Coming Ready or Not

This was also a great opportunity to embed IT in a fundamental way. The notion is not that IT enhances or drives the show but rather that there is a total integration of IT so that graduates will continue to operate in that environment in the future – and we are sure that medical diagnosis and much more will be web-based in their working lifetimes.

We had two particular challenges. The first was to recruit computing personnel. The successful secret here was to bypass the ultimate techo with high skills and low communication ability in favour of those with an acceptable skills base allied to a capacity for human interaction with non-experts. As a mathematician I can see no need for this at all and have no idea why it worked! The second challenge was to transfer knowledge from our medical staff to the net-based packages. Here it proved important to keep our medical people within their comfort zone as regards information technology and to rely on computer technicians to give realisation (virtual realisation, I suppose) to their thoughts and ideas. Of course, the IT skills base of our medics expanded enormously as a result, but that was not a prerequisite and was never an imposition.

The program is hugely successful – already used under license overseas—with many potential users around the world. It was enormously expensive in staff energy and financial resources, but it also generated great staff commitment. It is a fascinating case study of a change management process which had almost everybody clambering on board with enthusiasm and vigour.

Perhaps I can hang one final thought on that example. In many situations we have to recruit IT support staff to service the overall operations of the University. We are obliged by budget constraints to be a relatively low wage employer. Accordingly we like to recruit raw talent and use their jobs as a training ground. When we have trained them somebody else pays a premium and hires them. Provided this is an ongoing dynamic process it is a perfectly acceptable way to be. Given the realistic estimates of training needs, many of you may need to follow suit.