TechNova 2026: Roadmap
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Implementation Roadmap
TechNova 2026 will be implemented in three phases over the coming years. Each phase builds upon the last to ensure sustainable progress.
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Goal #1:ÌýEnable Exceptional Student Experiences
- Conduct student focus groups to identify most-needed services, features and checklist opportunities
- Create user personas to map critical student milestones for undergraduate, graduate, online and continuing ed student experiences and guide interface design
- In partnership with University Communications and Marketing, complete assessment of the functionality in the existing University website platform
- Pilot AI Chatbot:ÌýIdentify common student questions across departments for initial knowledge base (and design supporting conversation flows).
- Create mobile-first design templates compliant with accessibility standards (E.g., WebCAG 2.0, 2.1, or 2.2)
- Evaluate virtual desktop environment and plan enhancements
- Create a tiered review process and standardized criteria to evaluate proposals for pilot educational technologies (includes procurement, funding strategy, security, etc.)
- Inventory currently available technology and assess faculty interest and future plans
- Develop introductory workshops, basic documentation, and consultation services for technology selection and project planning
- Conduct accessibility compliance audit and embed accessibility considerations in procurement processes
- Design a notification system for personalized alerts and reminders
- Expand chatbot functionality to include basic Agentic AI features, enabling the chatbot to autonomously identify when a stakeholder’s needs extend beyond a simple response and take proactive stepsÌýsuch as scheduling appointments, sending reminders, or pre-filling service request forms
- Implement heat-mapping and user journey analytics for web utilization to identify navigation pain points
- Implement automated monitoring and scaling and automated pipelines to deploy academic software
- Develop an integration framework for successful pilots to become on-going services
- Partner with VITAL to develop and support course design frameworks, assignment templates, and faculty learning communities for curriculum integration
- Adopt shared standards and an integrated refresh schedule for all Villanova learning spaces (central and locally managed)
- Develop an aaccessibility toolkit, assessment metrics, and dashboard for universal design tools and accessibility monitoring
- Create an assessment tool to evaluate long-term checklist effectiveness and plan for adopting new SIS functionality in lieu of checklists
- Adopt AI-driven personalization based on student behavior patterns
- Evolve the chatbot toward early forms of Physical AI by integrating it into smart campus environments (e.g., kiosks, digital signage, interactive campus wayfindingÌýstations) where stakeholders can interact verbally and physically with AI agents
- Establish regular web usability and accessibility testing protocol with diverse student populations
- Implement dynamic web content personalization based on user profiles
- Create a comprehensive digital accessibility initiative across all platforms
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Goal #2:ÌýExpand Support for Research and Scholarship
- In partnership with the Office of the Provost, confirm full scope of desired centralized Research Computing Services based on comprehensive faculty needs assessment
- Recruit and hire Director of Research Computing Services
- Evaluate the current high performance computing (HPC) environment and assess needs for additional resources
- Implement university-wide cloud computing access program available to faculty and students
- Deploy DoD-compliant collaboration environment for restricted research
- Create a tool or information site to guide researchers to the optimal storage solution based on the classification of their data
- Establish faculty research computing advisory committee with cross-college representation
- Create a comprehensive service catalog of available resources
- Develop standardized research computing orientation for new faculty
- Centralize management of common research software licenses
- Complete hiring or retraining of a full research computing team
- Implement pre-award support for computational aspects of grants
- Deploy next-generation HPC cluster with specialized hardware
- Implement tiered research data storage with automated backup
- Partner with Research Administration and Library to support research data management planning
- Deploy high-speed, encrypted data transfer solutions
- Create a self-service portal for custom virtual environments
- Launch workshop series on foundational topics and application of use for research software applications
- Facilitate collaborations with industry and government partners
- Join or establish a regional research computing consortium
- Create an internal funding program for computational research
- Implement secure research data commons platform
- Develop research workflow automation tools
- Establish infrastructure to create secure connections with specialized lab equipment
- Establish a data science consulting team for analysis and visualization
- Host annual research computing symposium showcasing computational research
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Goal #3:ÌýFacilitate Digital Processes and Data-Informed Decisions
- Assess and build readiness to modernize the ERP
- Build change management capabilities to support technology platform and process changes
- Select a new data repository
- Expand support and standardize tools to create digital processes
- Provide workshops, training and guidelines to support ethical and effective uses of AI in operations
- Integrate data governance with IT governance and expand data quality initiatives
- Confirm ERP replacement or upgrade strategy and confirm technology solution(s)
- Establish a staffing plan to support ERP implementation
- Implement new data repository and begin consolidating legacy data marts
- Expand training for data stewards and users
- Begin implementation of ERP replacement
- Develop a strategy to sustain Banner during the transition
- Evaluate/confirm necessity to license generative AI platform(s) for the university
- Assess migrating additional data marts and reporting tools to new repository
- Implement replacement finance and human resource management solution
- Begin implementing a new student information system
- Continue integrating additional data sources to the new data repository and retiring legacy data marts and tools
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Goal #4: PursueÌýIT Operational Excellence
- Establish revised IT decision-making structure Implement new organizational structure,Ìýidentity, vision and values for IT
- Create research computing and cloud supportÌýteams in IT
- Review applications inventory and identifyÌýoptimization opportunities
- Expand service catalog and make it easier toÌýrequest services and solutions
- Introduce product owners and product support teams that integrate experts from central andÌýembedded IT groups
- Develop identity and access managementÌýmodernization strategy
- Complete upgrades to Cabrini technology andÌýbegin to plan Rosemont upgrades
- Create IT workforce development program
- Complete identity and access managementÌýimplementation
- Advanced security threat detectionÌýcapabilities
- Optimize application portfolio
- Migrate additional platforms andÌýapplications to the cloud
- Enhance IT project planning and projectÌýmanagement capabilities
- Continue expanding adoption of serviceÌýmanagement platform
- Implement phased upgrades to coreÌýinfrastructure at Rosemont
- Continue to progress towards Zero Trust security architecture and risk
based authentication policies - Expand insider threat detectionÌýcapabilities
- Plan the decommissioning of thirdÌýparty colocation data center