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Universities face many challenges in today’s volatile financial and digital landscape. Among these are the growing financial issues around managing and operating their growing estates efficiently. A round table discussion, held in partnership with Siemens at the 2025 ɫ��ֱ�� Digital Universities UK event, brought together senior leaders from the UK higher education sector to discuss the role of digital solutions in driving innovation and efficiency on campus. 

“Universities can use digital solutions to address the topic of sustainability – to become more financially sustainable and enhance the student experience,” one participant said. “This enables institutions to differentiate themselves in the market and attract and retain more students.”

A participant spoke about the challenges presented by silos within institutions, in areas ranging from data management to space utilisation: “Technology can tackle that because it is ubiquitous irrespective of what the organisational structures look like.” Another participant echoed this point: “When it comes to digitalisation, the worst thing you can have is 50 different reports that could be intelligent together but are all siloed.” 

A representative from a UK university said that their institution prioritises user outcomes within its academic community, clustering them into pillars such as sustainability, well-being and energy. These pillars determine the data that the institution needs to collect and report on, which informs the university’s technological systems. 

The round-table participants also discussed the difficulty in integrating data sources. “It is all about linking the data,” one attendee said. For example, their university has a digital initiative that links its timetabling software with the heating system to improve energy efficiency and reduce costs. “It takes you one step beyond reporting.” 

While universities have access to vast amounts of data, presentation and usability are crucial to leveraging it effectively. The discussion highlighted the importance of digital and data literacy among staff. “There’s very little democratisation around decision-making using data because there aren’t lots of people who know how to use it properly,” a participant said. “We aren’t getting fully rounded or holistic decisions on matters where people who don’t have those skills aren’t able to contribute.”

Technological solutions are being installed widely in higher education as part of the sector’s ongoing digitalisation. However, a challenge is that often the people who install the tools know how to use them, but the staff at the receiving end may not, one participant said. 

For digital transformation to be successful, institutions must adopt a user-informed strategy and incorporate stakeholder input as early in the process as possible, the participants agreed. Digitalisation touches everything, the participants agreed. The earlier institutions start engaging with stakeholders and understanding their priorities and key challenges, the more they can see the benefits.

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