Editor's Message

Welcome to the first issue of QS Insights Magazine for 2024!

At its heart, education is about people. It’s about empowering people to realise their full potential and helping them achieve social mobility. In addition to the individual, education is the exchange of ideas between groups, the interrogation of pre-established knowledge and assumptions, and most importantly the friendships that develop along the way.

Quite often we think about the university campus as a melting pot, a form of community for our students to be exposed to diverse opinions and people. Sometimes, we extend that community building to staff as well, navigating faculties and departments. Sometimes, too, we think about staff exchanges as a means to foster collaboration and develop new, innovative ways of thinking.

Less often, however, do we think of the sector itself as a community of diverse people, collaborating (and competing), and exchanging ideas and insights for the betterment of society. The day-to-day challenges and requirements of the sector can often distract us from how wonderful it can be to be able to debate and discuss the best ways to teach students, or to engage colleagues, or to communicate research to the broader community.

The team and I are very fortunate in our roles. Within the editorial team for QS Insights Magazine and the Summits, along with the content team producing reports and whitepapers, we often speak about community building. Finding ways to make a magazine, summit, report or article that may be of interest in the now into an open exchange of ideas.