New tools and digitization efforts broadened access to Harvard’s scholarly collections, supporting discovery, exploration, and research.

The launch of Collections Explorer introduced a new AI-powered interface for discovering 6.5 million records across Harvard Library’s distinctive collections, including manuscripts, photographs, and audiovisual materials. Semantic search, AI-generated summaries, and search suggestions help users explore collections and pursue new avenues of research.

Digital humanities teams also collaborated with Harvard faculty to expand access to scholarly materials, including the Black Teacher Archive, a digital collection of nearly 2,000 historical publications by African American educators. Other projects included developing multilingual AI tools to support research into Eurasian historical documents and migrating legacy projects to modern platforms to preserve access.

HUIT also modernized access to electronic library resources through OpenAthens and expanded the Harvard Aviary platform to three additional libraries, providing secure access to digitized audiovisual collections. Upgrades to search and discovery tools, digital exhibits, and digital preservation systems further improved access to and stewardship of Harvard’s scholarly materials.

HUIT, in partnership with school IT organizations, continued to reinforce Harvard's cybersecurity defenses through major improvements to identity verification and proactive approach to identifying and addressing rapidly emerging vulnerabilities.

The completion of a multi-year project to modernize HarvardKey authentication through a transition to Okta strengthened protection against phishing attacks and enabled the retirement of aging infrastructure.

The University also expanded the rollout of passwordless authentication, working toward full adoption among Harvard staff, faculty, and researchers by the end of 2026. Passwordless sign-in has already significantly reduced the risk of compromised HarvardKey accounts while making identity verification faster and easier.

Year-round training and awareness initiatives, including a new Best Practices hub and ongoing phishing simulations, helped the Harvard community recognize security threats and adopt safer digital practices.

Throughout FY26, HUIT continued to modernize the systems and services that support Harvard’s day-to-day operations, improving reliability, security, and efficiency across the University.

Improvements included migrating aging servers to modern platforms, upgrading enterprise scheduling systems, strengthening security of core University email and collaboration platforms, and modernizing critical technology supporting campus public safety.

In partnership with Harvard University Dining Services, HUIT adapted an existing Library system to support a reusable takeout container program across 13 dining halls, reducing disposable waste and generating thousands of dollars of annual cost savings.

HUIT expanded the use of automation in invoice processing, reducing manual effort by more than 50% across approximately 70,000 annual invoices. The Enterprise Content Management (ECM) platform expanded secure access to more than one million documents, while new tools simplified faculty administration and introduced electronic voting for FAS faculty meetings.

Improvements to the Alumni Community platform made it easier for alumni to reconnect while strengthening security for online giving, and enhancements to the HarvardSites web platform supported emerging AI-powered discovery tools. HUIT also negotiated more than 100 technology contract renewals, limiting cost increases and improving value for University partners.

HUIT continues to support Harvard’s proactive and open approach to AI by expanding access to tools and resources that enable exploration and responsible use.

University-wide guidelines for generative AI, first published in 2023, have been supplemented with guidance on emerging issues, including high-risk uses under the EU AI Act, AI meeting assistants, and restrictions on high-risk models. Alongside School- and unit-specific policies, training programs, and communities of practice, these resources help the Harvard community navigate the opportunities and risks of AI.

The AI Sandbox introduced new capabilities including internet search, improved image generation, and updated models, while growing its user base by 56% to more than 16,700. Featuring models from multiple providers, the Sandbox enables exploration without reliance on a single vendor.

Beyond the Sandbox, HUIT expanded access to AI tools for a range of needs, including ChatGPT, Claude, Copilot, and Gemini, with contractual protections for Harvard data. HUIT also introduced a process to review emerging AI features and publish community guidance on their responsible use.

Moirai is Harvard’s internally developed AI-assisted security operations platform integrating multiple system views into a single AI-assisted interface for detection, investigation, and response.

The platform correlates signals across systems to reveal coordinated attack patterns that single-system alerts may not show. Through the platform, analysts can review AI-generated investigation summaries and take action across multiple systems.

In its first few months of operation, Moirai processed nearly 6,000 automated security investigations and supported monitoring of hundreds of high-risk accounts, helping protect Harvard’s systems and data. 

The HUIT team behind Moirai was been invited to present the platform at REN-ISAC, the Consortium of Cybersecurity Operations in Research and Education (CCORE), the Advanced Cyber Security Center (ACSC), and the Cybersecurity and Privacy Professionals Conference - Educause (CPPC), showcasing Harvard’s leadership in advancing collaborative cybersecurity practices.

In partnership with the Office for Sustainability (OFS), HUIT continued efforts to better understand and reduce the environmental impact of technology across Harvard. 

Initiatives included an IT hardware emissions dashboard to give procurement and asset management teams insight into the carbon footprint of devices, and a shared framework of sustainability expectations for technology vendors including a consistent e-waste data reporting process. HUIT also completed the first phase of an assessment of energy use, water consumption, and emissions across six data centers and three cloud platforms, establishing a baseline to better understand the environmental impact of University technology infrastructure.

A new e-waste recycling guide provides the University community with guidance on responsibly disposing of aging equipment. At Harvard’s Earth Day event, HUIT teams collected hundreds of old computers, phones, hard drives, and other devices for secure data destruction and recycling, helping protect sensitive information and reduce electronic waste.

HUIT’s successful co-op program welcomed another thirty students from four partner institutions (MGH Aspire for Autism, Northeastern University, Wentworth Institute of Technology, and Year Up) to work in a variety of full-time IT roles including resolving support tickets, deploying hardware, staffing support desks, producing audio-visual content, and helping the teams that run Harvard’s networks and servers.

Through the IT Academy, HUIT also strengthened professional development partnerships across higher education. The Technology Enablement Initiative brought together IT professionals from 10 Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) for a six-month knowledge exchange program. And the Higher Education Learning and Development community of practice connected 38 IT staff from 24 institutions to share IT training curricula and best practices.