UU - Universities and Unicorns: building digital assets in the higher education industry

Lead Research Organisation: Lancaster University
Department Name: Educational Research

Abstract

The higher education (HE) sector has been marketised for decades; but the speed, scope, and extent of marketisation has led key education scholars to conceptualise it as a global industry (Verger, Lubienski, & Steiner-Khamsi, 2016). Further, the use of technology to transform teaching and learning, as well as the profound digitalisation of universities more broadly, has led universities to collect and process an unprecedented amount of digital data. Education technology (EdTech) companies have become one of the key players in the HE industry and the UK has made EdTech one of its key pillars in its recent international education strategy (HM Government, 2019). EdTech companies are reporting unprecedented growth. In 2019, Coursera became a 'unicorn' (i.e. a company worth over $1 billion), while British-based FutureLearn secured £50 million investment by selling 50% shares of the company. Investment in EdTech is growing at an impressive rate and reached $16.3bn in 2018 (ET, 2019). While EdTech start-up companies strive to become 'unicorns' and profit from HE, so too might universities increasingly look for new ways of profiting from the wealth of digital data they produce.

The study of HE markets has so far focused on service-commodities. However, data and data products do not act like commodities. Commodities are consumed once used, but data is reproducible at almost zero marginal cost. New products and services can be created from data and monetised through subscription fees, an app, or a platform that does not transfer ownership, control, or reproduction rights to the user. Furthermore, data use creates yet more data, and the network effects increase the value of these platforms. Therefore, there is a new quality at play in the monetisation and marketisation of these digital HE products and services: 'assetization'. We are witnessing a widespread change from creating value via market exchange towards extracting value via the ownership and control of assets.

This research project aims to investigate these new processes of value creation and extraction in an HE sector that is digitalising its operations and introducing new digital solutions premised on the expansion of service fees. By introducing a focus on assets, and economic rents, this project offers a theoretically and empirically transformative approach to understand emerging HE markets and their implications for the HE sector. The assetization of HE is consequential because of the legal and technical implications for its regulation. It is also crucial to examine in any discussion about the legitimate and socially just arrangement and distribution of assets, their ownership, and their uses. The project employs an innovative, comparative, and participatory mixed-methods research design. It combines digital methods, interviews, observation, document analysis, deliberative focus groups, knowledge exchange and co-production with stakeholders, and public consultation. Data analysis will include quantitative and qualitative analysis of investment trends, comparative case studies of investors, EdTech companies and universities, and social network analysis.

The application of this research project is fourfold. First, it will help universities understand the emerging processes of assetization so they can develop policies and practices for protecting their rights. Second, it will assist entrepreneurs in finding ways to incorporate ethical and sustainable considerations in their innovation processes. Third, it will mediate between the financial interests of investors and the social function of universities. Here, it will provide evidence for policymakers on how to include assets in HE sector regulation. Finally, it will unpack potential forms of inequality that assetization might bring into the HE sector.

Planned Impact

Who will benefit

The direct beneficiaries from this research will be universities, education technology (EdTech) entrepreneurs, and financial investors interested in EdTech. The indirect beneficiaries will be higher education (HE) policymakers, students, university staff, university administrators, and society at large.


How will they benefit

Universities are collaborating with EdTech companies to digitalise all of their operations. They are producing an unprecedented amount of digital data. EdTech companies attempt to monetise and make use of this data in developing new and more digital products (Mirrlees & Alvi, 2019). Universities need to understand how digital data they produce is monetised (in the commodity or an asset form), by whom, under what rules, with what rights and with what consequences. They need to consider what should be their role in securing and monetising their data, what rights should they have in relation to EdTech companies, and how they can balance their social role with rent-seeking in the future digital HE industry. The project will initiate this debate among universities, which will be supported by the project partners (particularly UUK, GuildHE and Jisc). The project will also produce advice, good practice examples, and resources to manage the mentioned challenges.

EdTech entrepreneurs are fruitfully benefitting from research on technology in relation to teaching and learning, which is exemplified with the UCL mentoring programme called 'Educate'. In it, start-up entrepreneurs receive support in understanding rigorous research practices to aid the development of their products. But there is a lack of research on the political economy of EdTech (Mirrlees & Alvi, 2019). In light of the booming EdTech industry, JISC with Emerge Educate (a start-up facilitator and seed investor) developed guidelines for university leaders on how to manage their relationships with start-up companies (Iosad, 2019). This indicates that the fast technological innovation brings new opportunities, but also demands careful legal and operational arrangements. However, these new guidelines for university leaders focus on sustainability of the start-up business model but do not mention ethical products or treatment of data. This project will produce knowledge on synergies and tensions of their visions with universities'. It is key that entrepreneurs are part of the debate about ethical ways of innovating. The project will produce a report and resources on the role of entrepreneurs in the growing digital HE industry.

