Last updated 16th January 2024
Mark Hargaden - Senior IT Project Manager
Tell us about yourself?
My name is Mark Hargaden and I have been working in UCD for 18 years. I was the IT manager for the Conway and Geary Institutes before joining Enterprise Applications Group (EAG) in IT services last year. Between going to college in UCD and working here I have been around a long time.
For anyone who may not be familiar, can you tell us a bit more about the EAG team?
Sure, EAG are a team of over 30 people and are responsible for implementing and supporting enterprise applications across the University. These include applications that support services in the areas of student management, research, HR management, online services, web publishing and financial management.
What transformation initiative are you currently working on? Tell us a little bit about it?
I am working on the Finance Programme for Operations and Services Transformation (FinPOST). This programme is centred on transforming finance in UCD and creating a better experience for the community through the transformation of finance services, operations, and systems.
EAG supports the existing finance system so there is a longstanding relationship there between us and UCD Finance. EAG along with the other IT Services teams are really happy to be involved in this programme and to support each step of the transformation journey.
What is your role on the programme? What element are you working on?
I am the IT Services project manager for FinPOST and together with my IT colleagues, I am helping to facilitate the technology part of this programme - the implementation of a best class finance tool (Workday) that will replace the existing finance system. Within UCD, we have a range of business systems that are linked to and communicate with one another. These linkages are often referred to as integrations. So, when a new system like Workday is being introduced into the existing ecosystem like ours in UCD, it is of critical importance that it is integrated with the relevant applications and that they work together effectively.
This of course cannot be done by any one team in isolation and very much calls for a collaborative approach. We are working closely with Siobhán Dunne (the FinPOST Project Leader for the Integrations workstream) to identify and manage these integrations. It is important to note that the Finance system is one which is used across the University so for every one of those integrations, we are working with colleagues representing the business unit on the other side. When you look at it like that, you realise that there is a huge number of stakeholders involved in the programme working alongside the core team.
What are you enjoying most about working on the FinPOST programme?
I am enjoying meeting and working with new people from across the University through working on this programme. A programme of this scale really shows how many different areas we have within UCD. It’s always exciting to get to use a new platform and develop the skills to support it so I am also looking forward to seeing the benefits that this will bring to the UCD.