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Data driven
Australia ’ s most awarded data scientist gives his thoughts on higher education .
Matt Kuperholz interviewed by Karl Treacher
PricewaterhouseCoopers ( PwC ) chief data scientist Matt Kuperholz recently joined Karl Treacher on the HEDx podcast to discuss the evolution of the education industry and the role of data in shaping the future of higher education .
KT : You ’ re no stranger to higher education – academically , personally , and also from a consulting perspective . Have you noticed a shift in higher education generally ? MK : There was obviously the shakeup not just for higher education , but for all of us when we had to stay at home . I do a lot of work advising Deakin University with regard to their Masters of Business
Analytics , which is a post-graduate course in my area of specialty , data science . I ’ ve taught that course for years , and it ’ s always been attended partly in person and partly remotely , but it was interesting to consider all courses going remote .
I live in Victoria , and I believe tertiary education is the number one export for Victoria in terms of dollars .
I ’ ve seen a pretty interesting series of disruptions to the sector , starting with when I went to university some 30 years or so ago , there were a handful of universities , and then there were a bunch of the TAFES and other sorts of tertiary institutions . This is blended a lot more now that you ’ ve got so much more choice , including wellrespected institutions that are not part of the group of eight . You ’ ve almost got some start-ups or disruptors in there with a very unique brand proposition .
But what I really think is the big disruption is what ’ s been afforded by the internet in terms of online courses and further education and self-service , or remotely attending , and in some cases for free , some of the best blue-ribbon universities around the world on a course basis .
For society as a whole , I think this is absolutely fantastic . For traditional universities and the market that they were trying to capture , I think it ’ s an
There are other ways that you can prove to a prospective employer that you have practical skills of value .
enormous disruptor and a threat . They have to reposition themselves and what it is they ’ re offering that encourages a student not just to go and grab something over the internet from perhaps one of the best Ivy League universities in the US , for example .
KT : Do you feel that this shift is a temporary response to COVID , or do you think we ’ re now looking at a totally new existence ? I think things are changing permanently in terms of how we learn and what skills are most valued . I think that it is getting harder to move out of academia if you have stayed there for some time beyond your undergraduate into post-graduate degree and beyond , so people are perhaps spending more time trying to get out into the workplace .
The advice I give people who come to me asking how best to improve their skills in
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