Mr Rizwan Sathakkathulla1, Mr Mohammad Islam1
1UNSW, Kensington, Australia
Biography:
Rizwan works at UNSW as an Enterprise Architect and is actively involved in various research initiatives, including data, compute, training and areas such as ethics, grants, graduate and HDR research programs. As part of a strategic initiative to streamline platform silos, enhance our security posture, manage data growth and address gaps in the current architecture, governance, data management and policy, the Research Data Experience Program was added to our roadmap.
Mohammad Islam works at UNSW as the Head of Research Solutions at UNSW and oversees a range of research portfolio initiatives. One of his key deliverables is the Research Data Experience Program, which plays a critical role in helping the University address the significant growth in research data and associated costs. This program also aims to streamline platform silos, strengthen the security posture, and close existing gaps in architecture, governance, data management, and policy—making it a strategic priority on our roadmap.
Abstract:
This presentation will walk through the current state of UNSW’s research data environment, where data is growing 30% every year, stored across disconnected systems with weak compliance and rising costs. We’ll highlight the pain points like legacy technology, lack of scalability, resilience and inefficiencies that slow down researchers and increase risks.
We’ll also share insights from a sector, Gartner and industry scan, showing advancements by peer institutions in the area of research data platform. This sets the stage for our conceptual target state: a unified, secure platform blending on-premises and cloud storage, with efficient data tools and a Trusted Research Environment (TRE) to streamline collaboration.
Finally, we’ll outline the expected outcomes like lower costs, better compliance, and a smoother experience for researchers. By fixing siloed platforms, automating workflows, and aligning with best practices, this program will future-proof UNSW’s research data for long-term success.