Alan McMeekin is the Chief Information Officer of Monash University, with responsibility for the overall planning, development and deployment of ICT, where he has served for ten years. Alan has Master of Business Administration, Postgraduate Diploma in Computing and Bachelor of Science degrees. He has worked in the ICT sector within universities for 30 years. He has served in a number of public roles, including current engagements with:
Past Chair and Member of the Council of Australian University Directors of Information Technology,
Member of the Australian eResearch Infrastructure Council, which has oversight of the federal government’s investment in ICT infrastructure supporting research, and
Foundation Chair and Member for the Board of VERNet Pty Ltd, the Victorian Education and Research Network.
Information and communications technology will play an increasingly important role in the higher education and research sectors of our economies. While the demand and expectations of ICT services from within our communities and stakeholders will continue to grow, university CIOs and ICT service providers will be challenged to harness the resources, funds and skilled staff to meet these expectations.
An approach to grow capability is to adopt a multi-tiered framework for ICT “shared services”. At an institutional level, where universities typically have a devolved service delivery model, ICT services need to be effective and efficient, while being innovative and transformative. There are significant incentives for institutions to voluntarily work together, sharing resources, and operating with a healthy spirit of competition for student enrolments and research funds. Lastly, institutions must partner with governments who are now making major investments in shared national ICT infrastructure, essential to support modern trends in the conduct of research.