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Andy Heap is IT lead for the ION-DRI programme and Head of Faculty IT at Faculty of Brain Sciences

I am the Head of Faculty IT (HoFIT) for Brain Sciences. A lofty title which is best translated as the business partner for Brain Sciences within the Information Services Division (ISD). I sit on both the Strategic Delivery Group and Steering Committee and chair the ISD IoN-DRI Board.

Aside from a stint at Child Health and another one at the Bartlett, covering for vacant roles, my UCL life has been with Brain Sciences. I joined the faculty in 2002 as the deputy manager for what was then the IoN Computer Unit, located in the basement of No.7 Queen Square. 

Back then you could point at the email and storage servers – they were beige boxes in the corner, and they served a few hundred devices attached to the IoN network. Roll forward 21 years and most IT services are being delivered via the Cloud or dedicated data centres and there are several thousand connected devices on the IoN network alone! 

Having robust central IT services is a huge advantage when it comes to commissioning new buildings and/or moving research groups. One of my key aims is to ensure that where possible, existing services are utilised to minimise duplication of equipment, effort and cost. 

“The hard work over the next year will be refining the ways in which IT can enable staff, researchers and clinicians to collaborate easily and securely, using desktop, mobile device, lab equipment or MRI scanner....For me, this is the most exciting aspect of the programme – bringing together different groups and individuals, understanding their goals and working out ways in which IT can be utilised fully to help achieve them

Twenty years ago, I would have had to create a local solution for an IT problem.  These days I don’t get to ‘do’ as much IT as I used to and, on the rare occasions I step in to help, I’m quickly moved on by people who do it regularly, and faster. Thankfully UCL has a plethora of IT experts on hand – and it’s wonderful to work with the likes of Aaron Compton, Dan Beilby, Stephen Ball and Sam Pettinger on a range of programme workstreams, focusing on four main areas. 

One of the main challenges we’re looking at is shared occupancy – working out all the ways in which the IT for the IoN-DRI programme can be delivered seamlessly for all three of our partners UCL, UKDRI and UCLH without the need to have separate systems for each organisation. Technically, it all seems possible, but there’s the small matter of governance that makes it challenging!

In a similar vein, we’re also working in conjunction with the Advanced Research Computing Centre (ARC) on a scientific platform –a unified data science platform that connects and supports the activities of IoN-DRI researchers.

“the IoN-DRI programme isn’t just about delivering a shiny new building. It’s changing the way in which the IoN operates

There’s a whole range of programme initiatives being put in place to find new ways of working. Many of these, including projects to improve the way we manage equipment, handle samples and order supplies rely on IT, so we’re working closely with the project team on these.  

Arguably the most critical activity we’re involved in is infrastructure ensuring that the IT fabric of the programme is capable of delivering world-class IT services, with enough connectivity and bandwidth to support data-intensive research activities and hassle-free technology in labs, workspaces and meeting rooms. 

But for me, a key element of the IoN-DRI programme is that it isn’t just delivering a shiny new building. It’s changing the way in which the IoN operates and the dual hub aspect of the programme is just as important.  We’ve already started a review of Queen Square House connectivity and we will be reviewing the other Institute locations over the coming months. 

In many ways, the infrastructure planning is the easy bit.  The hard work over the next year will be refining the ways in which IT can enable staff, researchers and clinicians to collaborate easily and securely, using desktop, mobile device, lab equipment or MRI scanner, and doing so within budget! For me, this is the most exciting aspect of the programme – bringing together different groups and individuals, understanding their goals and working out ways in which IT can be utilised fully to help achieve them.