Tech Takes - the infrastructure podcast for education

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Jisc: for the future of education and research
For more than 30 years, Jisc has pioneered digital solutions for UK education and research, transforming how knowledge is created, shared and used. As a not-for-profit membership organisation, we deliver value in four key areas. We provide digital, data and technology solutions to meet sector-specific needs; we save our members money through sustainable shared services; we build communities for shared learning; and we offer intelligence on emerging trends to future-proof our members.
https://www.jisc.ac.uk/
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Join Rob Evans, Chief network architect at Jisc, to gain a clearer understanding of how to assess whether your current connectivity is helping or holding back your organisation.
Jisc: for the future of education and research For more than 30 years, Jisc has pioneered digital solutions for UK education and research, transforming how knowledge is created, shared and used. As a not-for-profit membership organisation, we deliver value in four key areas. We provide digital, data and technology solutions to meet sector-specific needs; we save our members money through sustainable shared services; we build communities for shared learning; and we offer intelligence on emerging trends to future-proof our members. https://www.jisc.ac.uk/ __________________________
Follow us on social media: Instagram: instagram.com/jiscsocial/ Facebook: facebook.com/jiscsocial/ LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/jisc/ Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/jisc.bsky.so...

Tech Takes: Solihull College and University Centre Unplugged
Solihull College and University Centre tests cyber resilience through "unplugged days", exploring how teaching and operations continue without access to IT systems.
This episode explores Solihull College and University Centre's cyber attack simulations, including full IT shutdowns and ransomware-style scenarios. It covers planning, leadership buy-in, and how staff and students adapted without digital tools.
Ellie and Dave highlight cultural change, shared responsibility for resilience, and practical lessons learned, from safeguarding and communication to offline resources and recovery processes, helping prepare both staff and learners for real-world cyber incidents.
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Join the Jisc cyber threat intelligence team as they explore North Korean APT43's attacks on UK research institutions.
North Korean APT43, also known as Kimsuky, is actively targeting UK education and research institutions, focusing on academics working on geopolitics, nuclear policy, and North Korean affairs. In this Tech Takes: Quick Takes episode, Jisc's cyber threat intelligence team explains the group's motivations and how they use tactics like spear phishing and adversary-in-the-middle attacks to compromise accounts and steal sensitive data.
The team shares real-world incidents and outlines practical defences, including stronger email security, DMARC policies, MFA, EDR tools, and user awareness training. With APT43's campaigns posing risks to research integrity and national security, this episode highlights why a layered defence strategy is essential for UK institutions.
Show notes
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Episode guest
Clive Bream – Cyber threat intelligence analyst
James Ellor – Cyber threat intelligence analyst
 
Episode Host
George Bloor – Senior cyber threat intelligence analyst

Discover key learnings and observations on working with passive cooled DC and why heat recovery is a clear solution for your next data centre.
Join Daniel Traynor, Queen Mary University of London, and Simon Atack, University of Birmingham, for a two-part episode of Tech Takes, recorded live at Networkshop 2025.
First, explore a successful data centre refurbishment project. Queen Mary University of London (QMUL) has recently finished refurbishing one of its data centres, using heat recovery into a district heating system. After 20 years of operation, the original data centre was in need of significant refurbishment with a growing awareness of climate change and need to increase the capacity to support big science in our case the ATLAS experiment at the LHC collider in CERN.
In our second half of the episode, we explore the insights and observations around direct liquid cooling systems. Discover some of the key reasons why you should think about direct liquid cooling systems as the future for your data centre. Consider consequences that rarely get thought about/missed that could become very important for the future of internet of things. Explore the consequences of bad planning/maintenance.
Show notes
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Episode guest
Daniel Traynor, senior grid cluster manager, Queen Mary University of London
Simon Atack, principal research infrastructure engineer, University of Birmingham