” Combine or die– that is enough to make anyone who works in the higher education sector sit up,” warned Rod Bristow, chair of council at the University of Bradford, opening a panel on global education in the UK at last week’s EdtechX conference in central London.
He set out the background: flat domestic costs eroding in genuine terms, heavy policy, and a looming demographic cliff around 2030. Versus a background of paper headings asking “Is university worth it?”, he argued that while organizations understand they are under pressure, the genuine question is whether they are prepared to act.
Other panelists agreed that there was a requirement for universities to move quick.
Simon Nelson, CEO of QA Higher Education, recommended that many wanted they could wake from “what feels like a little a headache”. However he alerted that just “adapting or modifying the existing university experience” would not be enough for the large majority of gamers.
While the “highest profile, the wealthiest” universities were likely to be protected from the worst headwinds, he recommended, a lot of organizations would be “significantly challenged”.
“However there is an opportunity to reconsider what they do. I believe that needs to begin with being genuinely trainee focused or student centered,” he said.
Regardless of the sound, Jessica Turner, chief executive officer of QS Quacquarelli Symonds, insisted that in spite of the rhetoric, there is still broad assistance for higher education amongst the general public.
“The rhetoric is so much more powerful than the evidence,” she stated.
QS’s deal with King’s College London reveals that while the public thinks around 40% of graduates are sorry for going to university, in truth only 8% do, Turner exposed. Likewise, although 49% of the general public think student debt seriously harms graduates’ lives, just 16% of graduates state their debt negatively affects them.
For Ian Dunn, provost of the Coventry University Group, the sector is currently “awake” however is dealing with a “moment of numeration”.
“For far too long we’ve separated the concept of education and skills … they’re not various things; they never have actually been,” he argued.
For far too long we have actually separated the principle of education and skills … they’re not different things; they never have actually been
Ian Dunn, Coventry University Group
He required more paths between education and work, instead of a linear “school– degree– task” design. However he criticised a “damaged” policy and regulative environment, explaining that apprenticeship structures can take “3 or 4 years” to approve and that proposals for FE– HE mergers have stalled for many years.
Nelson argued that collaborations with private suppliers can help universities move quicker, however stated that political and regulative suspicion of the economic sector remains a significant barrier.
AI was a topic that showed up frequently throughout the conversation. At Coventry, said Dunn, AI sits “really high on the list– number one and second”, as a tool for teaching, research, and freeing up money through performance gains.
Meanwhile, Nelson highlighted work on data infrastructure and AI‑driven student‑retention analytics, while Turner cautioned that graduates are still “woefully unprepared” for how AI is improving work– a gap she views as a significant opportunity for edtech– university cooperation.
Closing the session, Bristow argued that the sector’s future will be chosen by its desire to innovate around skills, adult and long-lasting knowing, and partnership.