Can you discuss the career that has led you to your current position as Director of Strategic Planning at Macquarie University?

My area of expertise is in quantum optical nanoscience, and I recently held an Australian Research Council Future Fellowship and an Associate Professor position in the Department of Physics, both at Macquarie University. I’ve always been interested in the interface between research, technology, business and the commercial world, and therefore decided to redirect my career with a role at Deloitte Australia in a big data and business consulting role. This year I took up a new position at Macquarie University to lead the strategic planning portfolio.

How are big data and the digital world impacting higher education?

Just as in most other sectors, data and digital are bringing about a period of rapid change in higher education driven by technological advancements that enable rapid and high-volume data generation and transmission. This presents opportunities for new and perhaps better ways of engaging with and teaching students, and certainly a broader reach than ever before. Some areas of research, including biology, physics and economics, require the collection and analysis of large volumes of rapidly changing data. It’s become increasingly critical to employ sophisticated data capture and analysis technologies to extract insights from such data. In many ways, big data is nothing new for researchers – the development of new systems and techniques able to cope with growing datasets, however, allows them to unlock previously inaccessible insights.

What are the ‘four Vs’ of big data? Could you describe the main challenges associated with these?

The four Vs of big data go a long way towards describing the challenges associated with big data – volume, variety, velocity and veracity. Data is fundamentally comprised of zeroes and ones that collectively describe something. There is enormous value in data if the four Vs can be managed and the data harnessed. Volume is the size of the data object, and a larger volume of data usually means more granular and detailed information. Variety refers to the range of

different types and formats in which data can be represented, velocity is the rapidly changing nature of many sources of data and veracity is a fourth descriptor that emphasises the uncertain nature and quality of some data. There is in fact a fifth V, ‘value’, and this really comes into play as organisations face key decision points as to what and how they invest in developing and analysing their data assets. The value is the potential return on that investment.

How could digital disruption be harnessed to continue to inspire learning in students?

People talk about the ‘iPad® generation’, which really highlights the abrupt digital changes that have occurred in the last 10 years because of technology. Digital and wireless technologies have transformed the way we all interact, and the changes are particularly impactful for the younger generations, many of whom began life swiping screens with their fingers and engaging in video chats with their grandparents on the other side of the globe. This means they will be adapted and open to new ways of communicating and learning that were never before possible. There is undoubtedly a careful balance that must be struck. It’s about getting the best things from traditional learning and augmenting it with digital capabilities, but also introducing completely new approaches to teaching that are only made possible with digital.

Data is now commonly used to provide institutions with a competitive advantage. To what extent can analytics be leveraged to obtain the required intelligence?

One of the concepts that quickly becomes clear, when engaging with an organisation to leverage their data assets and explore the potential to generate insights, is that data tools and systems are only a small part of the solution. Data is now everywhere, but it exists in a myriad of forms with variable quality and consistency. The challenge is to process the data to a point where analysis can be conducted across systems and business units and then represented, for example, using a range of visualisation tools. The enormous and complex body of data that underpins a relatively small ‘insight’ is analogous to the invisible subsurface of an iceberg that supports and balances the exposed tip above the sea surface.

Dr James Rabeau shares his thoughts on the future of data and digital disruption, focusing in particular on the impacts on industry and, importantly, the education of a digital generation

Impending information D

R JAMES RABEAU

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IN MODERN LIFE, there are few things that cannot be done digitally. Technological resources like the laptop, the smart phone and the tablet computer open up new worlds of possibility when it comes to transferring all kinds of data, whether for the purpose of entertainment, business or communication. Originally introduced with the primary objective of facilitating processes already central to everyday life, these tools have in recent years begun to shape human society and behaviour. Today, digital technology has had a transformative impact on a variety of industries, from retail to fi nance and media – and although the changes have been fast and extensive, there will undoubtedly be more to come in the next few decades.

A number of sectors are facing a deluge of data; big data, and often too-big data, represents a challenge in many fi elds of research and industry that is very diffi cult to surmount. Just in terms of data commonly transferred, the last few decades has seen a transition from simple numerical and text-based fi les at perhaps a few kilobytes per record through image and audio fi les that take up a few megabytes to regular and high-defi nition video clips, which

can occupy as much as 50 gigabytes. When this fl ood of data is considered in terms of traditional industries, the impact becomes starkly clear.

