Universities today are juggling three competing pressures at once: strengthening security posture, controlling escalating data costs, and unlocking the value of AI. On paper the value is evident. In reality progress stalls. Conversations loop. AI Initiatives start with a bang then hit limits.

The common blocker is not technology. It is a lack of clarity about the data itself. What exists, where it lives, who owns it, and what risk it carries. Without that, decisions around cyber, AI and cost are built on assumption, not evidence.

Rather than push new tools or programmes, we need to challenge how institutions think about data as the foundation for every major technology decision. We highlight why governance is not a compliance exercise, but the enabler for moving safely and confidently forward.

Attendees will leave with a clearer way to frame the problem internally, recognise where efforts are need focusing and rethink how to move from isolated initiatives to deliberate, evidence-based progress.