Services Team

11. Delivery Model University Developed/Purchased & Delivered Student Developed & Delivered

12. Opportunities • Strategize, develop and deploy mobile applications and other critically important technological services • Improve collaboration and efficiency through centrally delivered applications and services

13. Risks • Major cultural shift in project management and service delivery • Existing infrastructure will struggle to support project needs • Technological solutions may move faster than access to viable data sources • Maintenance of applications will be critical and could become time consuming

14. Implementation • The immediate areas of focus will include: • Establish communication framework • Establish strong relationships with stakeholders and define governance processes • Assess need, market and demand for applications and features • Assess technical infrastructure required • Assess legal, policy, and administrative requirements • Prioritize applications for development/purchase • Create implementation and delivery plan

15. Questions & comments?