Students value technology when picking uni

The integration of new and emerging technologies into learning spaces is a key factor influencing prospective students’ choice of university. Results from a newly released survey of 1500 students – made up of those studying and recent graduates – from Australia, India, Singapore, the UK and the US found that an average of 85 per cent of respondents cited digital capabilities as highly important in their decision. Australian respondents were the least likely to do so (75 per cent), whilst Indian students put the greatest stock in their future university’s technical prowess (98 per cent). In addition, 70 per cent of all respondents called for greater integration of technology into teaching and learning pedagogy. “Like successful government programs and businesses, universities need to rise to the challenge of addressing demands for digital services amongst current and prospective students,” Accenture spokesperson Ryan Oakes said. The findings come as Australian universities are increasingly designing learning spaces around new technologies. Education Central, a new and innovative building at James Cook University, has this year garnered multiple awards for its success in this area. In recently unveiling their new business schools, both UNSW and UTS have also been keen to point towards the integration of technologies as the core element within the overall designs. Meanwhile, of the nationalities Accenture surveyed, Australian students were the only ones found to report university open days and campus visits as more helpful than online resources when researching their prospective university destination. The finding follows a similar study released earlier this year which found that most students still considered direct personal contact with a university representative more important than information gleamed from its website.