Business engagement – SPARK Report
06 Feb 2018
The Future Index supplies the University with regular reports that showcase current trends, and demonstrate innovations in the world of brands and marketing. The latest issue looks at the importance of business engagement.
Particular highlights featured in this issue:
- Deakin University’s “Genie” – a personalised digital assistant designed to help students organise their university experience. Currently being trialled with business and law students, Genie will soon be made available to over 50,000 students in Melbourne, and is already a global award winner.
- A case study of General Electric (GE) – as one of the world’s biggest research organisations, GE makes its scientific and research stories as accessible as possible, communicating its excellence and innovation in a way that makes it easy to understand quickly. This has led to a social media following of millions. For universities wanting to make a big impact with its research profile, GE’s work provides a great example to look at.
Other ideas from higher education (HE) marketing include:
- The ‘Co-op’ programme at Drexel University, which links students with over 1,600 businesses and partnerships. Five-year programmes can be broken up with three different cooperative experiences, each fitting in with the curriculum and creating a fantastic employability opportunity.
- Aston University, who, with the support of 11 different sponsors, run a tech-focused hack every year collaborating with businesses. They also recently ran an Aston Accelerator event at the Birmingham’s International Convention Centre, where inspirational speakers talked about skills and careers. On campus, they partnered with organisations including IBM, the British Army, Microsoft and St John’s Ambulance, who provided practical skills workshops to improve the employability of their students.
Finally, from outside the HE sector:
- Adidas have been recruiting ambassadors in Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp groups to form the Tango Squad, a collective of influential local footballers. With over 1,400 members, the squad is a key part of the bigger Adidas strategy – could student ambassadors be recruited in a similar way?
- The Rijks SnapGuide at Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam guides students through its art using famous YouTubers via a mobile app. The YouTubers also set challenges that students upload for their teachers to complete. This is a great example of a way to inspire and connect with a new generation in a way that will excite them.
Read about all of these and more in the full report below: