Despite the unseasonably cold weather there has been plenty of good news to warm hearts and minds within IT Services this month!

First a look ahead to the Summer.  As some of you may already know, a group of ladies from IT Services are planning to run the Race for Life on 21 July at 11.00 at Prospect Park.  A sponsorship form is available in the ITS staff room and they have also set up a JustGiving webpage which can be found http://www.raceforlifesponsorme.org/the-reading-it-girls.  I’m told that any donation, large or small, will be appreciated and, if you are free on the day, please come along and support them.

As well as preparing to run, our IT teams have also been working hard as usual this month. Following lots of preparation we now have firm plans in place to deliver a major refresh of IT equipment to our Kotaraya campus in Malaysia in mid-June, whilst at home support is growing for a major extension of our Wifi network coverage across all campuses. A feasibility study on this is expected to begin over the Summer, building on the “pre-feasibility” work completed over the last couple of months.

A series of briefings for senior managers recently highlighted the growing risks to Cyber Security within universities and we have therefore been working with the Head of IMPS to extend the availability of our new Information Security training modules to all staff, plus working on a “top 10 tips for IT security” awareness sheet for staff.

On the staffing front it was with sadness that we said goodbye to Manisha Joshi following her departure to Construction Management and we wish her well in her new job. I’m sure that she will continue to be a great asset to the University there. We were also very pleased to welcome Jo Mortimer as a new recruit to our Project Management Office and trust that she now feels at home in ITS.

Hopefully by the time I write next month’s blog it really will feel like Summer !

John Leary

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