Simon Hayward, Vice President of Sales, EMEA at Freshworks, discusses how universities can transform student and staff experiences through AI and unified service management. As autumn brings the annual surge of enrolment challenges, technology breakdowns and administrative bottlenecks, he explores why higher education institutions must move beyond fragmented systems towards intelligent, connected campuses that deliver fast, reliable and human-centred support.
Every autumn, universities face one of the most high-pressure moments in the academic calendar. New student onboarding, timetable changes, IT hiccups and last-minute requests from thousands of students and staff converge into a perfect storm. For many institutions, this period exposes the limitations of outdated systems, fragmented processes, and overstretched support teams.
These pinch points aren’t just administrative headaches. They directly affect how students and staff perceive their university. When technology falters, it can erode trust in the institution’s ability to deliver. As Devin Dickerson of Forrester recently said: “The student experience is now a technology experience.” From admissions to graduation, every touchpoint is digital-first and when those touchpoints break, the impact is immediate.
The challenge: Complexity at scale
Universities are unique compared with corporate IT environments. They must serve highly diverse groups with conflicting needs: first-year students who expect consumer-grade digital experiences, senior academics often reliant on legacy systems, administrators juggling compliance and welfare and researchers demanding cutting-edge tools. On top of that, universities operate on predictable but intense cycles, with peak demand stretching ageing systems and siloed service desks to their limits.
The result is too often a patchwork of disconnected channels: IT requests in one place, finance questions in another, HR support somewhere else. This creates delays, bottlenecks and unnecessary frustration – at precisely the times when students and staff need fast, seamless support.
A shift in mindset
To address these challenges, universities are starting to view service delivery less as a back-office function and more as the nervous system of campus life. That means recognising that the student experience is inseparable from the digital experiences that support it and that a slow response or outdated process can undermine trust in the institution itself. Because student satisfaction is now a key measure in reviews and league tables, any failure risks not only current confidence but also future applicants. It also means tackling the fragmentation that has long defined campus services, moving towards a more unified approach where IT, HR, finance and student support are no longer isolated silos but part of a single, coherent system.
Crucially, many universities are realising that Artificial Intelligence must sit at the centre of this transformation. AI is no longer a question of ‘if’ but ‘how’. Used well, it can take the strain out of routine interactions, instantly triage urgent requests and create more personalised engagement for both students and staff. In doing so, it frees human advisors to focus on moments that genuinely require empathy and expertise.
What this looks like in practice
Take the example of student enrolment. For many universities, this is a critical bottleneck: thousands of students logging on simultaneously to access timetables, register for classes and resolve administrative queries. Without automation, help desks quickly become overwhelmed.
By deploying AI-powered agents, universities can provide students with instant answers to routine questions and guide them through complex processes in real-time. This frees up human advisors to focus on issues that genuinely require empathy and expertise. The result is a smoother start to university life and greater confidence in the institution’s digital competence.
The benefits aren’t confined to students. At some universities, faculty and staff are also embracing AI-driven support. Automated workflows can take care of onboarding tasks for new hires, route finance requests to the right teams or provide administrators with self-service forms that cut out duplication. For staff, this means less time chasing down information across multiple systems and more time focusing on meaningful work.
From patchwork fixes to strategic platforms
The universities making the greatest progress are those that treat service management as a strategic capability. Rather than layering new tools on top of legacy processes, they are consolidating, automating and embedding intelligence across the board.
This doesn’t just reduce operational complexity. It creates valuable data that can be used to identify bottlenecks, track performance and anticipate student needs before they escalate. For example, service hubs that bring together IT, HR and finance requests into one portal give leaders visibility into where delays are occurring – and the ability to act before problems affect students.
Why now?
The urgency to act is growing. Today’s students have never known a world without instant digital support. They will judge their university on whether it can deliver the same responsiveness they expect elsewhere. Meanwhile, staff are under pressure to do more with fewer resources, making automation and AI critical for sustainability.
A future of connected campuses
Ultimately, reimagining student and staff experience is about more than fixing help desks or speeding up ticket resolution. It’s about creating an environment where technology enables, rather than hinders, learning and work.
The universities that embrace this shift now – simplifying systems, embedding AI and unifying services – will not only weather the autumn surge but also set themselves apart in the competition for talent, funding and reputation.
