COVID-19 has caused a brutal reappraisal of the value of higher education and the university business model.

Universities Australia estimates a revenue shortfall of up to $4.5 billion in 2020 with international student demand dropping by up to 50%. This puts the sector in danger of entering the death spiral of shrinking demand and oversupply.

Universities urgently need to evolve. But while they pride themselves on progressive thinking, they simply aren’t as agile as other enterprises. With unique constraints including government funding structures and internal fragmentation, many struggle to innovate at all, let alone at pace.

So how might they build world-class services and brands that students and stakeholders’ value when, for the foreseeable future, knowledge needs to be delivered digitally?

Dan Bradley explores the possibilities in Campus Review.