It’s here! The SUNY Critical Issues in Higher Education Conference is set to begin Tuesday, October 28 and run through Wednesday, October 29th. The conference is an annual national gathering that focuses on various higher education issues, and is this year more important than ever on the heels of SUNY’s leadership in national education being in the spotlight. This year’s theme is Building A Smarter University: Big Data, Innovation and Ingenuity.
So, what is big data? Big data is a popular term used to describe the exponential growth and availability of data, both structured and unstructured. It’s nothing new; the basic study of data is fundamental to the forward progress of any civilization — but recent technological innovations has allowed us to derive single large sets of data, rather than several smaller sets with the same amount. This one single set, compared to multiple single sets, is much more efficient and allows for a larger picture to be drawn.
Seeking to capitalize on big data is not about how much big data you receive and have on-hand, but how an organization can manipulate it and then respond to the results. The vision is that an organization can take data from any source and analyze it to find answers that enable cost reduction, time reduction, and smarter business decisions.
This year’s conference will explore how big data can help build smarter universities. Information experts from around the globe will convene with public organizations and higher education leaders. This body will foster a high-profile conversation on how big data can better education by moving forward individual colleges and universities, and then synchronizing that progress. The byproduct: proof that big data is transforming our world like never before — and included in that, more efficient and better education and outcomes.
The world’s leading information companies, like Xerox, McGraw-Hill, Cisco, and IBM, will provide cutting-edge perspective while speakers link big data to areas ranging from sports to education to finance.
Conversation leaders will include:
- Chancellor Zimpher,
- Former CTO of Obama for America Harper Reed,
- STRIVE Executive Director Jeff Edmondson,
- Bill and Melissa Gates Foundation’s Daniel Greenstein,
- sports statistics whiz Steve Hirdt,
- Inside Higher Ed’s Scott Jaschik, and
- experts from JP Morgan Chase, Google, IBM, and The Costa Group, among many others.
This year’s conference will be live-streamed for free!
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