How lean can nurture the relationship between educators and students
At the University of Winchester, academics are working with professional services to improve the student and staff experience. Dr Tammi Sinha, one of the academics in the HE continuous improvement unit, describes the benefits of lean approaches from the perspective of an educator.
Learning lean in a lean way
Higher education professionals from across the world met in Stirling last month to discuss approaches to lean. Vincent Wiegel shares his reflections of an event attracting a growing number of delegates each year.
Lean and research support systems: lessons learned
Lean is used in many institutions to improve processes in professional services from improving exam logistics to the running of counselling services. At Northumbria University, they are also applying lean techniques to research management processes, as David Young explains.
How a smaller institution can make a worldwide impact using lean
An institution’s size does not have to limit its ambition, as the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland is proving. The college, ranked in the top 250 of the Times Higher Education (THE) world rankings, is using Lean to help it achieve its goals in a complicated environment, as Doreen Gilfedder explains.
The importance of evidencing improvement
How do you evidence the benefits of work you have done to improve processes in your institution? The University of Strathclyde has developed a guide and training on evidencing benefits and business improvement manager Nicola Cairns shares some of that expertise in this post.
Operational efficiency: learning from Leicester City’s Premiership success
What can universities learn from Leicester City Football Club’s Premiership success? Perhaps more than you realise. On the AHUA blog, Alison Kennell, university secretary at York St John University discusses parallels identified between football management and institutional efficiency in a recent project to introduce lean processes.
Lean leadership: five steps to get the best from yourself and others
How do you create the right conditions for lean to flourish? The University of Strathclyde’s John Hogg outlines five key behaviours that will help to foster a lean approach in higher education.
How to create a lean team
Institutions implementing a lean strategy need to think carefully about who will support it. The University of Sheffield’s Rachel McAssey explains some of the elements that make up a successful lean team.
Making lean an integral part of existing change agendas
The University of Aberdeen has been using lean methods since 2009 establishing its own business improvement team in 2012. Pat Browne, who heads up the team, explains why finding a good fit, aligned with the institution’s priorities, is crucial to directing resources and making a difference.
Demystifying lean
To the unfamiliar, lean with its glossary of Japanese terms can appear daunting. But in the second part of our series on lean methods, consultant Christine Stewart argues that lean is actually relatively simple - and using fancy stationery can help with understanding.
