Looking back to move forward
02 November 2024
Elena Liquete provides a personal perspective on the best way to move forward in your career and the growing need for universities to deliver lifelong learning.
You are probably familiar with Steve Job’s famous graduation speech to the Stanford University Class of 2005 (if you are not, I highly recommend it – it’s a great speech!). One of the things that resonated with me was the way he talked about how his career only made sense when he looked back on it; in hindsight he could connect the dots and see how every experience had prepared him for what was to come.
Growing up in a small town in Asturias, in the Northwest of Spain, I had no idea that a career in higher education was even a possibility. I have been very fortunate to have worked in some great schools with some fantastic colleagues, but I have to confess that I never had a career plan; my job moves were more likely to be motivated by family needs than personal ambition. When I had the opportunity to study a doctorate in higher education management at the University of Bath, I grabbed it with both hands without really knowing where it may lead me (or fully understanding how much work it was going to be!).
With the doctorate under my belt, I was wondering what to do next when a friend mentioned that CarringtonCrisp was looking for a consultant. I had known Andrew Crisp for a long time; I believe we first shared a taxi many years ago, when we were both speaking at the same conference, and had loosely kept in touch since. Up until that point, I had not considered consultancy as a career move, but it seemed to make sense; I had many years of experience in HE and the doctorate had taught me how to conduct rigorous research, and CarringtonCrisp was already a long established and reputable firm that I was happy to be associated with. And so, my consultancy career began!
The work is incredibly varied; I have worked on projects exploring opportunities for universities in the Middle East and for developing new online programmes. I have conducted portfolio reviews and reimagined MBAs. Recently, we have done a lot of research into the market for lifelong learning. A new collaboration with the Universities Association for Lifelong Learning (UALL) will see us running a study designed to support universities in the development of their lifelong learning offer.
Personally, I see a great opportunity for universities in this space. Fuelled by accelerating technological development, the world is changing rapidly. This means that there is a greater need for employees to upskill and reskill – a need that universities are uniquely well placed to fulfil. But that requires a substantial shift in focus away from undergraduates. It also requires new relationships to be built with employers, mature learners and local communities.
In a recent report by Universities UK, ”Opportunity, growth and partnership: a blueprint for change for the UK’s universities” , Professor Dame Sally Mapstone, Universities UK president, says:
“We stand at a fork in the road in the history of the UK’s universities. There is now a clear choice. We can allow our distinguished, globally competitive higher education system to slide into decline. Or we can act together, as institutions and government, to ensure that higher education is able to deliver for the nation into the 2030s.”
The report provides a blueprint for change and warns of the dangers of complacency. It also talks about lifelong learning as an essential component of the strategy to fulfil the UK’s future skills needs.