A recent post on “IWMW 2017: The Workshops and Master Classes” provided an overview of the parallel sessions which will be held at the forthcoming Institutional Web Management Workshop, IWMW 2017. A number of these sessions cover what may be regarded as core work activities for those who work in institutional web/digital team, such as the sessions on “User Testing – A Toolkit“, “Create Effective Content Quickly With Pair Writing“, “Making Web and Digital Work For Your Students” and “Transition to WordPress“. These could well have been held ten years ago for those working in web teams with responsibilities for managing institutional web sites, including providing quality content, testing web services and being user-focussed.

But in addition to such core sessions, other parallel sessions go beyond best practices for providing mainstream institutional web sites.

Some of the sessions provide opportunities for participants to learn new skills. For example:

  • The Sixty Minute (Data Dashboard) Makeover – in 1 hour 30 minutes!: This workshop session will look at where our HE data path has led us so far and considers the next step in the journey – Business Intelligence and using data for strategic planning.
  • Data: The Most Untapped Resource in your Student Retention Strategy: With dropouts on average costing around £33,000 per student, the financial consequences of student dropouts are substantial to all those involved. This session presents an excellent opportunity for universities to harness the power of their data to make smarter decisions and automate processes – improving efficiency, proactivity and, ultimately, student retention.
  • AI and Data: Evolving the Student Experience: AI, Data and the Student Experience are becoming ever more entwined. Whilst this presents many opportunities for Higher Education, it also presents much confusion. In this session three experts, specialising in AI, Data Analytics and Experience Strategy, will deliver a masterclass on what this type of technological advancement really means for the future of Higher Education.
  • Open Campus – Using Virtual Tours to Engage With ALL Your Audiences: Virtual tours are a very popular area just now, but they don’t just have to be a marketing tool – they’re also a simple way to bring everyone behind the doors of a university or college.

Other sessions address aspects of making use of social web services – and area which would not have been relevant 10 years ago:

  • Social Media & Paid Advertising- How to Use Them Corporately: This master class is for managers and their teams who wish to hear about institutional use of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat and learn about tools such as Facebook Business Manager, Facebook Ad Manager and Twitter Ad Manager
  • A Communications Infrastructure for the UK HE Digital Community: This session will explore the various tools and services which are available to support the web management community for engaging with one’s peers, asking questions and sharing experiences. The aim will be to develop plans for a communications infrastructure for the UK HE’s web and digital community.

In addition, other parallel sessions provide opportunities to learn about various aspects of developing one’s general work skills:

  • How To Be A Productivity Ninja: The workshop will provide background into the nine key attributes we see a Productivity Ninja as having – many of these attributes have a key relevance to the digital development community.
  • Leadership, Governance and Change: Top Tips for Navigating the Chaos: As Web/Digital Managers, how do we best cope with constant change whilst keeping the web/digital ship sailing, at the same time as managing and supporting others through it and maintaining a sound framework for our digital presence? Come along and explore wicked problems and clumsy solutions; discuss the differences between leadership, management and governance; find out what type of leader you are; explore the skills needed to be a Digital Leader today; and see how small wins, standards and policies just might navigate you through the chaos.

Finally, it is worth mentioning one session which might, on the face of it, seem slightly surprising:

  • Web 101: Are you a manager of a digital team? Do you run your organisation’s web team? Or perhaps you work in such a team and have responsibilities for content, user support, user needs analysis, etc.  And perhaps you sometimes are confused by the language used by your technical colleagues and find it difficult to discuss technical developments with them. If so, this session is for you!

We hope that the wide range of sessions available will address the broad needs for those working in web and digital teams across the higher education sector.

Note that bookings for the event are still open – but bookings will close on 30 June!