How resilience is shaping digital transformation at St Andrews

Linda Barclay Isles

Friday 6 February 2026

Never has the world seen such a time of rapid change – our work, and lives, are being shaped and reshaped by digital transformation, automation and technological advances. Universities, like all businesses, must adapt how they operate and incorporate these advances in sustainable ways, or get left behind.  

Leading this work in St Andrews is Professor Monique MacKenzie, whose focus on digital innovation is bringing together people, systems, and ideas to help the University evolve to meet the needs and challenges of its next 600 years. 

There can be few people more perfectly matched to the pace of this work. Monique, who hails from New Zealand, is energetic, engaging and talks at a speed which would outrun even the quickest shorthand. Ideas bounce around behind her eyes, keen to make their way into the world.  

Currently Vice-Principal (Digital Education, Research and Environment), Monique joined the University in 2003, swapping the sunny beaches of Auckland for the rugged coast of Fife. 

“I grew up in a very difficult family and I was estranged from my father, for very good reasons. My mum also had significant mental health issues throughout my life, and there were several crises I had to help with. Essentially, I was a young carer from an early age, which meant I helped keep mum alive and out of hospital, and I stepped in to help raise my brother when my mother was unable. 

“This taught me all sorts of things about how to work through difficult situations and make the best of it – maybe even to use it as ‘fuel’. I was the first in my family to go to university, and I expect that only happened because some funding from the Rotary Club enabled me to attend some boot camp sessions at a Polytechnic in my last year of school.This training in Mathematics and Statistics in particular, improved my grades from mere passing into the 90s, and that got me into the University in Auckland for my BSc. 

Sense of community

“In my extended family it was considered ‘precocious’ to even study at university, and at first there was no sense of identity for me there. And while I only enjoyed extra-curricular activities – ballet, music and musical theatre – while at my low-decile secondary school, I found I loved university from the first day. It was the first time I found a sense of community, with people who understood me.

“After I finished my undergraduate degree, I also didn’t quite feel finished with university and so I went on to study an MSc. In New Zealand, that’s a two-year commitment (one year taught and one year of research), which was my first genuine taste of research, and I loved it. 

“But I was also racking up a lot of debt. The student loan system in New Zealand at that point was brutal under the Conservative government – we were paying mortgage-level interest while studying, and that’s despite me working long hours – often on night shift at the hospital – and more than I’m sure was recommended for full-time study. This saw me head to work as a statistician at a Crown Research Institute after my Masters, but I was very quickly bored. I unexpectedly found myself to be the ‘resident expert’ while in my 20s, and I thought, ‘I can’t do this forever’. 

“From there, I managed to get a half-scholarship to do a PhD, and I set up a consulting company with other PhD students in my group to help pay the bills, and gain industry experience. I also trained for, and did, lots of teaching – small group classes, and even large lectures, where I leaned on my musical theatre training, literally being on stage while teaching large groups of students from diverse backgrounds. 

A kiwi ritual

“My PhD work was largely focused on statistical modelling, and the best place in the world to do this was, and still is, at St Andrews in the Centre for Research into Ecological and Environmental Modelling (CREEM). I even came over one summer in the early 2000s as part of an ‘OE’ – an overseas experience, a sort of ‘kiwi ritual’. It was important for me to come and meet people I might be working with and see what it would be like; it felt good. 

“When I applied for the lectureship at St Andrews, in the School of Mathematics and Statistics, it was the first time I had applied for an academic job. I was still finishing my PhD, and the interview was by video link, which was a big deal in the early 2000s – a pre-booked satellite link and the need to test it the day before and all of that.

“Since I already had teaching and consulting experience – somewhat out of necessity – and a publication in press, I was hired almost immediately. This was the last thing I was expecting, and they said if I came over early and taught, I could finish my PhD whilst here – so I did. 

Women in academia

“Looking back, the resilience I had developed in my life made me feel like I could survive almost anywhere, and so I just upped sticks and moved. When I joined the School though, I was one of maybe two women in a group of about 30, which, as a woman in academia, was peculiar compared to Auckland where there was a much better gendered mix. 

“This was so striking to me, that even as a junior I asked direct questions of a very senior academic at the time, about why that was: were women not applying or not being appointed? The message back was one of puzzlement that I’d even asked and that ‘they didn’t see a problem’. 

“To add to this, the only advice I ever got from a female professor in my field was that if you ever wanted to become a Professor, you should never have any kids – which I promptly ignored. I’ve always had a sort of automatic disrespect for authority and this didn’t seem right. 

“I had a pretty normal career for a while and also had a couple of kids, before picking up the Director of Teaching role – and not because I was ambitious, but because I could see things that needed to change, and I thought I could do a decent job. That saw me working with others across Schools, and then into the Graduate School as it was being set up. 

Trying new approaches

“After picking up the role as Deputy Director in the Graduate School – which I was surprised to get – I discovered that I’m a bit of a builder. I love creating things from scratch and trying new approaches, even though universities aren’t always comfortable with risk. When the Director role came up a bit later, I was also advised by some seniors not to apply because I wasn’t a Professor, but I applied anyway and was appointed.  

“That role morphed into being Assistant Vice-Principal (Provost) and Graduate School Director, which saw me reshaping postgraduate scholarships, cleaning up the system to make it more transparent and creating the Handsel scheme that we still have today. This scheme was designed to help Schools recruit the best postgraduate research students, regardless of nationality, and while it took a decent while to design the scheme and get it approved through all the channels with the kind help of others, it worked because it aligned systems with strategy.” 

This is a crucial part of Monique’s strengths – bringing strategy to life. And, with digital as one of the themes of the University’s refreshed 2022-2026 Strategy, Monique is using those strengths to take the vision from words on a page to reality.  

