The 2023 EduData Summit in San Francisco saw data scientists, educators and industry experts explore the different ways in which universities can learn from the success of the corporate world by using data to meet their objectives. We look back at the highlights of the event.
By Afifah Darke, Deputy Editor
“What business do we have being in education?”
With its Italian marble columns, glittering chandeliers and stained-glass ceiling, the Palace Hotel in downtown San Francisco has seen several prominent leaders roam its hallways. Many might be curious to hear the conversations that have happened, and the likely incredible ideas conjured within the iconic building’s four walls. On May 17-19, more than 300 speakers and delegates at the 2023 EduData Summit (EDS) were able to experience that very atmosphere as they became part of the hotel’s history of important discussions.
The event, themed ‘Data Inc: Driving reputation through EduData’, kicks off with an evident buzz as the crowd gathers in the hotel’s Twin Peaks room, with some shaking hands as they meet for the first time, while others reconnect with old colleagues. Everyone settles down as the emcee introduces EDS Chair Dr Paul Thurman, Professor of Management and Analytics at Columbia University Medical Center, who in his opening remarks, sets the tone of the event with an intriguing question: “What business do we have being in education?”
He says: “We see people coming to universities and colleges saying, I don't need a degree programme. I need you to train 20 people on cybersecurity and need them in six months. Can you do that? That's a customer telling you they have a need and they're asking you to fulfil it just like any other business, just like a deli… How do we respond to those needs?”
Touching on the theme, Thurman puts forward the idea that universities need to be creative in monetizing their data and services, and learn from the success of their corporate counterparts, where data is the underpinning resource to their progress. The audience is rapt with attention as Thurman urges everyone to start carefully thinking about creating institutions that truly focusses on its customers and on providing learning that can “create revenue, longevity and sustainability”.
"Data culture is about mindset and behaviour."
Taking on the world, one data at a time
As the gears are turning in the room, Dr Jonathan Reichental, Founder of Human Future, Professor and Author, reinforces the idea in his keynote that data “is at the heart of solutions”. It is vital to recognise that data is driving economies and innovation, which is why, he stresses, data culture plays a vital role in organisations being successful. “Data culture is about mindset and behaviour,” he says. “Where does it come from? Sometimes it grows organically. It's seldom successful when that happens. You get lucky sometimes with a very charismatic leader and the organisation follows the leader and it becomes very culturally positive. But you have to build it.”
If universities expect data to help them grow and identify new students, they must let data be “key and forefront in all the decisions” adds Dr Reichental. While there are big expectations for employees to use data in their decisions, he says, unfortunately, more often than not, employees do not have the know-hows to carry out such big tasks. “We have very big expectations for vision, but we don't empower people to be able to do it right. So we’ve got to train, we've got to educate,” he says. He adds that universities have the opportunity to help with that, by building curriculums to enable students to be successful in using data, and in turn pursue important data careers to help organisations build data-driven culture.
After intriguing discussions on using data for student recruitment, the day isn’t over just yet. Delegates step out into the chilly Bay Area evening and head to Pier 43 ½, where a cruise liner is awaiting them. With music from the ship filling the air, people start mingling, eating and taking in the view of the iconic Golden Gate Bridge.
"We don't always know which data will give us the insight that we need."
"People are going to colleges for one thing - networks."
Asking the right questions
The second day of EDS involves conversations circling around artificial intelligence, data and the digital space. In a fireside chat between Youngsuk 'YS' Chi, Chairman at Dutch publishing firm Elsevier and moderator Anton John Crace, QS Editor and Program Designer, Chi notes that universities should understand what they are trying to achieve and ask the right questions as they collect an “extraordinary breadth of data”. Data collection has become so much cheaper and accessible, Chi notes, that institutions should “collect as much data as possible in variety”. He adds: “We don't always know which data will give us the insight that we need eventually to make the right decision.”
Curiosity also plays a significant role in the success of using data, says Chi. “It needs the cycle of testing that insight to see if it's accurate and then start all over again to say: What data am I missing? What more do we need to collect? Which do we need to integrate with the data we already have and just go in that cycle over and over and over again?” When pressed by Crace on the challenging process of crafting the “right question”, Chi points out that the process is a “repetitious circle” until results are discovered.
Universities are also in a unique position when it comes to data, says Chi, due to their niche proficiency in certain areas of academia. “You have to apply that domain expertise to get the unique insight that normal people just using ChatGPT will never, ever be able to find.” With such amazing insight, says Chi, data becomes worthwhile information for universities.
Networking: The new data goldmine
On the last day, conversations take a more dynamic beat as panellists discuss how data can be included in post-graduation planning. Networking becomes an oft-repeated topic that is brought up on stage. When asked in a panel whether students are equipped to meet the needs and trends of the workplace, Arjita A. Sethi, Founder of New Founder School reframes the matter: “Students don't go [to university] for education.” She adds: “You can pretty much learn a lot on YouTube right now. People are going to colleges for one thing - networks.” Saurabh Sanghvi, Partner at McKinsey & Company agrees with this outlook, bringing up the idea of the power of social capital, which many top business schools offer as a big value proposition. “At any point you need help on getting to the next step of your career, you have not only your classmates, but you have an entire network of people to go email and to get your next opportunity.” Sanghvi also points out that higher education institutions have a lot of “biased data” which could help people navigate biases, especially when it comes to hiring practices. By providing such data, this will “give students and employers that transparency so that they can ‘play the game’ and take advantage of the realities of the fact that we have a biased system”, he says.
