Excellence in Education: Queen Mary University of London
In 2019, Rachel Bence joined Queen Mary University of London (Queen Mary) as Chief Information Officer in 2019, transitioning from engineering to lead the IT Services Directorate and develop the university's information and communication technology strategy. Transitioning from engineering to a pivotal role in higher education, she focuses on overseeing the day-to-day operations of the IT Services Directorate and developing Queen Mary’s information and communications strategy.
Throughout her illustrious career, Rachel has adhered to two pieces of advice she received from a former manager, which became a cornerstone of her professional philosophy: "capitalise on what you are good at, tackle your weaknesses to the extent that they may hold you back professionally, but don't try to be superhuman and be good at everything"; and "pick a team that will complement your skills as an individual”. The guidance has profoundly influenced her leadership style, emphasising the importance of leveraging one's strengths and building a well-rounded team.
Excellence in education and research
Queen Mary is a prestigious institution renowned for excellence in education, research and innovation.
"Queen Mary’s history stretches back to 1785 and forms part of the University of London,” Rachel explains. “It offers a diverse and inclusive environment for over 32,000 students from more than 170 countries."
Queen Mary boasts a broad range of undergraduate and postgraduate programmes across the three faculties of Humanities and Social Sciences, Science and Engineering and Medicine and Dentistry.
Known for cutting-edge research, Research at Queen Mary - Queen Mary University of London (qmul.ac.uk), Queen Mary’s contribution includes advancements in areas such as precision healthcare, medicine, law and digital research. Moreover, a recent report estimated that the total economic impact of Queen Mary’s research and knowledge exchange activities contributed £1.4 billion to the UK economy (2021-22).
Campuses in London, Malta and Paris campuses and transnational partnerships in China provide a global perspective and foster international collaboration.
Inclusivity and social mobility
In 2021, the Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide recognised Queen Mary as the UK's most inclusive Russell Group University. It was named University of the Year for Social Mobility in 2022. "Recognition highlights that social inclusion and academic success can coexist," Rachel emphasises.
Queen Mary has a diverse community of 32,000 students and about 5,700 staff representing 170 nationalities, creating unique challenges and opportunities. Among domestic undergraduates, more than 93% come from state schools, 72% are BAME and 46% are the first in their family to attend university."These demographics necessitate additional support for first-generation students who may need to become more familiar with university life," says Rachel.
QS ranking position
Queen Mary recently climbed 25 places to 120th in the QS World University Rankings, making it the highest climber among UK universities.
Rachel is keen to highlight this notable achievement, which enhances the university's reputation, attracting high-calibre students and boosting global research opportunities. The virtuous cycle further improves Queen Mary's rankings and strengthens its international standing.
As a truly international institution with campuses in London, Malta, Paris and China, this ranking increase underscores the need for a robust and secure global IT infrastructure. "We've upgraded our computer network and Wi-Fi capabilities to meet growing student expectations and support the increasing number of devices on campus," adds Rachel.
Queen Mary focuses on scalable cloud solutions and advanced cybersecurity measures to protect sensitive data and personal information. These initiatives are crucial for maintaining the university's global footprint and safeguarding its reputation against potential cyber threats.
Digital Vision and Accomplishments
"The digital vision encompasses strategies and initiatives aimed at leveraging technology to enhance research productivity, collaboration and impact," Rachel continues. Investments in High-Performance Computing (HPC) allow researchers to conduct complex simulations, data analysis and modelling, while scalable data storage ensures compliance with stringent data management policies, including GDPR.
The Digital Innovation Hub provides access to digital tools, mentoring and networking opportunities to support research-driven startups. "Significant advancements in research capabilities include the application of AI and machine learning across various fields,” Rachel goes on. “Notable projects feature the development of predictive models for disease outbreaks, AI-driven financial analysis tools and AI applications in environmental sciences."
The Digital Environment Research Institute (DERI) fosters interdisciplinary research across life sciences, earth and climate sciences, digital humanities and legal studies. Major collaborations with partners, such as Barts Health NHS Trust, have developed predictive analytics tools and advanced the field of electronic healthcare records.
Additionally, a partnership with Genomics England facilitated the sequencing of 100,000 genomes from NHS patients using advanced digital solutions.
Significant accomplishments in digital advancements
Rachel explains that Queen Mary has made significant strides in digital research, particularly in the realms of AI and machine learning.