By choosing what gets funded and created, investors importantly influence the future of our economy (Feher, 2018). Investors in EdTech need to consider links and tensions between them, entrepreneurs and universities. They will benefit by becoming part of the discussion on different kinds of value construction (via commodities, assets, and various business models). They will make use of the project report, which will highlight the consequences of different future scenarios of assetizing digitalised HE and their role in them.

Finally, policymakers face a serious challenge in how to regulate the fast dynamic of EdTech and its role in HE. They will benefit from recommendations that the project will produce on how to regulate the monetisation of digital data and products in HE. Students, university staff, university leaders, and society at large will benefit as this project will contribute insights to the public concerns on how we as a society want to manage privatisation of our digital data, what should be the rights of different actors, and who should pay (Savona, 2019). The findings will, therefore, have significant implications for the future of HE. They will also feed into broader discussions on the digital economy and the future of work.
 
Title How can higher education stakeholders support Edtech? 
Description This video outlines policy recommendations for cross-sector digital transformation in higher education. It highlights the importance of collaboration between policy-makers, stakeholders, EdTech companies, and universities to advance digital technologies in higher education. The findings derive from the ESRC-funded project 'Universities and Unicorns: building digital assets in the higher education industry'. 
Type Of Art Film/Video/Animation 
Year Produced 2023 
URL https://zenodo.org/doi/10.5281/zenodo.10092215
 
Title What are assets, and why do they matter? 
Description The focus of this video is on the concepts of assets and assetisation. Assets are discussed in relation to families and companies. Data is highlighted as an important contemporary asset to companies, especially Edtech companies. Digital assets in higher education and Edtech are addressed. This work was supported by the Economic and Social Research Council, UK, under Grant [ES/T016299/1]. The project title: Universities and Unicorns: building digital assets in the higher education industry. Project duration: 2021-2023. 
Type Of Art Film/Video/Animation 
Year Produced 2023 
URL https://zenodo.org/doi/10.5281/zenodo.10092061
 
Title What are assets, and why do they matter? 
Description The focus of this video is on the concepts of assets and assetisation. Assets are discussed in relation to families and companies. Data is highlighted as an important contemporary asset to companies, especially Edtech companies. Digital assets in higher education and Edtech are addressed. This work was supported by the Economic and Social Research Council, UK, under Grant [ES/T016299/1]. The project title: Universities and Unicorns: building digital assets in the higher education industry. Project duration: 2021-2023. 
Type Of Art Film/Video/Animation 
Year Produced 2023 
URL https://zenodo.org/doi/10.5281/zenodo.10092060
 
Title What are the key tensions in educational technology (Edtech)? 
Description This video outlines the key challenges and tensions that have arisen in the higher education sector as it increasingly operates using digital technology, and how these can be used to direct future improvements of digital processes in higher education. The findings come from the ESRC-funded project 'Universities and Unicorns: building digital assets in the higher education industry'. 
Type Of Art Film/Video/Animation 
Year Produced 2023 
URL https://zenodo.org/doi/10.5281/zenodo.10092116
 
Description The project investigated the digitalisation of universities and the future value of digital assets in the higher education industry. Its mixed-method research design included quantitative database analyses of 2,012 EdTech companies, 1,120 investors in EdTech and 1,962 investment deals; qualitative case studies of universities, EdTech start-up companies, and investors in EdTech (65 informants participating in interviews and focus groups and 2,635 documents analysed); and deliberative focus groups with stakeholders and public consultation. The project was completed in June 2023 and data analysis has informed the following key findings from the project, which reflect the successful achievement of the aims of this award.

Big Tech infrastructure and platforms, legacy software, and incumbent EdTech companies dominate the digital ecosystems procured and implemented by universities despite the growth of the EdTech start-up industry. EdTech start-ups face various challenges in working with universities, including a lack of capacity for entering procurement procedures, different temporalities of operation between universities and venture capital-backed start-ups, lack of resources at universities, and universities' caution when considering new digital products. The EdTech industry makes significant promises concerning the quality and deliverables of their digital products and services, but there is a perception among university staff that EdTech products and services targeting universities are often of lower quality than products and services in other sectors. Furthermore, university digital ecosystems face integration and interoperability challenges, including some technology providers not wanting to integrate with other platforms or systems. This is especially the case with larger and more established technology providers.

