March 18, 2025, by Ben Atkinson
Digifest 2025 day 2: Strategic foresight
In the first of a series of blog posts, Learning Technology Consultant Sally Hanford reflects on experiences of attending JISC DigiFest 2025, discussing day two of the event in Birmingham. There will also be reflections from Day two in a following post, and thoughts from Learning Technology Consultant Dave Corbett who also attended DigiFest 2025 representing UoN Learning Technology.
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Day two opened with a panel discussion about the current challenges faced by UK Educational Institutions and how these might also present new opportunities. Representatives of several UK HE and FE institutions responded to prompts from Robin Ghurbhurun from Jisc.
Some common themes emerged:
The panel saw the need for adaptivity and fluidity in the sector, with industry and business partnership (as well as institutional collaborations) seen as essential and inevitable. There was a recognition that in the (not too distant) future, there could be more lifelong learners accessing further and higher education and as a result our institutions will need to accommodate these learners who may have very specific needs. Transnational education (encompassing various forms like branch campuses, distance learning, and collaborative programs) was perceived as an important focus (all panel members noted the impact of falling numbers of international students as problematic), and AI driven learning was expected to be adopted widely and seen as essential in enhancing the student experience. My blog post about day 1 of Digifest describes just a selection of examples of AI being used in exciting ways in other institutions.
There was a feeling that universities that don’t embrace these developments risk becoming irrelevant.
There was also talk of commercial disruption of the current HE model, a breakdown of the current idea of a linear 3-year degree and a question from the floor about the likelihood of an HE subscription model in the future. The panel did not discount this as a possibility.
On a human level, one of the most important things for students is that staff care about their success and the importance of socialisation and human (‘soft’) skills should not be lost in the race towards using AI and adopting hybrid solutions. If institutions decide to embrace the idea of remote learners as an ‘easy fix’ to recruitment challenges, the human impact must be acknowledged and addressed. The lessons from covid showed the negative impact of student isolation.
What is the role of Jisc in all this?
They are expected to provide advice and guidance about digital tools, their sustainability and frameworks for implementation. They are seen as a ‘nucleus’ holding the sector together, demonstrating impact and ‘providing a map’ to navigate ‘this mad world’. On a more practical note, there were repeated calls for what one panel member described as an ‘AI skeleton’, ie some kind of template within which each institution could implement their own AI solutions for their own needs, so that there is no need to ‘reinvent the wheel’. Jisc does already collate case studies about how AI is being used across the sector which is a good start.
The ‘Sector data and UK soft power’ panel session (with senior representatives from the British Council, the Association of Colleges, the Russell Group, and UUKI) started with the interesting observation that UK universities educate the most national leaders globally.
The British Council has carried out extensive research into the value of international education in the UK and published several reports of which these three are relevant to anyone who wants to understand the global landscape for education more deeply: Alumni voices, Global Perceptions 2023 and How International Student Mobility builds trust and long-term relationships.
As a student destination, the UK is seen as connected, relevant and influential with international reach. A high number of published academic papers are collaboratively authored by UK academics with international partners (more than any other G7 country) and the UK has a mature digital infrastructure. However, the panel members warned that our reputation is hard won but easily lost and the current less than welcoming policy environment has a negative impact on perceptions of the international student experience here and on international student recruitment. If you want to know more, there is an International Education Forum event in Birmingham in June. The participants on this panel are all dedicated to surfacing the real stories about the positive impact our international students have and are working to influence government policy in this area.
Another aspect of UK HE institutions being more welcoming is covered in a live episode of Jisc’s ‘Beyond the technology’ podcast that was recorded at Digifest, entitled ‘bridging digital inequity – international students’ digital experience’. I’ll be listening in to the recording later as there was a clash on the day. It’s based on Jisc’s briefing paper Digital country profiles: international students’ digital experiences in relation to their home country’s civil digital infrastructure (pdf). An earlier episode of the podcast on the same subject, hosted by Elizabeth Newall is worth a listen too.
Finally (for now), Gül Akcaova, lead futurist at SURF (The Dutch NREN* – equivalent of jisc in the UK) presented and co-facilitated a workshop entitled ‘Strategic foresight: how might we prepare for the unknown’ that built on the report Foresight 2030: Navigating Change.
The report identified future-proofing skills, working effectively with commercial actors, making research & education a more trusted and secure environment and Enabling NRENs to adapt to change, as challenges for NRENs in helping educational institutions in their countries to respond to. These reflect the concerns identified in the first panel discussion. Notable differences between the role of NRENs in other countries were discussed on our table. In the Netherlands, SURF provide solutions for all institutions (one example is the solution from a Dutch Company called Schoolyear that they have recently adopted, that can turn any device into a Safe Exam Workspace).
Could Jisc perhaps adopt a similar approach, as this would ’level the playing field’ somewhat and might go some way to ensuring that shrinking university budgets are spent more equitably and more wisely?
*an NREN (national research and education network) is a specialised internet service provider dedicated to supporting the needs of the research and education communities within a country.
* GÉANT is the collaboration of European National Research and Education Networks (NRENs), including Jisc.
My brief for this post was to write one 300-word blog post, but Digifest is so full to the brim with interesting folk from other institutions, suppliers and representatives from Jisc (and wider) that I’m still processing the new connections and new insights I’ve gained by attending. I’m very happy to talk further about anything I’ve mentioned here and in my previous post. Please do get in touch if you would like to discuss collaborating or would like to know more. These blog posts only scratch the surface and are necessarily a condensed version of the event. There is so much more to learn.
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