As the day comes to an end and dialogues revolve around the future and action plans, some panellists bring up the issue of universities being unable to keep up with the pace of a rapidly changing environment. Unlike startup companies, which can adapt quickly as soon as they receive data, education institutions are unable to do the same. Sanghvi says a “feedback loop” is needed, where institutions take advantage of the data they are collecting to improve themselves. “We're data rich, but data rich doesn't do anything until you actually do something with the data,” he says. “The big question to prove if you're doing anything with the data would be: What have you changed as a result of having more of that data?”
After the three days, the aggregate of dialogues, keynote speeches and workshops in EDS 2023 hit the nail right on the head, answering Dr Thurman’s question on the first day: “What business do we have being in education?” The conversations that came up show that universities could no longer afford to ignore the power of data. By using data effectively, and acting more like corporates in their decision-making, higher education institutions would be able to improve the student experience, boost research productivity, increase their social impact, and overall, thrive in the future.
A big day out:
QS Higher Ed Festival 2023
Held at The Skylight Lounge in London, #QSFest2023 saw leaders from the higher ed sector delving deep into discussions on data-driven insight, student recruitment, and policy changes.
By Kym Nguyen, QS Festival MC and Vice President, Client Development
On 25th May, 2023, on a rooftop in London, over 50 senior INTLED leaders from 40 UK universities gathered for #QSFest2023. QS hosts the annual festival for its clients and close friends in higher education, and the event prides itself to be one of the most unique and valuable events in the sector.
“Thank you. Really insightful and I enjoyed the approach to the day – much more interactive than many other conferences I’ve been to this year within the HE sector. Came away with many thought-provoking stats which I can use internally!” says Joe Paley, Head of International and Partnership Development, University of South Wales.
Festival goers create the programme they need
We don’t curate the programme for our guests, our guests are our co-creators. In the lead up to the Festival, we asked each guest to share the biggest challenges they are facing in international student recruitment and these were the top answers across the board:
1. Diversification (market and course) 2. Increasing volumes (across the journey) 3. AI (how and when to deploy)
We then got to work pulling together new and exclusive data insights, invited expert speakers and turned up the creativity on how we could interact and engage with guests to help bring together potential solutions to these shared challenges. A festival isn’t a festival without a banging set-list, a sizzling BBQ and plenty of opportunities for old and new friends to catch up over a drink in the sunshine.
What was the most valuable take-away from QS Fest 2023?
The Festival kicked off at 11am and ran a 6-hour programme, wrapping up with drinks and networking out on the terrace. There were 6 interactive sessions on the main stage, 3 concurrent fireside chats at side stages and for 15 lucky backstage pass holders, an exclusive QS Masterclass.
We asked guests what they found most valuable/enjoyable at the event:
- “All the interactive sessions and great venue": Rolf Jespersen, City, University of London.
- “The insights & networking were valuable and enjoyable”: Melissa Nurcombe, University of York.
- “Mingling with other colleagues and sessions were really inspiring to start conversations”: Laura Ortu, University of Cambridge.
The most popular session with guests was the first session of the day ‘Maintain the UK's Competitive Advantage’ with the soundtrack “I’m Still Standing” by Sir Elton John. Matteo Quacquarelli, QS’ Director of Strategy & Analytics was the headliner, and he left the audience buzzing the rest of the day from the exclusive trends and provocative insights he shared.
Quacquarelli took us on a wild 45-minute ride starting with a look back at the success of the last few years, moving onto the future headwinds challenging the UK INTLED sector and the finale was a proposal of an insight-led framework for institutions to respond.
These were the five key takeaways from the session on maintaining the UK's competitive edge:
1. Landscape: In the last 5-years, the UK has seen a near 10% compound annual growth rate in international students. South Asia and West Africa have been key markets driving this growth in enrolments with an average 132% year-on-year growth.
2. Challenges: Competition for international students is only likely to intensify in years to come and the gap between the big four recruiter markets has closed by 350k students in the past five years - at a rate faster than the overall market is growing. This means that market share is being stolen.
3. Observations: The QS International Attractiveness framework scores the UK second overall vs. it’s top four destination market peers, comparatively strong for overall reputation, employment outcomes and subject performance.
4. Predictions: QS forecasts the international student market will grow at a 5% CAGR over the next 7 years to 2030, resulting in a total market size of 9m international students. Base cast forecasts place the UK’s position to increase international student numbers to 762k by 2024.
5. Solutions: With internal market dynamics placing pressure on the UK’s competitiveness, institutions must embrace all other corners of their value proposition in order to sustain their competitive advantage, devising strategies such as:
a. Dynamic subject pricing in key growth markets for high priority subjects to acquire market share
b. Working closely with research and planning offices to establish key partnerships that will improve academic and employer reputation in growth source market to support brand penetration
c. Clear and evidenced employment outcomes for your international populations, leveraging the framework of the new QS Rankings methodology
d. Deliver a 5-star customer experience model to ensure effective conversion of every student who raises a hand in interest to manage your cost base as you scale up investment into new markets.