St Andrews’ digital identity is emerging with a range of online education offerings – from short courses for professionals to full-time degrees – and this has been driven by Monique’s gift for identifying opportunities, seizing them, and thereby driving change.  

Broadening access to St Andrews

“I put together the business case for new digital education programmes, which accidentally created part of the role I’m in now. It was about modernising what we offer and broadening access, opening doors for people who couldn’t relocate but seek a St Andrews education. 

“I’ll not lie – it’s been a challenge filling the role of Vice-Principal (Digital Education, Research and Environment), supporting two neurodivergent children, dealing with school bullying issues and alternatives to mainstream education while still undertaking consultancy work, in partnership with the University.  

“Coincidentally, one of my teenagers has also been in an online school, which was quite literally a life saver after a serious mental health crisis. This hammered it home for me how important it can be to provide online alternatives for study. Things are much better now, but struggle is in my wheelhouse.  

“While this is not by choice, there can be benefits. I suspect my baseline is different from many, since I’m experienced with discomfort, and I expect that translates into elements of my academic life, my wildlife crime research based overseas and my work as VP Digital.  

“You can’t make a difference without facing discomfort, and you can’t bring about change without vulnerability.” 

Delivering change

With the systems and infrastructure for our new digital programmes in place, Monique is revisiting the courses and market as part of the iterative process of creating new offerings and delivering change, based on the learnings to-date.  

“We are also seeing how we can use AI and automation to create some headroom for people in our professional services, which I find particularly fascinating. I especially enjoy working with folks in Business Transformation and their agile mindsets on these projects – together we’re already seeing real change, but there is still much we need to do.

“The biggest issue in St Andrews, and across HE, is that resources are tight. There is no new funding settlement coming to the rescue, some previously strong international markets are tanking, and we all know that research tends to run at a loss. It’s income and savings made elsewhere which support it.  

“We also can’t wait to make the savings we need, and the longer we wait, the closer we get to the financial cliff edge and the fewer choices we’ll have, to find a more sustainable balance between income and costs.  

“We need everyone’s help”

“For too long, I think people have also believed that the senior team alone are going to fix things. And while we absolutely play a role, and we’re doing our best, we need everyone’s help. The reality is that we are only one or two bad recruitment cycles away from joining the growing queue of universities facing financial crisis, and we don’t have the big reserves which people imagine when they compare us to Oxford or Cambridge.

“Change is inevitable and we just have to get on with it.” 

Monique has an energy that is unquestionable, and her appetite for chasing the outcomes she is seeking is impressive. Some have described her as a force of nature and her career path as meteoric – which she finds puzzling and is at pains to make clear that she hasn’t planned her career and has no particular ambition beyond getting things done. 

“I was a conflict avoider because of my family history, and I used to avoid difficult conversations. This changed when I trained and served as a Children’s Hearings Scotland panel member. As a volunteer, I thought this would  detract from my working life, but it has turned out to be invaluable in various roles when dealing with difficult situations.  

Effective and authentic

“This training helped me be more comfortable with difficult conversations – there are times we just need to say ‘this is going to be difficult, but we have to discuss this’. It’s about inhabiting your role in a way that’s effective but also authentic. 

“Ultimately though, you just need to get shit done. 

“That’s one reason I guess I’m still in the job. In between roles, I’ve thought ‘oh I’ll do this role and then return back to my School’ but this hasn’t happened so far, and it’s not because I’m ambitious. It’s just because something else I think is important and I can help with, comes up, I’m asked to do it and so I do my damnedest to get it done. 

“If I’m successful in this role though, it will cease to exist. My hope is that, in time, we will stop talking about ‘digital’ versions of our activity and it will naturally be part of what we do.  

Opening doors

“But I’m not worried about what the next thing will be. I still have a role in my School, and I keep my wildlife crime research work going overseas, along with work quantifying the environmental impacts of offshore wind developments. So far, I think I’ve managed not to close too many doors, while creaking open some new ones.  

“And I’m enthusiastic about leadership and I’m continually interested in how I can be better in my role. I’m currently on a training programme, which I really love, and since a young adult I’ve read about personal development and tried to find new ways to approach and think about things – probably because I had to, but also because I am genuinely interested in how I can play my various roles better.” 

Given her difficult start in life, and her passion for learning how to change lives for the better, what would Monique say to her young teenage self, or indeed any teenager making their way out into the world? 

Setting boundaries

“The first thing I’d tell my younger self is ‘hang in there, it’s going to get better’. It’s hard to imagine that when you are in difficult situations pretty often, but actually there’s lots to play for when you zoom out.  

“Two – it’s easy to think that, when you’re in a sticky spot, you need to rest up and do nothing, but actually I’ve found it better to focus on the things you love. For me that is cycling, running and playing music – anything that brings you or others joy. I think it’s really important not to lose sight of that.  

“The third thing is to figure out where your bottom lines are – personally and professionally; what are the boundaries that you won’t go beyond? If you figure these out for yourself and let others know what they are, then I think it sets out the landscape for your work and personal life.  

“The last thing, which I think a lot about is – every day we wake, we choose. Many of us are fortunate enough to have many choices in our lives, and while it can be easy to feel like things are just happening to us, most of us have a great deal of agency in our lives and I value that very much. 

Breathing space

“Personally, success means making a positive difference in people’s lives. That includes providing access to a St Andrews education online, for people from unusual backgrounds, with a complex set of commitments, so they can progress their careers and better provide for their families and loved ones. 

“It’s also about creating some breathing space in people’s working lives, to get on with the really interesting things which attracted us to our roles in the first place.

“That’s the best part of the job, working with wonderful people to deliver change that really matters.”