Google blog mention.
We have recently celebrated Unitec going live with Google Apps for their 44,000 students. This was our largest education migration project to date!
In the photo: the Google Apps go-live celebration, with the Unitec IT project team members posing with the “Gmail Cake”.
Hapara became involved very early, and so we had a role in a number of discussions about the potential benefits of Google Apps to a tertiary institution like Unitec and alignment with the strategic direction of the Institute: enhancing student experience, innovation in teaching and learning, meeting the needs of communities, and being an excellent business. Google Apps is an excellent match on all four fronts.
Once Unitec made the formal decision to move to Google Apps, we worked with Unitec’s IT team to develop a project plan and identify the key risks. We set up a Google Sites space for the project stakeholders so everyone had full visibility to where we’re at throughout the implementation. Many of the issues dealt with in the initial phases of the project were policy issues rather than technical challenges, and we worked with the IT leadership team to support their decision-making around these.
More about the mechanics of the migration and some other interesting tidbits will be coming in a follow-up post. Of note: Unitec is using Access Manager!
Unitec’s press release:
Unitec and Google band together to give students better experience
30 April 2010
Unitec Institute of Technology students have been enjoying the benefits of Gmail and Google Apps over the past few months thanks to a new agreement between the institute and the Internet giant.
Through Google Apps, Unitec’s 23,000 students can access their email accounts, instant message others, share calendars, collaborate on student projects, and share videos, all by logging onto “mail.wairaka.com” from anywhere in the world.
Unitec Chief Executive, Dr Rick Ede welcomes the Google additions and says it fits well with a number of the institute’s strategies – enhancing student experience, innovation in teaching and learning, meeting the needs of communities, and being an excellent business.
“Our aim is to provide our students with a unique experience that they can benefit from when they graduate, and this is one way we believe we can achieve that objective,” says Dr Ede.
“We are still to fully exploit the potential of using Web 2.0 and other technology tools in the overall learning and workplace environment.
“By making this move into cloud computing, we hope to work together with our students as we both explore and benefit from this exciting new development.
“I’m also excited about the possibilities this creates for maintaining an ongoing relationship with our students when they become alumni.”
Unitec’s Director of Information Technology, Peter Winquist agrees.
“With the introduction of Google Apps, we have been able to leapfrog capabilities for our students and provide them with a leading edge toolset for collaboration and communication.”
Unitec’s IT systems have been set up so that when a new student identification is created, a Google Gmail account is automatically created to allow students to access all of Google’s functionalities.
Mr Winquist says the new applications will make it easier to stay in contact with students during and after their time at Unitec.
“This allows us to give alumni an email address for life – to maintain contact with them no matter where they have moved to around New Zealand or the world.”
Unitec has been working closely with Hapara, a local Google reseller, in setting up the new system.
“We were fortunate to work with Hapara who provided the specialist integration and migration expertise and worked with our team to develop a sustainable support model and capability in-house.”
Alan Noble, Google’s Head of Engineering for Australia and New Zealand, says “It’s fantastic to see leading educational institutions like Unitec embrace and build on solutions that reflect the way their students communicate, learn and share.
“Google was developed at a university and a commitment to education and learning is part of our DNA, which is why we’re so pleased to see Unitec and other tertiary institutions in Australia and New Zealand making the most of our tools.”
Disclaimer: Unitec’s press release references Cloudbreak, as we used to be known. Cloudbreak is now Hapara.