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1Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems2Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches3Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsIn a 24 March 2025 interview, Birkbeck’s interim CIO Sean Green described a familiar university challenge: improving the digital experience for students while working within constrained income and maintaining essential systems. His account covered Hyflex teaching, a planned virtual reality lab, legacy software and network renewal—but the rollout dates and job title reported then should not be read as confirmation of current status or completed projects.
What Sean Green said about Birkbeck’s technology challenge
Computer Weekly’s Karl Flinders reported that Green’s remit included IT services, information governance, library services and digital education, which connects academic teaching staff with technology. The interview described him as leading 150 IT staff at a university with about 10,000 students.
Green framed the financial pressure in terms of student income: “Student income drives our ability to spend money needed to invest in tech, but there is less money.” He cited demographic change, alternative education routes and visa restrictions as pressures on the sector. He also said international student numbers after Covid were up to 30% lower; that is his statement in the interview, not an independently verified sector-wide statistic.
How Birkbeck planned to improve classroom participation
Green described Hyflex teaching as a more interactive way to bring together students in the classroom and those joining remotely, using multiple screens and cameras. It is intended to connect the two groups rather than treat remote participation as a simple broadcast.
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In the March 2025 interview, Green said Birkbeck was investing to equip three-quarters of classrooms with Hyflex capability by autumn, and that all of his classes would be able to use it by the middle of the following year. These were targets reported at the time; the interview does not establish whether they were subsequently met.
What the planned virtual reality lab was for
Green said Birkbeck was building a virtual reality lab to create experiences for specific courses, with the possibility of also using off-the-shelf academic content. The interview did not name a headset, platform, supplier or content title, so it does not support a recommendation of particular VR equipment or software.
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Why legacy systems can be both economical and costly
Green described in-house systems, including timetabling and service management tools, as tailored to the university’s needs. Their bespoke nature could keep licence costs down, but he said they had become less flexible and more burdensome to maintain.
Replacing them would not be a simple switch. The interview describes gradual replacement as dependent on resource planning and a business case: institutions have to weigh the cost and disruption of change against the ongoing work and limitations of maintaining systems built for earlier needs.
Why network renewal competes with other investment
Green called the ageing network the “backbone” of IT operations and identified its renewal as a priority. Reliable infrastructure underpins new teaching services as well as routine university operations, so investment in visible student-facing technology cannot be considered separately from the systems that support it.
He also described leaders balancing cybersecurity, business continuity and students’ digital experience against other spending needs, including safe and maintained buildings. The interview presents this as a resource-allocation problem, not a choice between technology and an optional extra: universities must fund both digital services and essential estate responsibilities.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What the interview does—and does not—establish
The interview offers a dated account of one university’s plans and constraints, rather than a verified update on delivery or a comparison of technology products. It does not confirm whether the Hyflex targets were achieved, whether the VR lab opened, or whether legacy systems were replaced. Nor does it identify equipment or vendors that readers could usefully evaluate for purchase.
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