Reflections on Digifest 2022 blog, Paul McKean, Jisc

Paul McKean, Director of Further Education and Skills at Jisc, reflects on the opportunities highlighted at Digifest 2022.  

After two years of online-only events, Digifest 2022 was a welcome opportunity to meet up in person – to reconnect with friends old and new, for Jisc staff to talk with members, and for members to collaborate and share ideas.   

With 725 delegates attending in person and a further 1,296 online, it was truly heartening to see such a concentration of expertise in one forum, all with a common objective: harnessing technology to improve the teaching and learning experience. 

Feedback was all good: delegates really liked the new tech on show, such as USP College’s Tesla suits and the eco-garden VR experience.  Their keenness to introduce and work with digital technology was very much in evidence. 

Mapping the digital journey

The launch of our digital elevation tool is just one example.  Prior to Digifest, 32 colleges had been part of the pilot for FE; post-event, that number has more than doubled.   

Leadership teams in 72 FE colleges are already using this online self-assessment tool to validate their organisation’s current position and map their digital journey.  They can join a community of similarly minded senior leaders to share experiences and best practice, including participating in Jisc’s community fringe online events throughout March and April 2022. 

Making the most of available expertise 

There was a real buzz around the increasing use of augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) in teaching and learning, and for the first time we really saw how virtually connected ‘immersive’ teaching spaces can improve the learner experience and help relieve the teacher shortage problem.  

UPS College showed how they have already linked two campuses in this way and invested in almost 30 ‘streaming rooms’ that are proving invaluable while the pandemic persists and remote learning is an essential option.  Its vision is for a national network of these immersive classrooms where resources and staff can be shared, saving money and making the most of available expertise wherever it might be.  And, most importantly, the learners love it.

Sharing resources

Of course, there are still challenges: at a dinner on the evening of 8 March, Heidi Fraser-Krauss, Jisc CEO, and Robin Ghurbhurun, Jisc’s Managing Director of FE and Skills, asked senior FE leaders what was keeping them awake at night.  Their responses focused mainly on the problems of attracting and retaining skilled teachers. 

One solution could be the concept of EaaS, an ‘expert as a service’ where teachers with the requisite skills are ‘shared’ among colleges via a variety of technological solutions.  The same approach could also help staff improve their skills and keep pace with change. 

Linking education with industry

From the opposite perspective, employers are still struggling to find suitably skilled and qualified workers. Digifest showcased Siemens’ Connected Curriculum initiative, which brings FE and industry together to build a cohort of new employees with the right skills. 

Among the new approaches to engineering that Siemens demonstrated were virtual commissioning and the concept of the ‘digital twin’, where engineers create, develop and test a project in a virtual space first.  By linking curricula with these technologies emerging from the fourth industrial revolution, the company is helping FE and HE prepare the next generation of technically skilled workers. 

I’m delighted that Siemens and Jisc are hosting an immersive digital leadership tour to Siemens’ Manchester offices next week to give college leaders the opportunity to experience their connected curriculum first-hand.  And there will be opportunities for more immersive digital leadership tours with other industry leaders over the next few months. 

Collaboration is key

What Digifest 2022 really highlighted for me was theenormous opportunity we have to solve issues like skills shortages and capacity constraints through collaboration. And that means not only industry working with tertiary education to address the skills gap, but also the FE and HE sectors working together to share content and eliminate duplicating their efforts. 

I’m sure we’ll see more of that at Digifest 2023. 

For more information on Jisc’s community fringe online events in March and April 2022, see https://www.jisc.ac.uk/get-involved/community-fringe