Universities are leading their institutional datafication through digital strategies at different design and implementation stages. Universities need to collect and integrate data on staff and students from different sources, including digital data. It is not yet a norm for digital user data collected by proprietary platforms to be sent back to the university data lakes. Universities need to negotiate with EdTech providers carefully on user data flows and other terms and conditions of digital product operations. Digitalisation and datafication create more work and increase costs for universities. Universities need to do more to inform students and staff about the digital products and services that make up their digital ecosystem, including how data are used, and include them in decision-making about technology and data.

The key aims of EdTech are understood to be personalisation, automation, student engagement, and institutional efficiency. However, there are discrepancies between university, EdTech, and investor groups regarding how they understand these aims and how they will be reached. Each of these aims needs further clarification and transparent implementation.

EdTech companies establish a variety of processes to control and charge for access to their digital assets. EdTech companies attempt to make their products and services valuable by incorporating user data analytics into key features of their products. The key trend is developing more and more data outputs and metrics in search of monetisation. However, these analytics are often simple and remain at the level of basic descriptive feedback loops for the user. Collecting, cleaning, sorting, processing, analysing digital user data, and turning it into data outputs demands a lot of human, technological, and financial resources. It is hard for companies to make user data analysis useful and valuable, so universities would be willing to pay higher fees for these data outputs. University staff is keen to explore and use EdTech. In general, they have a positive attitude towards EdTech. However, there are two cases in which they express scepticism: (1) if business models are perceived to be exploitative and extractive; and (2) if digital products and services interfere with the university's core values and practices.

The future imaginaries of HE and EdTech are constructed by the EdTech industry and policy actors. There are discrepancies between investors, EdTech companies, and universities in relation to what EdTech should do in the future and, indeed, what the future of HE will be. Universities should play a stronger role in fostering debate and discussion about the future of universities and the preferred role of technology in these futures.

The EdTech industry's discourse promotes the need for higher education disruption. We employed the lens of assetisation to develop a framework and analyse three variants of imagined disruption: disruption 'in', 'of', and 'to' higher education. First, value is constructed via intra-organisational asset co-creation in order to build efficiencies and personalised services. Second, value is constructed by delivering service for consumption via assetised public-private partnerships. Third, value is constructed by coordinating new lifelong-learning education marketplaces, which are governed via assetisation. These variants need a democratic and sector-specific discussion on digital asset governance to support fair, just, and democratic futures for the sector. We published recommendations for higher education stakeholders to support the sector discussion, 'Strengthening EdTech in Higher Education: Policy Recommendations and Principles 1.0'.
Exploitation Route Higher education stakeholders can take forward the findings from the project to support digitalisation in the sector; EdTech companies can benefit from the findings in designing digital products and services that support universities; and investors in EdTech can use findings in their strategies on social impact in their investment. We published recommendations for higher education stakeholders to support the sector discussion, 'Strengthening EdTech in Higher Education: Policy Recommendations and Principles 1.0'. Moreover, the research can be taken forward by the research community. In particular, research could investigate data-based business models further; and analyse many discrepancies, such as promises of savings and efficiency based on data operations versus more work and cost brought about by datafication in reality.
Sectors Digital/Communication/Information Technologies (including Software)

Education

Government

Democracy and Justice

URL https://www.lancaster.ac.uk/universities-and-unicorns/
 
Description While the project formally concluded in June 2023, the team is continuing to generate a range of project outputs that will extend the project's impact throughout 2024. The project has enabled the Principal Investigator (PI) and the research team to make a significant impact within academia, particularly by establishing assetisation in digital education as a new area of research. The project has included numerous opportunities to interact with key stakeholders (companies, universities, investors, third sector) during (a) data collection and (b) advisory groups, creating opportunities for emerging findings to be quickly disseminated and discussed by these groups. It is clear that the theoretical lens taken in this project (i.e. assetisation), is entering the vocabularies of academic colleagues and other stakeholders and is being taken up in the field as a tool for understanding change in the sector. In May 2023, the project brought together an international group of academic colleagues to explore the project findings and examine key areas of empirical and theoretical interest for the project. This event has given rise to a number of further publication outcomes that will consolidate the new research area that the project has established. There is currently extensive debate about the impact of AI and digital technologies in education. The project has also caught the attention of policymakers and we have contributed evidence and expertise to a range of policy documents and reports published in the UK and internationally. These contributions have focused on supporting the effectiveness of policy and governance in relation to the digitalisation of HE.
First Year Of Impact 2023
Sector Education
Impact Types Policy & public services

