It’s easy to picture ISS as a group of computer geeks in novelty T-Shirts locked away in a basement somewhere, working hard on black screens with green text. What’s not easy is what they actually do.

In late April I shadowed Steve Williams, head of ISS. The day started out with a Service Management meeting with updates from around campus. It was very educational and I am happy to report that after three years at the university I finally understand how the photocopier in the library works! Shame it will be changing, although the new system sounds as if it will be far more efficient (and user-friendly!). Interesting point to raise here is how well ISS works with other departments, as this system whilst easy to ship off as a “computing problem”, has many other factors to consider when attempting to integrate it.

It may sound obvious, but no matter how perfect a system is, if people don’t take it on, it isn’t any good to anyone. ISS are very aware of this and, as I have witnessed, work hard to make sure that the systems they work hard to develop are correctly introduced into each delicate ecosystem. How this is done ranges greatly from working with the library (in the case of a new photocopying system) to contacting student and staff representatives from almost all of the university departments.

Of course, the integrated systems and services in place are also in need of constant maintenance and updating. The ISS headed a project that armed students with iPads and had them sweep campus to report back on Wi-Fi availability and signal strength. As a mobile user myself I was glad to see that ISS places heavy importance not only on providing new and exciting technology but also updating and providing the best service of that which is already in place. My only question being: where is my iPad?

I have come to learn that ISS is a very multifaceted department. So far I’ve talked about integrating a new photocopying system and Wi-Fi problems, which are to be expected really. Bet you didn’t expect me to talk about Health & Safety and concerns about the university’s reputation and recruitment process. I think it’s important to take the time to mention these things, because ISS really does do a whole lot more than just concern themselves with making computers work. – Although obviously this is important too!

Next was a meeting at the Civic Centre with what should have been representatives from the two Newcastle Universities, City Council and the Northumbria Police. Suffice it to say that certain representatives simply did not show. However, despite attendance being at 50% the meeting was enjoyable. The topic was certainly something I didn’t expect to see being discussed, but I think the willingness to communicate, learn and teach one another is a testament to the versatility of ISS. Certainly in discussions around the controversial attendance monitoring issue that surfaced throughout the day, ISS have proved both flexible and patient. One lesson I learned is that pointing out a problem is easy, it’s what comes next that is challenging.

The day ended fabulously as free drinks and tasty snacks are never a bad thing! The Vice-Chancellor’s “Celebrating Success” event was a lovely way to end the day. It even saw two of ISS’s own be celebrated for going beyond what was expected of them, which was great to see.

I was able to witness a range of different interactions. These spanned from the delicate discussions surrounding the ethics of attendance monitoring and the problem of implementing a monitoring system all the way to whether or not shared IT services are viable. All in all I think the day was a success. Unlike Steve, who had previously shadowed me, I didn’t have any clear intent when I signed up for the shadowing program. The experience was much like exploring the road not taken, as I’d considered a university education geared more towards techy jobs when I left school. There were many little lessons learned, some of which I’ve shared above. I certainly will never look at computing services the same again now that I have had a look at what goes on in the basement of Claremont Tower.