“Data is the key to help universities be better equipped for changing the world.” QS Senior Vice President Ben Sowter.
This was the core message in the opening remarks to more than 300 higher education leaders and data strategists at the EduData Summit 2025 in Singapore.
“Universities aren’t necessarily the best equipped for changing the world,” Sowter added. “What they need in order to take those bold steps and reinvent the model which has, in some cases, existed for centuries – is to examine the risk within those bold choices that need to be made. They must focus on understanding, channelling and harnessing the data that should be at their fingertips but isn’t yet.”
University data and how it relates to the world was the key theme of discussion across the two-day Summit at Singapore’s Marina Bay Sands Expo and Conference Centre on 4-5 June.
From keynote speeches on turning measurement into movement and the transformative power of AI, to panel discussions on shaping the skills flow and leveraging the human advantage in an age of automation – the experience was deeply interactive and collaborative.
Here are our key takeaways:
The leaders of tomorrow will be those with intention, courage and heart
In the opening keynote, Christine Amour-Levar delivered a powerful speech on the power of purpose and impact in understanding and leveraging data. “Until you see who are actually impacted, you don’t realise how powerful this data is,” said the Co-Founder of Investors for Climate and Founder and CEO of HER Planet Earth.
“Purpose and impact are the new metrics. We are living in a moment where the next generation aren’t asking what they’ll do. They’re asking why it matters.”
For Amour-Levar, data is not enough. The sector needs more cross sector partnerships, catalytic capital and opportunities where data meets design and innovation.
“Let’s connect the data to the dream.”
Universities must lead, not follow, the skills shift
On the main stage, we explored skills as a new currency for university excellence. Led by EduData Summit Chair and Professor at Columbia University, Paul Thurman, the panel explored the key performance metrics needed to compliment skills development and prepare students for the rapidly evolving workforce.
As Professor Thurman noted: “A tension we all deal with is, do we wait for the demand signal and respond to it or try and define what the skills demand will be and work on shaping it ourselves, with the ability to pivot quickly if needed?”
For Dr Lim Fun Siong, it’s both. “We don’t want to only recognise people with the current in-demand skills. What is more sustainable is to find out who our students are and provide them with opportunities to become architects of their learning journeys.”
He added: “Beyond being a supplier, universities are the birthplaces of many great ideas, technologies and skills. We can contribute emerging trends and innovation to this conversation.”
Real impact comes from data storytelling
The transformative power of AI in navigating and analysing data enables a quicker path to understanding the key stories that data is telling us. On day two of the Summit, Darell Lian, Business Manager at Kontinentalist, held an empowering keynote speech on how to bring data to life and asked: “what if your data didn’t just inform, but inspired action and understanding.”
In his interactive session, Lian demonstrated how powerful data visualisation and storytelling leads to clear, accessible and engaging impact, connecting it to audiences who need it most. Lian said: “It’s not the data that makes the impact. It’s the stories we use to tell them. Stories told well are what make the data mean something to the world.”
Nancy Berclaw, Executive Director of Strategic Partnerships at Ajman University, reiterated in a fireside chat on ‘Using Data to Drive Sustainable Human Transformation’ that: “There is a place for evidence. There is a place for data. But we have to have more impact and we have to talk about it because it’s our reason for existing.”
From data silos to data ecosystems: Realising the big picture
A recurring undercurrent throughout the Summit was the critical shift from isolated data sets to interconnected data ecosystems—an essential step for higher education institutions seeking to unlock transformational insight and action.
While universities have access to a growing volume of data, the true challenge lies in integration. When data remains locked in departmental silos, it fails to provide a full picture of the student experience or institutional impact. The conversation is no longer just about having data; it’s about bringing it together, meaningfully and sustainably.
Nikolay Novozhilov, Head of Data Science at the Bank of Singapore, spoke on a panel titled ‘Personalised, Dynamic and Data-Driven: Reinventing How We Teach’ and said: “I think the goldmine for the data comes when you collect it over the long-term to truly understand what works and what doesn’t in order to have impact for years to come.
“How can we better gather feedback from across our institutions? Can we see how it all connects? As an institution or professor can I see the full picture to inform strategy? Do I see as a student that there is a pathway for their learning journey and into their career?”
Leveraging the human advantage in the age of automation
Speaking about the opportunities to innovate and rethink the value of universities over the next decade, on a panel titled ‘The University of 2030 – What Will Your University Look Like’, Tan Siok Siok, Co-author of AI for Humanity and Founder and CEO of Open Story, gave focus to the human advantage that higher education must leverage in the new age of automation.
Tan said: “We often talk about AI and technology as one of the biggest driving forces of change, but I think there is a larger force which is our evolving demographics. We are going to live much longer than we bargained for and therefore universities will play a stronger role in creating a life-long tribe or community that will give us a sense of shared purpose and connection throughout our lives.”
In a fireside chat on ‘Using Data to Drive Sustainable Human Transformation’, Nancy Berclaw reiterated this statement. She said: “The data informs, but we have to talk about impact through storytelling. That’s what drives people to make change.”
