Possible changes within SDU’s digital organisation

At the end of May, Jacob-Steen Madsen, CIO/Head of SDU IT, will be leaving SDU to take up his new position as manager of DKCERT from 1 June.

DKCERT helps universities manage IT threats and protect the research network. DKCERT performs vulnerability scans, operates an information service for research network users and also operates a DPO data protection service. As manager of DKCERT, Jacob-Steen Madsen will be responsible for supporting the needs of universities in relation to the myriad of IT security threats that have emerged in recent years. DKCERT is located under the auspices of DEIC (the Danish e-Infrastructure Consortium).

Jacob-Steen Madsen joined SDU on 1 March 2020, and since 1 April 2020 he has been responsible for establishing, developing and running SDU IT.

- First and foremost, we congratulate Jacob on his appointment as manager of DKCERT. With great commitment and skill, Jacob has ensured that SDU has an efficient service and operating organisation in the IT area. At the same time, Jacob has been a great role model for SDU’s solution- and collaboration-oriented culture. I would like to say a very big thank you to Jacob for his great efforts. I am pleased that SDU will continue to have the pleasure of collaborating with Jacob under the auspices of DKCERT, says University Director Thomas Buchvald Vind.

His time as Head of Division for SDU IT has been characterised by many changes and transitions.

- At SDU, it has been my privilege to head SDU IT for a good four years, ever since the new digital organisation was established. We started by dealing with the COVID-19 lockdowns, and that was the first time I saw the dedication and skill of the employees in SDU’s IT service and operating organisation. Since then, we’ve been through adjustments, the Ukraine crisis, reorganisation and more. All along, the core value ‘a robust foundation’ and the ambition to be ‘user-centric’ have been at the centre. When it comes to safety, I’m incredibly happy and proud of the strides with have made in a relatively short time. I have thoroughly enjoyed the collaborative efforts in and around SDU IT, says Jacob-Steen Madsen.

At the end of May, there will be an opportunity to say goodbye to Jacob-Steen Madsen at an event.

Considerations for the digital organisation

On 1 April 2020, SDU’s new digital organisation consisting of two new areas in the Central Administration came into effect: SDU IT and SDU Digital.

Within the digital organisation, SDU IT is responsible for operations and user support as well as ensuring a robust IT foundation, while SDU Digital is responsible for development and digitalisation work across faculties and areas in the Central Administration.

The overall digital organisation rests on five common pillars: User-centricity, Responsiveness, Coherence, Competence awareness and Robust foundations.

Since the establishment of the digital organisation on 1 April 2020, SDU has seen a significant development within digitalisation and IT. New tasks related to information security, data protection, online activities and major system renewals have become increasingly important.

The next few years will see a flurry of new digital solutions, some of which are based on new technological possibilities, including AI, and a new student administration system will be implemented. In addition, the move from running the University’s own systems on its own servers in the basement to more standardised cloud-based services will continue. These shifts will place new demands on how the digital organisation and the rest of the University perform tasks over the next few years.

- Since 2020, both SDU IT and SDU Digital have made significant efforts to make SDU more digital and more secure. The changes have already been significant, and I expect the University’s digital transformation to continue in the years to come. In particular, the demands for more rapid reorganisations will increase to gain the desired improvements from new digital solutions faster and better.

- I am therefore considering integrating SDU Digital and SDU IT into a single area in the Central Administration. This will allow us to build on the strengths of the two areas and exploit the opportunities for us to bring digitalisation, development, application and operations even closer together for the benefit of users and the University’s continued digital development. I expect to make a final decision on the organisational structure by mid-May at the latest, after I have had the opportunity to conduct a series of dialogues across the organisation, says University Director Thomas Buchvald Vind.