Start with people: Sheffield Hallam University’s digital learning transformation project

“Digital learning at Sheffield Hallam has been on a long journey,” says Dr Alison Purvis, associate dean for learning, teaching and student success at Sheffield Hallam University (SHU). She’s been involved in that journey since 2016 and is emphatic that, whatever the ups and downs, it must always start with people.

SHU’s Digital Learning Transformation Project (DLTP) is a two-year cross-institutional project. It started in 2023 and focuses on the digital transformation of the learning experience to improve that experience for students, rather than attempting wide-scale digital transformation of all aspects of the organisation.

Alison says:

“In a nutshell, it's about giving our students the digital skills and capabilities and, most importantly, the digital confidence to be able to operate in a world that is very digitally enabled and enhanced.”

Boosting employability

SHU is one of the UK’s largest and most diverse universities, with a community of 35,000 students and 4,500 staff. With a high proportion of widening participation students in the undergraduate body, employability skills are taken seriously. Making sure students have the confidence to learn and work digitally, so that they are in the best possible place for their learning experience and graduate outcomes, is a fundamental element of the project.

For Professor Helen Scott, who was pro vice-chancellor for learning, teaching and student success at SHU until November 2024, there is also an alignment with equity concerns.

“If we don't equip our students with these skills then we're really doing them a disservice – students feeling confident with their digital skills is a matter of social equity. That's not spoken about very much and it should be. If we're not teaching students those skills and helping them to understand that they've got them, then they're not going to have the confidence to apply for different kinds of jobs.”

Transformation for everyone

But, of course, it’s not only students who need to feel confident with digital skills and tools. That’s why a central element in the DLTP is working with staff – and that includes leaders – on their own digital skills so in their delivery they can be role models of digital confidence for students.

Professor Liz Mossop, SHU vice-chancellor acknowledges:

“I'm somebody who's always embraced digital technology, but I do know that for some people it's a bit of a scary thing."

“It can be a shift in their practice. It can feel like a lot of additional work. So leadership and role modelling is crucial to say, look, it's not as bad as you think it is, and here's a good example of where it's worked really well.”

Given that behind every tool and every piece of technology is a person who is expected to deliver the technology and new way of working, Liz emphasises that:

“it’s really important for us to look collectively and holistically at the whole picture, and particularly work with our community to ensure everybody understands what we're trying to achieve and we take people on that journey with us.”

Using our digital transformation framework

To ensure that holistic approach, SHU used our digital transformation toolkit. The team, who took part in our research pilot to explore how they used the toolkit, began by using the framework to cross check and map against their DLTP activities and identify any gaps. While the framework’s six elements didn’t map exactly to their strategy, there were clear parallels that made it easy to translate and adapt across. The team also used the maturity model to create adapted versions of their workstream plans, selecting specific sub-elements that spoke to their needs.

As part of the project, we supported an on-site workshop attended by about 50 people from the various stakeholder groups, including staff from libraries, digital learning development and IT services as well as teaching staff. It was critical that senior leaders took part – but also students. “They can really test and challenge your thinking so having their voice is really, really important,” says Helen.

While ‘It’s all about people’ is a common refrain in digital transformation programmes, the team at SHU are insistent that it really is, as Alison attests:

“The project's been about persuasion, negotiation, talking, and it's often that conversation that results in the change. It's in the conversations we've had throughout the project with colleagues, students and Jisc where we've understood where our biggest challenges are, where we've got our advocates and how we make all of this change happen.”

What’s been achieved

That broad and holistic stakeholder engagement, which is essential for the delivery of the institutional-level transformational change SHU has achieved with its DLTP, is reflected in the success of the project so far.

In the first year SHU achieved 14 key outcomes in the first phase of the DLTP, including:

Establishing a method to strategically review digital learning infrastructure for teaching and learning
Running a digital learning transformation development day for leaders
Developing guidance for staff engaging in online synchronous learning
Creating and refining principles of inclusive digital learning and ways to address digital poverty
Embedding use of the Jisc digital capabilities discovery tool into student induction activities from September 2024

The team is already seeing evidence of the DLTP’s success via improvements in digital learning and teaching practice, increased confidence in online learning and teaching, and more efficient and effective use of physical and virtual space and resources.

Building on earlier foundations

It’s a stark contrast to five years earlier. Then, Alison had outlined a similar project that focused on a framework for learning, but it didn’t engage sufficient senior leadership interest to progress further. This time, the understanding and engagement of executive-level leadership helped to create interest and allocate resource.

“I often talk about a failed attempt to get digital learning off the ground. But looking back it wasn't really a failed attempt – it helped to provide the foundation for what we're doing right now. Knowing that having those skills, capability and confidence would help colleagues and students enjoy the learning experience so much more is what was driving me forward.”

The confidence that using the Jisc digital transformation toolkit brought also made a difference.

Liz says:

“We are stronger as a sector when we work together, and particularly when we work with expertise within that sector. That's where Jisc comes in. It's credible, it's helpful, it's full of information that we all need, and it encourages us to work actively together across the sector to share practice and share ideas with others.”

Vice-chancellor Professor Liz Mossop’s top tips

Find your superstars, the ones who are already thinking about this and desperate to do it. Build a movement – that enthusiasm and engagement for something new and innovative can often encourage other people to join in
Be clear about what you're trying to achieve. Don't change just for change's sake. Really think about what it is you're trying to do
Plan how you can get your organisation to support your specific project and be clear about the benefits
Find exemplars to help your case – that’s where working with an organisation like Jisc is helpful
Be brave!