April marks the start of the regular Advisory Group work following the excitement of Alliance and the boost to energy and enthusiasm levels that the conference gives us all.
Already the Advisory Groups are busy on behalf of their communities. Across our Campus Solutions PAGs there have been some very detailed discussions about the fluid interface previewed at Alliance. There have also been some great discussions in one PAG about the needs of global members and in other about the needs of a group of institutions in the US. There has been in depth engagement from Oracle on both of these discussions and it has been great to see the HEUG’s ADVOCACY mission in action! Across our other PAGs there’s been more engagement with Oracle in respect of detailed requirements gathering for some enhancement requests. There’s also been work in terms of the HEUG’s EDUCATION mission with discussion of potential webinar topics and some setting up of focus groups and also some active management of community listservs.
In addition to all this work with and on behalf of their communities the Advisory Groups are also busy finalising their goals for the year. This planning exercise is important to me as VP Product but also to my colleagues on the Board so that we can ensure the HEUG as a whole organisation continues to fulfil its mission, but it should also be important to our wider membership – the Advisory Group goals should reflect the needs of our community, so the more you engage with HEUG online (the forums, the webinars, the blogs, the PET…) the better the PAGs and TAG can understand your priorities and work with the Board and with Oracle on your behalf. So, my advice: USE HEUG ONLINE!