 
Description Citation in the UN Special Rapporteur's 2022 report on the impact of the digitalisation of education on the right to education.
Geographic Reach Multiple continents/international 
Policy Influence Type Citation in other policy documents
URL https://www.ohchr.org/en/documents/thematic-reports/ahrc5032-impact-digitalization-education-right-e...
 
Description Quote in UNESCO Global Education Monitoring report 2023
Geographic Reach Multiple continents/international 
Policy Influence Type Citation in other policy documents
URL https://gem-report-2023.unesco.org/
 
Description Quote in the report "Devices for schools" prepared by the Open Innovation Team for the Department for Education
Geographic Reach National 
Policy Influence Type Citation in other policy documents
 
Description Quoted in UNESCO report
Geographic Reach Multiple continents/international 
Policy Influence Type Citation in other policy documents
 
Description A contribution for the United Nations Expert Meeting on 'Corporate influence and academic freedom' (invitation only) 
Form Of Engagement Activity A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Policymakers/politicians
Results and Impact This was an invitation-only meeting. It was an expert panel session convened by the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to education, Ms. Farida Shaheed, about academic freedom and corporate influence. Ms Shaheed convened 10 participants based in different countries around the world.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2024
 
Description A panel at the annual conference of the Society of Research into Higher Education 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Other audiences
Results and Impact Janja Komljenovic (PI), Sam Sellar (CI), Morten Hansen (RA) and Javier Mármol Queraltó (PhD student) spoke at the panel "Universities and unicorns: the role of assetisation and rentiership in the construction of higher education digital futures". Each gave a talk with Komljenovic focusing on the project overview and quantiative mapping of financial investment in edtech; Mármol Queraltó presented investors' discourse around edtech; Hansen focused on edtech companies' construction of digital assets; and Sellar presented preliminary insights on how universities understand the value of edtech. This was the first project panel where we presented insights as the project unfolds. The feedback we received was excellent in terms of our theoretical and empirical layout; as well as first insights.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2021
 
Description AI at work: Impacts on the higher education and research sector 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Policymakers/politicians
Results and Impact ETUI (European Trade Union Institute) - ETUCE (European Trade Union Committee fo Education) expert conference on AI at work: Impacts on the higher education and research sector. Brussels, Belgium. (28-29.2.2024).
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2024
 
Description Blog post - Digital Education and Automation 
Form Of Engagement Activity Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact Blog post for active research cluster. Circulated widely.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2023
URL https://kppcam.net/2023/01/02/digital-education-and-automation/
 
Description Blog, "Beware efficiencies! Assetisation as the future defraying of costs savings in the present" 
Form Of Engagement Activity A magazine, newsletter or online publication
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Policymakers/politicians
Results and Impact Blog for The Society for Research into Higher Education Blog (SRHEblog.com) (23 Feb).
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2022
URL https://srheblog.com/2022/02/23/beware-efficiencies-assetisation-as-the-future-defraying-of-costs-sa...
 
Description Blog: Beware efficiencies! Assetisation as the future defraying of costs savings in the present 
Form Of Engagement Activity Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Other audiences
Results and Impact This is the second in the project's SRHE blog series. Kean Birch (CI) focuses on efficiency as an ideational driver of much of education technology's investment, innovation and legitimacy.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2021
URL https://srheblog.com/2022/02/23/beware-efficiencies-assetisation-as-the-future-defraying-of-costs-sa...
 
Description Blog: Mapping financial investment flows in digital higher education: a focus on data-rich operations 
Form Of Engagement Activity Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Other audiences
Results and Impact This is a blog post following the SRHE panel presentation. Komljenovic presents financial investment flows in digital higher education with a special focus on data-rich operations.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2021
URL https://srheblog.com/2022/02/16/mapping-financial-investment-flows-in-digital-higher-education-a-foc...
 
