A new partnership between UNSW Sydney and Keypath Education will expand the University’s digital learning portfolio with the launch of a suite of new fully online Master’s programs.
Bringing together UNSW’s strengths in curriculum design and delivery and Keypath’s expertise in immersive online educational experiences, the partnership will see a number of fully online programs launched by early 2019, starting with Business and Engineering programs, as part of the University’s digital education strategy. UNSW has already redesigned over 70 courses for blended delivery as part of its Inspired Learning Initiative and will extend this to over 600 courses over the next five years.
The University’s aim is to increase access to world-class education globally through its flexible learning model, expanding its digital campus to cater for both offshore international students and full-fee paying students in Australia.
“Digital education facilitates a global experience,” says Professor Geoffrey Crisp, UNSW Pro Vice-Chancellor (Education). “Our students need to be able to engage with other students, industry, and community groups or organisations all around the world, and our technology will enable them to do that.”
Keypath Education Global CEO, Steve Fireng, sees UNSW Sydney and Keypath as working together towards a common goal.
“Our partnership with UNSW is exciting because our missions align. UNSW is Australia’s Global University and our mission is to create global access to online learning.
“Students no longer have to attend a classroom to learn. Today, they can have that experience on their laptop or smartphone wherever they may be and interact with someone in another part of the world.”
Postgraduate online learning is becoming increasingly attractive to mid-career professionals wanting to move into executive roles or new disciplines as they are balancing work, family life, and other commitments. Between 2011 and 2015, there was a 25% increase in postgraduate education online and the trend continues to grow.
Keypath is now one of the largest global online higher education enablers, supporting students in 62 countries with infrastructure that accommodates people from different backgrounds and demographics in a range of disciplines. It provides an end-to-end suite of services designed to help universities launch, market, and scale their online programs to reach profitability – and more students – faster and more effectively.
Professor Nick Wailes, Director of AGSM and Deputy Dean at the UNSW Business School, says that coupling UNSW’s subject-matter expertise with Keypath’s industry best practice in online learning is key to developing quality programs in this competitive emerging market.
“UNSW has world-class faculty at the cutting edge of their field and the cutting edge of research. The thing that really appeals about Keypath is their emphasis on educational design and development. The Keypath team work closely with subject matter experts to understand what they want the students to learn, what the skills and activities are, and then break that down to make sure we are leveraging the online environment.”
In an era when many of a student’s daily interactions can happen in the palm of their hand – whether it’s ordering groceries, catching a ride, or streaming music – the opportunity for Keypath is to take the high-quality courses and face-to-face experience UNSW offers and make them engaging and effective online.
“Students aren’t comparing their online education experience to their experience on campus; they are comparing it to their online banking experience or their online real estate experience,” says Ryan O’Hare, Keypath Education CEO, Australia & Asia-Pacific. “So, if it isn’t as intuitive and user-friendly, flexible, and accessible as that, then they won’t have a quality experience learning online. We need to cater to that, and also ensure they are having a memorable and rewarding student experience.
“With UNSW we have the opportunity to take best-of-breed from an academic and university perspective, and our expertise in online learning, and bring them together to continue to push the boundaries of what can be done in online learning.”
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