Juniper recently had the opportunity to host a stellar event attended by innovative leaders in higher education networking.
The Juniper Networks Global Higher Education Summit provided a comprehensive platform for industry leaders and experts from Juniper to share insights, challenges, and innovative solutions related to digital transformation in the education sector.
Reliability, simplicity, and secure connectivity in higher education IT networks is the foundation of innovative services and experiences for college and university students, as well as faculty. Recently, there has been a significant shift toward AI in networking and its potential benefits for educational institutions.
COVID-19 challenges still have an impact
The days of COVID may seem like a distant memory, but both our guests from UK institutions shared how those times gave their institutions time to think differently about user experiences. They’re also exploring how their network infrastructures could make an evolutionary leap forward in support of new applications and changing requirements, such as a new emphasis on sustainability.
Kevin Mortimer, head of operations at the University of Reading, shared his experiences managing IT infrastructure operations. Kevin candidly acknowledged the challenges posed by inherited technical debt due to past lack of investments, stating, “My remit has been quite challenging since the COVID period… there’s lots of technical debt that I’ve inherited.”
Alex Israel, senior infrastructure architect for IT product development at the University of Plymouth, also shared his perspective. He emphasized the broader implications of technology infrastructure, stating, “It’s not just about Wi-Fi, it’s about the experiences that the network enables for staff, faculty, and students.” This sentiment underscored the importance of focusing on the overall impact of technology rather than just the infrastructure itself. Check out this cool video featuring Alex and the University of Plymouth, where he says students would rather have Wi-Fi than lights!
Digital transformations are easier with Juniper
Throughout the summit, discussions included campus applications, such as wayfinding and integration with HVAC systems to support sustainability, and the need for institutions to consider staff skill sets and invest in training, particularly when transitioning to new technologies and migrating from Cisco to Juniper.
A pivotal discussion point revolved around the transformation of applications to enhance organizational experiences, student applications, and campus engagement. This highlighted the ongoing efforts to innovate and digitalize processes, aiming to provide a more seamless and engaging experience for all stakeholders.
Our conversations also delved into the shift from legacy networks to AI-Native Networking, leveraging data to improve both operations and experiences. Several speakers and guests shared their insights on transitioning and upgrading networks to meet the modern demands of education, providing practical examples of how they navigated these changes.
Brian Dourty, Chief Technology Officer from the University of Texas at Dallas, shared how his research-focused institution started a networking refresh with the goal of all campus buildings being connected at 100Gigabit. Their legacy equipment regularly created bottlenecks, and the tech-savvy students would respond with complaints on Reddit and social media.
“We completed the upgrade with Juniper Mist™ and our access layer; we just don’t show up there anymore.” he said.
Problems solved in minutes with Marvis
Alex at the University of Plymouth also shared an impressive anecdote. He noted that summertime, between classes, is often a time to install new equipment. He and his team were installing new printers and door access equipment on campus and were getting errors that they couldn’t pinpoint. Juniper’s virtual network assistant, Marvis™, came to the rescue and identified a problem that was solved with a specific server reboot.
“I think that would have taken hours of people’s time to look at before,” he said. “And I think, over time, for us, that trust is growing. The delight is microservices of the Mist Cloud.”
From legacy headaches to mind-blowing experiences
It was great to hear others validate Juniper’s strategies. Our Juniper Networks Global Higher Education Summit provided a collaborative and insightful platform for industry experts to exchange ideas, share best practices, and inspire innovation in higher education IT infrastructure.
If you didn’t get a chance to attend, tune in to this on-demand version. If you’re entrusted with the connections that deliver non-stop learning, you owe it to yourself and your institution to learn from these insights. It’s an exciting time for digital transformation in the education sector!