Description Boston College, USA: Panel presentation and discussion: Existential threats to higher education around the world 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Other audiences
Results and Impact Boston College, USA: Panel presentation and discussion: Existential threats to higher education around the world (10.6.2023). This was a panel presentation at the CIHE 2023 Biennial Conference on International Higher Education. The event was held at the Boston College, USA. It attracted around 100 international participants from academic and practice backgrounds, including media. I presented insights from the project and contributed to the debate on existential threats to higher education.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2023
URL https://www.bc.edu/bc-web/schools/lynch-school/sites/cihe/events-news/CIHE-conference-on-internation...
 
Description CIES 2023 presentation 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Other audiences
Results and Impact Comparative and international education society (CIES) annual conference: Assetization of digital disruption in higher education. (22.2.2023)
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2023
URL https://cies2023.org/
 
Description Center for Higher Education at TU Dortmund, Germany: Summer School in Higher Education Research and Science Studies (HERSS) 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Postgraduate students
Results and Impact Center for Higher Education at TU Dortmund, Germany: Summer School in Higher Education Research and Science Studies (HERSS). Workshop 5: Digital higher education: platformization, privatisation and a new governance model. (29.9.2022)
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2022
URL https://www.herss-summer.eu/
 
Description Centre for Global Higher Education webinar (From a rebel to consumer and now a digital user: the changing role of students in British university governance) 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Other audiences
Results and Impact Janja Komljenovic (PI) gave a talk with Rille Raaper from Durham University on the changing notion of students in British higher education. They focused on how students are becoming digital users and how the way they study and live is positioned in the digital economy and society. They argued for the need to governance of digital user data collected from students.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2021
URL https://www.researchcghe.org/events/cghe-seminar/from-a-rebel-to-consumer-and-now-a-digital-user-the...
 
Description EASST conference presentation 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Other audiences
Results and Impact European Association for the Study of Science and Technology (EASST) annual conference. Emerging Big EdTech: disrupting education and assetising learning. (7.7.2022)
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2022
URL https://easst2022.org/
 
Description Education International 17th Research Network Meeting 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Third sector organisations
Results and Impact Presentation to Education International Research Network Meeting on the introduction of digital platforms in education. Education International is a global union federation of teachers' trade unions consisting of 401 member organizations in 172 countries and territories that represents over 30 million education personnel from pre-school through university. Over 100 representatives were present for this presentation, which raised awareness of issues explored in this project.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2022
 
Description Enclosing extended selves: Micro-accounts of digital assetisation 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Other audiences
Results and Impact Presented theoretical work on assetization processes constructed by the language learning app Duolingo.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2023
 
Description Ethics and AI 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact NORRAG AI and Digital Inequalities Summit: Panel 2 on ethics and AI. (27.9.2023).
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2023
URL https://www.norrag.org/ai-and-digital-inequities-summit/
 
Description Future research on higher education 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Other audiences
Results and Impact CGHE, Panel presentation and discussion: Future research on higher education. CGHE Annual Conference 2025 - The Future of Higher Education, London, UK. (15.2.2024)
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2024
URL https://www.researchcghe.org/events/cghe-annual-conference/cghe-annual-conference-2024-the-future-of...
 
Description Higher Education Close-Up (HECU) conference Keynote talk 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Other audiences
Results and Impact Higher Education Close-Up (HECU) conference Keynote talk. Lancaster University. Higher education industry expansion: commodification versus assetisation. (5.7.2022)
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2022
URL https://wp.lancs.ac.uk/hecu10/
 
Description Invited input at the United Nations Expert Consultation 'Privatisation and the digitalisation of education' 
Form Of Engagement Activity A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Policymakers/politicians
Results and Impact Janja Komljenovic (PI) was invited to give an input at the invitation-only expert consultation for the UN. The closed-door consultation of 6 experts was organised to support the Special Rapporteur on the Right to Education, Dr. Koumbou Boly Barry, in preparing a report on the consequences of digital education for the right to education. The report will be presented at the UN Human Rights Council later in 2022.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2021
 
Description Invited lecture at the University of Harvard 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Local
Primary Audience Undergraduate students
Results and Impact Janja Komljenovic (PI) was invited to give a lecture within the module SOCIOL1104 Sociology of Higher Education, Department of Sociology, FAS, Harvard University. She gave a lecture on the political economy of education technology, and presented rentiership and assetisation and theoretical approaches to study the governance of digital higher educaiton. After the lecture there was a long discussion around education technology and privatisation of the sector.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2021
 
