How can data help solve higher education challenges?

10 November 2020

Data Matters launches as a virtual event in partnership with HESA and QAA.

Touching on key concerns such as data for wellbeing, student experience, and strategic planning, the conference will run as a virtual event from 26-27 January 2021 with the theme ‘enabling data certainty’.

James Clay, head of higher education at Jisc, says:

“The UK education sector is moving towards an uncertain future, and the role of data, analytics, data modelling, predictive analytics and visualisation will be a core aspect of this uncertain future, and the uncertainty will bring new challenges for the sector in how it utilises the potential of data. Public skepticism about algorithms and data use is also creating new ethical and legal challenges in the gathering, processing and interpretation of data.

“These are the kinds of challenges we aim to address at the conference, bringing experts across data and HE together to share ideas and best practice.”

Programme sessions include:

• Keynote from Bart Rienties, professor of learning analytics at The Open University (OU) on the impact of large-scale adoption across The OU, an early adopter of learning analytics
• Keynote from Richard Prowse, deputy director of service design at the University of Bath on using data to co-design digital products and services that work
• Using data to drive digital capability development
• Data-led quality assurance and enhancement
• Student perceptions of learning experience
• Using data to track and address differential achievement
• Student wellbeing

Douglas Blackstock, chief executive at QAA, says:

“We are delighted to be working again with Jisc and HESA on Data Matters. Data can be viewed from many different perspectives and this conference provides an opportunity for data specialists, planners, academics, quality professionals and other users of data in higher education to come together to learn from each other’s ideas.”

Jonathan Waller, director of data and innovation at HESA, says:

“As higher education deals with the transformative upheaval brought on by the coronavirus pandemic, data is playing a central role in our sector's response to the challenges we face now and in the future.

“Data Matters 2021 will provide an important opportunity for colleagues across the sector and beyond to come together to discuss and explore the ways data and analytics can help higher education meet, and exceed, these challenges."

Data Matters is a CPD-accredited event.

Find out more about Data Matters and book your place. Early bird offers are available until 30 November 2020.