The education sector used to be a recession-proof industry. This claim is supported by empirical research. In a study published by Dianne A. Wright, Gianna Ramdin, and Maria D. Vasquez-Colina in 2013, they concluded that “(economic) recessions between 1979 and 2009 had very little restraining power on U.S. higher education enrollments.”
However, as business models evolve more quickly to thrive in an increasingly competitive global economy, it appears that the education sector has adopted a similar mindset. Given that today’s students have easy access to the Internet and are free to travel almost anywhere in pursuit of work, universities need not worry too much about job placements for their graduates.
So, why do universities need to create a bigger international presence, build their brands, and push for industry collaboration? It’s all about the global value chain. Universities want to embed themselves in processes that give their students and other stakeholders more opportunities in the market.
For many physical, earth and life scientists who are researchers, they offer a skill that commands a premium in innovation-focused industries.
In an interview with GMI POST, Stanford University’s US-Asia Technology Management Center Director Dr. Richard Dasher said, “We look at the kind of impact of new technology businesses on industry value chains. For example, when artificial intelligence starts to be used in cybersecurity, how's that going to affect all of business software?”
Meanwhile, in a separate interview, UC Law San Francisco Chancellor and Dean David Faigman said, “The future is not only international, but the future is interdisciplinary. And that interaction between the interdisciplinary and the international is something of a unique opportunity in San Francisco like perhaps almost no other place on Earth.”
To secure their long-term future, Stanford University, UC Law, and Oregon State University will need to strengthen their alliances with their partners, domestic and international, like Sofia University in Tokyo by breaking down barriers and opening more lines of communication.