Description Invited lecture at the University of York, Canada 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Local
Primary Audience Postgraduate students
Results and Impact Janja Komljenovic (PI) was invited to give a lecture within the module STS6005 Research Cluster: Technoscientific Injustices, Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies, University of York, Canada. She gave a lecture with a thorough overview of the UU project's methodology and analytical decisions. After the lecture there was a long discussion around the political economy of education technology.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2021
 
Description Invited plenary presentation at the 14th Trinational Conference to Defend Public Education, Through the pandemic: Education for transformation 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Sam Sellar gave a short plenary presentation to a conference of US, Canadian and Mexican teacher union members that lead to follow-up conversations with teacher unions in Chicago and an invitation to submit the talk to Intercambio Magazine. The talk was titled 'The uberization of education: Privatization, pandemic and EdTech' and drew on general insights from Phase 1 of the project.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2021
URL https://trinational.ourconference.ca/index.php?Page=Webpage&code=PYB9ZCQ
 
Description Invited presentation at the European Sectoral Social Dialogue in Education (Digital rentiership in education and what it means for higher education institutions, staff and students) 
Form Of Engagement Activity A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Policymakers/politicians
Results and Impact Janja Komljenovic (PI) was invited to present evidence for the Higher Education Working Group of the European Sectoral Social Dialogue in Education - ESSDE (by the European Trade Union Committee for Education, ETUCE, and the European Federation of Education Employers, EFEE). This was an invitation only event where selected experts, leaders in their field, were invited to give evidence on digitalisation of higher education. Komljenovic focused on digital assets and rentiership, and how it affects higher education students and staff.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2021
 
Description Invited talk at Boston College (Universities and Unicorns: building digital assets in higher education) 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Other audiences
Results and Impact Janja Komljenovic (PI) gave a talk at the event "The digitized university as space: The future of home and community in higher education life" organised by The Philosophy and Theory of Higher Education Society (PaTHES) and the Boston College Center for International Higher Education (CiHE). Komljenovic presented the theoretical and methodological outline of the project and focused on the new theoretical conceptualisation to the study of digital higher education, i.e. assetisation and rentiership. Participants were keen to learn about this new approach.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2021
URL https://pathes.org/the-digitized-university-as-space/
 
Description Invited talk at Infoclio, Swiss Academy of Humanities and Social Sciences (Digital higher education: platformization, privatization and new governance models). 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Janja Komljenovic (PI) was invited to give a talk at the event organised by Infoclio of the Swiss Academy of Humanities and Social Sciences. The event focused on digital work and digital education, and hosted practitioners and academics from Switzerland, Germany, Austria and France. Komljenovic focused on how assetisation and rentiership led to new social relations in higher educaiton and to new governance models in digitalised higher education. The debate after the talk focused on the loss of user rights when engaging with proprietary digital platforms and the need for public universities to be more transparent in their digital infrastructure operations.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2021
URL https://infoclio.ch/en/colloque-infoclioch-2021-out-office-travail-%C3%A0-distance-et-sciences-histo...
 
Description Invited talk at Lancaster University (Universities and unicorns: the discursive construction of digital higher education by financial investors) 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Local
Primary Audience Postgraduate students
Results and Impact Janja Komljenovic (PI) and Javier Mármol Queraltó (PhD researcher) gave a talk on education technology investors' discourse. They presented first preliminary insights coming from the project. They focused on investors' ideas on higher education and the future imaginaries. The debate after the talk focused on the edtech dynamic in higher education. We also promoted assetisation and rentiership as new theoretical frameworks to study digital higher education.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2021
 
Description Invited talk at Liverpool Hope University (Universities and unicorns: building digital assets in the higher education industry) 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Local
Primary Audience Other audiences
Results and Impact Janja Komljenovic (PI) and Sam Sellar (CI) presented the theoretical and methodological outline of the project. The debate focused on the theme of the project (digitalisation of higher education and new forms of value); as well as on how to write successful project applications. The intended purpose was to promote the new theoretical conceptualisation to the study of digital higher education, i.e. assetisation and rentiership. Participants were keen to learn about this new approach.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2021
URL https://www.hope.ac.uk/microsites/eventscalendar/name-29738-en.html
 
