The most commonly used word that echoed in conversations during last week’s QS Higher Ed Summit: Asia Pacific 2024 in Macau was SKILLS. The conference theme, “Shifting landscapes, collaborative solutions: Pioneering innovation in Asia Pacific higher education” obviously resonated with the audience, with well over 1000 delegates attending. Indeed, the agenda was bursting with skills-related discussions during: the pre-summit which was held in Almaty, Kazakhstan, the summit itself in Macau and during the post-summit in Hong Kong.
Former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon sent a heartfelt message, reminding us that education is essential to building a more inclusive, equitable, and sustainable world. He said, “Now is a critical time to advance quality education to achieve sustainable development, expand climate action, build peace and empower human rights. In this regard, I firmly believe this is our moment to accelerate action and illuminate a dynamic future for all people and the planet.” He referenced the need for the education sector to showcase to the world what inclusiveness and soft diplomacy can bring to the planet’s younger generation, especially in light of current geo-political circumstances.
Professor Nigel Healey, Chair of the QS Global Advisory Committee and Vice President Global and Community Engagement at the University of Limerick, opened the summit by reflecting on how far the summit has come in 20 years. His words echoed the summit’s purpose: “The QS Higher Ed Summit: Asia-Pacific will continue to be there to support the international higher education sector, and to bring conference delegates the authoritative thought leadership that stems from rich market intelligence and deep insightful analysis.”
Indeed this summit marked the 20th anniversary of this flagship conference, celebrating two decades of commitment to higher education across the Asia Pacific. A highlight was the launch of the QS World Future Skills Index, which outlines the urgent need for universities to help students develop skills aligned with an era of rapid technological advancement. This is a new tool designed to assess how prepared countries are to tackle the shifting demands of global workforce, particularly in the context of digital transformation. Australia fares relatively well with an overall score of 93.3/100 but we have more work to do to ensure adaptive life-long skills and fostering entrepreneurial and innovative mindsets.
QS Executive Director Patrick Brothers (of QS HolonIQ fame) warned the audience that his presentation would be fast and overwhelming, and then presented detailed insights about the five strategic shifts happening in higher education around the world, as delegates were invited to reimagine higher education in the age of AI.
- New forms of credentials are set to play a critical role in post-secondary education and upskilling.
- Changes to work and a global imperative for upskilling and retraining is creating a shift in learner profiles and greater ties between education and work.
- Higher education in the future will be marked by new forms of borderless competition and collaboration.
- Online, hybrid and hyflex models are shaping up to be the norm as current and future students expect flexibility.
- Continued demand for lifelong upskilling and online learning will see market and learner pressure to deliver ‘consumer-grade’ digital experiences.
Speaking on AI beyond language learning models, Brothers said: “Conversations about artificial intelligence in higher education are too general and institutions should instead think about how to break conversations into these five areas of focus for AI planning, integration and rapid institutional outcomes.”
Throughout the summit, AI and future skills were high on the agenda alongside the diversification of markets in an increasingly competitive globalisation landscape, and building a sustainable future through entrepreneurship, technology innovation and sustainability.
Some insights collected from the summit by Ashwin Fernandes, QS Executive Director AMESA were:
📊 Did you know? The bachelor’s degree wage premium is declining in the US and many advanced economies. Over the next 10 years, we will likely see this drop further, with emerging evidence suggesting that non-degree holders who have a skills certificate or certification often get higher personal incomes. This highlights how critical it is for universities to rethink the programmes it designs and the credentials it offers.
🥇 Energising University-Industry Collaboration to meet the future demands of the workplace. With 35% growth in digital skills, 60% growth in AI skills, and 24 million new green jobs projected by 2030 🌍, it’s more important than ever to align academic programmes with industry needs.
🥈 Integrating Artificial Intelligence in Education to harness AI’s potential in personalising learning experiences and streamlining administrative processes. Institutions agreed to invest in AI technologies to enhance educational delivery and operational efficiency. It was astonishing to note that AI itself is evolving rapidly, with skills like Machine Learning, Big Data, and Statistical Analysis in decline 📉, while demand for skills like Azure Cognitive Services, PyTorch, and Airflow is rising fast 📈.
🥉 Promoting Lifelong Learning Ecosystems for continuous skill development. Delegates discussed the creation of educational frameworks that support lifelong learning. With 14% of the global workforce at risk of occupational displacement by 2030, it’s crucial to prepare students for the future and support workforce upskilling.
🔍 QS will soon introduce a World Future Skills Index to assess nations’ readiness to make an impact in this new industrial era, setting a skills-led transformational agenda in motion.
So with all this talk about the skills + degree agenda, Shelly Maller (QS Partnerships Director ANZ) and I presented data related to the QS 2024 Employer Reputation Survey, the 2025 World University Rankings, and the 2024 International Student Survey, offering insights about skills and employability across the Asia-Pacific. We stressed the importance of ensuring employability messaging is a core part of a university’s lead, conversation and retention efforts and profiled the Successful Graduate micro-credentials that support these phases of the student lifecycle. We also showcased the new Successful Graduate micro-credentials which address the top 4 soft skills deficits that the employer data portrayed, namely : Resilience & Flexibility, Critical Thinking & Problem Solving, Communication and Leadership skills.
During the conference, the QS World University Rankings: Asia 2025 were released, with Peking University taking the honours at number 1 with an overall score of 100. Indeed, the rise of Chinese universities in the rankings was notable and impressive.
Finally, there is an emerging recognition of the connection between knowledge and skills. Although obvious to some, many universities have been ignoring it for too long, and the skills gap is widening. Knowledge acquisition should lead to the acquisition of skills, and partnerships with the private sector and industry in this space are firmly on the agenda for universities.
My personal two top takeaways from the conference were:
🤝 Collaboration is here to stay and partnerships are necessary to improve employability and prepare students for the future workforce.
💼 Employability remains at the forefront of student enrolment decisions and an emphasis on development of skills and competencies that align with industry needs is now a part of that agenda.
Gordon Scott is the Managing Director of Successful Graduate, the employability partner of QS Quacquarelli Symonds.
Connect with Gordon on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gordonscott/
