Webinar series Universities and Unicorns: building digital assets in the higher education industry
Thursday 22 June 2023, 1:30pm to 3:00pm
Event Details
The three webinar series will present preliminary findings from the ESRC-funded project ‘Universities and Unicorns: building digital assets in the higher education industry’.
In this back-to-back webinar series, the research team will discuss the policy recommendations relevant to Edtech in higher education, digital disruption possibilities in the sector, and the concepts of assets and rent.
The project analysed notions of value in digital higher education. It investigated digitalisation dynamics at universities, Edtech companies, and investors in Edtech. It illuminated tensions between these stakeholders and searched for synergies. The researchers propose policy recommendations and principles for mentioned stakeholders and policymakers to support the constructive expansion of the Edtech sector. It also highlights personal data governance and proposes solutions for ethical innovation.
Webinar 1: Rentiership in EdTech: Data as asset, data as rent?
22 June 2023 at 13.30 to 14.00
Speaker: Kean Birch
This webinar will present the concepts of assetisation and rentiership. It will discuss different types of assets in higher education, how they are made valuable, and the consequences. The webinar is relevant for academics, practitioners, and policymakers.
Webinar 2: The investment of time: Divergent theses on the value of higher education
22 June 2023 at 14.00 to 14.30
Speaker: Sam Sellar
This webinar will focus on what is valuable in and about higher education. It will then discuss this in relation to Edtech and deliberate where Edtech can and cannot contribute to supporting the sector.
Webinar 3: Higher Education Edtech Policy Recommendations and Principles 1.0
22 June 2023 at 14.30 to 15.00
Speaker: Janja Komljenovic
This webinar will present the first version of policy recommendations for policymakers, universities, Edtech companies, and investors in Edtech. The recommendations are coming from the ESRC-funded research project on new forms of value in Edtech.
Please register for each webinar separately.
The support of the Economic and Social Research Council (UK) is gratefully acknowledged.
Speakers
York University, Canada
Kean Birch is a Professor at York University, Canada. He is particularly interested in understanding technoscientific capitalism and draws on a range of perspectives from science & technology studies, economic geography, and economic sociology to study it. More specifically, his research focuses on the restructuring and transformation of the economy & financial knowledges and technoscience & technoscientific innovation. Currently, he is researching how different things (e.g. knowledge, personali
Educational Research, Lancaster University
Janja Komljenovic is a Senior Lecturer at Lancaster University in the UK. Her research focuses on the political economy of higher education. She is particularly interested in digital markets in higher education, new forms of value in digital education and the EdTech industry, and assetisation as a new form of governance. Her approach sits at the intersection of economic sociology, science and technology studies, and higher education research. Janja is published internationally on higher educatio
University of South Australia
Sam Sellar is Dean of Research (Education Futures) and Professor of Education Policy at the University of South Australia. Sam’s research focuses on education policy, large-scale assessments and the datafication of education. Sam also works closely with teacher organisations around the world to understand the impact of digitalisation on teacher professional autonomy. His most recent book is titled Algorithms of education: How datafication and artificial intelligence shape policy (University of M
Contact Details
| Name | Janja Komljenovic |
| Website |