Description Invited talk at Universities of Agder, Aarhus and KTH Royal Institute of Technology (Universities and unicorns: building digital assets in the higher education industry) 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Postgraduate students
Results and Impact Janja Komljenovic (PI) and Sam Sellar (CI) gave a talk about the theoretical and methodological outline of the project. The debate focused on the theme of the project (digitalisation of higher education and new forms of value). The intended purpose was to promote the new theoretical conceptualisation to the study of digital higher education, i.e. assetisation and rentiership. Participants were keen to learn about this new approach. The talk was given at the event "Understanding Digital Transformations of Higher Education Teaching and Learning in the Nordics and Beyond" organised by Universities of Agder (Norway), Aarhus (Denmark) and KTH Royal Institute of Technology (Sweden).
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2021
 
Description Invited talk at the Joint CRISP-Digital Escalate Workshop, University of Sterling (Digital rentiership in higher education: the future of personal data governance) 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Other audiences
Results and Impact Janja Komljenovic (PI) was invited to give a talk at a workshop within the EU ERASMUS+ funded research project ESCALATE focusing on surveillance allowed by digital technology. Komljenovic gave a talk on the new forms of governance of digital data and digital educaiton as a consequence of rentiership and assetisation.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2021
URL http://www.crisp-surveillance.com/event/196/digitisation-higher-education-new-information-flows-powe...
 
Description Invited talk at the National symposia on Learning Analytics in Higher Education, Norway (Emerging education rentiership: digital platforms, digital data and rents) 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Other audiences
Results and Impact Janja Komljenovic (PI) gave a talk on new forms of value construction in digital higher education. She focused on digital assets and how they represent new governance models for education technology. The intended purpose was to promote the new theoretical conceptualisation to the study of digital higher education, i.e. assetisation and rentiership. Participants were keen to learn about this new approach.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2021
URL https://slate.uib.no/events-sites/supporting-learning-in-higher-education-through-learning-analytics...
 
Description Invited talk at the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts panel (Data rent - value, ownership and management in the digital economy) 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Policymakers/politicians
Results and Impact Janja Komljenovic (PI) discussed assetisation and rentiership as new economic coordination models in the digital economy. The intended purpose was to promote this new theoretical conceptualisation to the study of digital societies and economies. Participants were keen to learn about this new approach.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2021
URL https://www.sazu.si/events/6025092112416e9924e4eabe
 
Description Invited talk at the University of Bristol (Universities and unicorns: mappings and trends of investments in higher education technology) 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Other audiences
Results and Impact Janja Komljenovic (PI) and Sam Sellar (CI) gave a talk on the investment trends in higher education technology. This was the second event where the project team presented preliminary insights from the project. We focused on the quantitative overview of financial flows. We also presented assetisation and rentiership as new theoreticale lenses through which to understand digital higher education. The discussion after the talk focused on rentiership, new business models in digital higher education and geopolitical struggles.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2021
URL https://www.bristol.ac.uk/education/events/2021/bce29june.html
 
Description Invited talk at the University of Cambridge (Digital rentiership and assetization in higher education) 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Local
Primary Audience Postgraduate students
Results and Impact Janja Komljenovic (PI) gave a talk on the theoretical and methodological outline of the project. The debate focused on the theme of the project (digitalisation of higher education and new forms of value). The intended purpose was to promote the new theoretical conceptualisation to the study of digital higher education, i.e. assetisation and rentiership. Participants were keen to learn about this new approach.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2021
 
Description Invited talk at the University of Durham 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Local
Primary Audience Other audiences
Results and Impact Janja Komljenovic (PI) presented the theoretical and methodological outline of the project. The debate focused on the theme of the project (digitalisation of higher education and new forms of value). The intended purpose was to promote the new theoretical conceptualisation to the study of digital higher education, i.e. assetisation and rentiership. Participants were keen to learn about this new approach.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2021
URL https://www.durham.ac.uk/departments/academic/education/about-us/events/research-seminar-09jun21/
 
Description Invited talk at the University of Edinburgh (Universities and unicorns: the discursive construction of digital higher education by financial investors) 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Other audiences
Results and Impact Janja Komljenovic (PI) and Javier Mármol Queraltó (PhD researcher) gave a talk on education technology investors' discourse. This was the first event at which we presented first preliminary insights coming from the project. We focused on investors' ideas on higher education and the future imaginaries. The debate after the talk focused on the edtech dynamic in higher education. We also promoted assetisation and rentiership as new theoretical frameworks to study digital higher education.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2021
URL https://media.ed.ac.uk/media/Dr+Janja+Komljenovic+and+Javier+M%C3%A1rmol+Queralt%C3%B3+%27Universiti...
 
