Data is the fuel that is driving our world and information integrity is becoming a core requirement for highly competent organisations. Information integrity in the academic parlance is becoming even more critical with abundance of data impacting the new learning experience and accuracy of information affecting learning efficacy.

With growing dependability on information, reliability of information has become a supreme, significant force for the success of an educational institute. As we enter the new educational realm, impressioned by data scientists and information analysts, the governance of schools and universities shall become even more deeply influenced by the authenticity and immediacy of information around it. Tomorrow’s smart learning environments shall be characterised by real-time data driven decision making and thus the attention towards information integrity shall only grow.

Information integrity is thus going to become a big differentiator for all stakeholders in the higher education space. So how does it affect us and what should we do?

Although information security breaches, data misuse and digital spoofing is not that common in education as probably would be in a financial or banking sector but there are still multiple instances of possible misuse of information or fraudulent invasions of privacy which need to be protected in one’s digital footprint.

One of the primary considerations around this open information environment is the safe and sensible use of social media so that phishing attacks and malicious strikes don’t damage us. These might not be occurrences in a typical infotech system but can be issues that harm personal and professional identities and associations. Today, everyone has become an active contributor and participant in the social media. This involvement for educators has created intricacies of a different kind and one needs to be fortified to conscientiously engage with the external world while securing oneself.