The institution has developed predictive models for disease outbreaks in healthcare, while in finance it has created AI-driven financial analysis tools.
Cybersecurity challenges and solutions
The rapidly evolving landscape of cyber threats presents significant challenges for higher education institutes. “To address these,” Rachel explains, “we use both a secure-by-design and zero trust approach, integrating security measures from the inception of service design and rigorously assessing the cybersecurity practices of the supply chain.”
“The cybersecurity team has expanded to nine full-time members, reflecting our commitment to robust security.” Implementing the highest security level of Microsoft licensing and establishing a 24/7 Security Operations Centre are critical components of the security strategy. Rachel adds, "The centre continuously monitors, alerts and reports global threats, including activities on the dark web, to bolster the security protection.”
Queen Mary is pursuing ISO 27001 certification, focusing on creating and adhering to comprehensive corporate security policies, undergoing regular audits and maintaining a risk-based approach to both physical and digital security. These measures ensure the university remains at the forefront of cybersecurity, safeguarding its digital infrastructure against evolving threats.
Infrastructure modernisation
Queen Mary is undertaking several initiatives to modernise infrastructure, focusing on cloud services and the introduction of ServiceNow. "The cloud migration strategy includes moving our “on-premise” data centres to Azure, ensuring high levels of resilience and security,” Rachel highlights.
Improvements are under way to monitoring and communication with Dynatrace, enhancing application and infrastructure reliability. A new cloud-based telephony and call centre system will be operational soon and Wi-Fi infrastructure upgrades across London campuses and Malta will incorporate smart capabilities such as space utilisation tracking.
Integration and systems review efforts include implementing the Boomi integration platform to streamline connectivity between applications and conducting a comprehensive review of ERP systems to ensure they meet Queen Mary's needs.
AI and automation
Queen Mary continuously investigates various applications of AI and automation, particularly within its educational frameworks. "The integration of AI holds the potential to markedly decrease administrative efforts by automatically generating meeting minutes and action items and by streamlining repetitive tasks through basic process automation,” Rachel enthuses.
In education, AI will offer numerous benefits. For example, it will facilitate enhancing student recruitment by targeted marketing strategies and optimised resource allocation via predictive analytics. Chatbots and virtual assistants will manage student enquiries quicker and more efficiently. AI-driven systems will screen applications and provide personalised programmes of study.
"In the future AI will play a critical role in supporting student retention by predicting and intervening with at-risk students, offering personalised learning paths and in improving assessment and feedback,” says Rachel.
“Furthermore, AI can contribute to more efficient campus management for example through dynamic timetabling, which allows for flexible scheduling based on real-time attendance data, optimising room usage and fostering an efficient campus environment.”
Resourcing Challenges and Initiatives
Rachel reveals that Queen Mary encounters significant challenges in recruiting and retaining skilled IT professionals, particularly in specialised roles essential for infrastructure modernisation.
To effectively address these issues, the university emphasis is on developing appropriate skills, supporting career progression and promoting gender diversity. "Our talent planning strategy involves transitioning skills from managing on-premise infrastructure to focusing on cloud computing, system integration and customer support," states Rachel.
The government's apprenticeship scheme facilitates the hiring and training of apprentices allowing Queen Mary to grow its own talent. Rachel continues: "We promote career advancement through people development initiatives that include customised training plans, mentoring and coaching. We champion gender diversity through the “Women in Tech” initiative, which aims to support and empower women in the technology sector, highlighting the critical importance of achieving a gender balance in technical roles.”
Key partners
"We collaborate with several key partners to advance digital initiatives," highlights Rachel. One of these is Comtrade, who contribute by providing highly skilled IT engineers and supporting the out-of-hours service desk, ensuring uninterrupted student and staff support.
Elsewhere, Ingentive, as a key partner for Microsoft products, has developed an extremely useful application for managing and monitoring cyber security vulnerabilities, thus enhancing the university's security framework and improving our security metrics.
Catalyst IT hosts and manages the Queen Mary virtual learning environment, ensuring the capability remains operational 24/7 and scales according to student demand over the academic year.
Additionally, Queen Mary has partnered with Creation Technologies to implement Salesforce, significantly improving the university's customer relationship management tools and in the future deploying Salesforce capability within our Education framework.
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