Description Invited talk at the University of South Africa (Digital technology in higher education: platformization, privatisation and new governance models) 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Other audiences
Results and Impact Janja Komljenovic (PI) gave a talk on digitalisation of higher education with a special focus on assetisation and rentiership. She gave an overview of financial investment flows and touched up geographic unevennes in education technology investment and innovation. She called for a need for a more democratic digital data and technology governance in higher education. Participants were keen to learn about digital assetisation.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2021
 
Description Invited talk at the joint event of Aarhus University and University of Cambridge (The digital: new wave of privatisation of universities) 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Other audiences
Results and Impact Janja Komljenovic (PI) gave a talk on digitalisation of higher education with a special focus on proprietary digital platforms. She presented assetisation and rentiership as theoretical approaches with most explanatory power. Participants were keen to learn about this new approach.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2021
 
Description Invited talk for the British Educational Research Association (BERA) on how to write project applications 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Postgraduate students
Results and Impact Janja Komljenovic (PI) was invited to give a workshop to the Early Career Researchers on how to write successful research project applications. She built the workshop on her experience with the ESRC-funded UU project.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2021
 
Description Malmo University, Sweden: Research symposium on assetization (invitation only) 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Other audiences
Results and Impact Malmo University, Sweden: Research symposium on assetization (invitation only). The (im)possibility of digital disruption of higher education. (11.-13.10.2022)
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2022
 
Description NORRAG and UN Special Rapporteur side event 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Policymakers/politicians
Results and Impact NORRAG (Network for International Policies and Cooperation in Education and Training) and the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Right to Education hosted by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) organised an online side event to the Human Rights Council on 24 June 2022. Contribution on assetisation in digital higher education.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2022
URL https://www.norrag.org/events-highlights-the-digitalisation-of-education-and-its-impact-on-the-right...
 
Description Pockets of humanity in a world of automated research writing 
Form Of Engagement Activity Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact Blogpost describing learning and teaching with generative AI
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2023
URL https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/impactofsocialsciences/2023/12/12/pockets-of-humanity-in-a-world-of-automate...
 
Description Policy Futures International Webinar Series, Danish School of Education, Aarhus University 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Other audiences
Results and Impact Policy Futures International Webinar Series, Danish School of Education, Aarhus University. The (im)possibility of digital disruption of higher education. (26.9.2022)
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2022
URL https://dpu.au.dk/en/about-the-school/events/event/artikel/constructing-new-digital-assets-in-higher...
 
Description Presentation - Digital Platforms: What are they and why should we care? 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Local
Primary Audience Postgraduate students
Results and Impact "Digital Platforms: What are they and why should we care?" Invited lecture for the Social Media, Platforms, and Marketing graduate module at the Department of Digital Humanities, King's College London
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2022
 
Description Promises for Learning and Assessment - Engaging Complexity Amidst Global Digital Disruptions 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Postgraduate students
Results and Impact Invited guest lecture to postgraduate students at the University of Alberta on digitalization in education and associated challenges. 20 students attended, many of whom are educators in Albertan schools. The talk promoted engaged debate among participants and resulted in a further invitation to present to this cohort in 2023.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2022
 
Description Short piece for NORRAG called "EdTech's precarious futures: are there material limits to data-driven higher education?" 
Form Of Engagement Activity A magazine, newsletter or online publication
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Policymakers/politicians
Results and Impact Blog for Northern Research Review and Advisory Group (NORRAG) (15 Nov).
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2022
URL https://www.norrag.org/edtechs-precarious-futures-are-there-material-limits-to-data-driven-higher-ed...
 
Description Times Higher Education is expanding, but what is it becoming? 
Form Of Engagement Activity Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact The purpose of was to explain the potential rationales behind a recent acquisition between two higher education media companies. It outlet has a global reach.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2022
URL https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/impactofsocialsciences/2022/02/10/times-higher-education-is-expanding-but-wh...
 
Description UU Stakeholder Forum workshop 
Form Of Engagement Activity A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Policymakers/politicians
Results and Impact An all-day knowledge co-production workshop with higher education stakeholders who are involved in the project. The workshop included reviewing, discussing, and interpreting the interim findings and the policy needs on Edtech.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2022
URL https://www.lancaster.ac.uk/universities-and-unicorns/
 
Description Understanding the value of edtech in higher education 
Form Of Engagement Activity A magazine, newsletter or online publication
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Invited commentary about education technology for the University World News, a globally read higher education news site.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2022
URL https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20220114101726144