THE FUTURE SIGHT

This powerful combination of data superfl uity and digital devices will revolutionise not only the way people shop, but every other aspect of industry as well. In the Australian context, Deloitte has examined this impending transformation in its white paper Digital Disruption: Short Fuse, Big Bang?, the second instalment of the Building the Lucky Country: Business Imperatives for a Prosperous Australia series. The short fuse, big bang concept refers to two qualities of the expected digital disruption that vary between industries: the scale of that disruption and the length of time before it occurs. Retail, ICT, media, fi nance, arts and recreation, and real estate, for example, are short fuse, bigbang industries.

Dr James Rabeau has gained an important insight into things to come – and one which he hopes can be reapplied in an industry

of great national signifi cance to Australia. Originally a well-recognised Associate Professor of Physics at Macquarie University, Rabeau held an Australian Research Council Future Fellowship for his extensive work on nanodiamond quantum sensing and imaging. In 2011, he became an Account Director in Data Analytics consulting at Deloitte Australia, where he spent two years consulting in fi nancial, governmental and higher education institutions. Most recently, he has returned to Macquarie to draw on his combined academic and commercial experience in order to lead the strategic planning portfolio as Director of Strategic Planning and is thinking carefully about how to adapt in a rapidly changing technological environment.

GOING OFF WITH A BANG

According to the Deloitte analysis, the education sector falls into the long fuse, big bang category; although changes are a few years behind those in retail, they are already well underway and the impact of new data infrastructure and digital resources will indeed be big. Across the board, Deloitte’s white paper recommends a number of changes to

Data explosionOver recent decades, radical changes to the way business, social interaction and leisure activities are conducted

have been brought about by a positive explosion of data and digital technology; now, many universities across the

world are thinking about how to harness the changes in a way that benefi ts students, teachers and researchers

DR JAMES RABEAU

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DIGITAL DISRUPTION IN HIGHER EDUCATION

OBJECTIVES

To harness the opportunities of digital disruption in the higher education sector. The profound and rapid changes brought upon by developments in data and digital technologies, are having an enormous impact on society. The speed at which information can be accessed, processed and communicated has already completely changed the retail industry, fi nance and media. Higher education is being forced to introspect more deeply than ever before. Students in particular are being brought up in an era where wireless digital communications are the norm. Virtual worlds are commonplace in the games they play. As a result, the way in which they compile and process information is different.

In order to remain relevant and competitive in this changing landscape, higher education and research institutes have to understand and evolve with the changes – it’s a matter of survival. Not only that, as research and higher education providers, universities have a profound responsibility to ensure that advancement in learning, teaching and research is not stifl ed simply because of a reluctance to deviate from the status quo (no matter how deeply rooted it is).

CONTACT

Associate Professor James RabeauDirector of Strategic Planning

Macquarie UniversityNew South Wales 2109 Australia

T +61 2 9850 4741E james.rabeau@mq.edu.au

http://bit.ly/JamesRabeau

ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR JAMES RABEAU has held an Australian Research Council Future Fellowship for his work on nanodiamond quantum sensing and imaging. His most recent academic position was Associate Professor in Physics at Macquarie University, which he held until January 2012. Rabeau was offered the role of Director at Deloitte Australia in the area of big data analytics and consulting where he spent two years consulting in fi nancial, government and higher education institutes. His current role as Director of Strategic Planning at Macquarie University draws on capabilities developed across academic, scientifi c and commercial roles.

save the 65 per cent of Australian industries that fall into the two ‘big bang’ categories. These suggestions come under three broad categories: recalibrating cost structures, replenishing revenue streams and reshaping corporate strategy. In terms of cost structure, people, supply and overhead are the main foci; new segments, new geographies and new business models, likewise, form the three main prospects for revenue streams. Alterations to corporate strategy, fi nally, should refl ect the business’ asset mix, capacity to act and risk management objectives.

There are also opportunities presented by this new environment, however – as the paper argues. Deloitte Access Economics, for example, has predicted that teleworking could be a big saver for Australian businesses – if only 10 per cent of all employees were to telework half the time, then the benefi t to the economy would be between AUD $1.4 and 1.9 billion. Similarly, the paper highlights results from a previous Optus report which demonstrate that the number of companies offering mobile apps for their customers is set to grow by 30 per cent in 2016. Evidently, there are some businesses that are already prepared to exploit digital technologies – and it is the behaviour of these active few that will guide the rest.

TEACHING TEACHERS

In the fi eld of education, these innovative leaders are just beginning to emerge. One example of digital disruption in higher education, for example, has been the appearance of massive open online courses. In 2012, 800 of these courses were launched

by 200 universities around the world – and the uptake was massive. 6.5 million students enrolled in the fi rst year, and this interest has continued to grow, validating the large investments of high-profi le universities such as Stanford and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in this kind of infrastructure. Today, Coursera alone has more than 3 million students in almost 200 countries around the world – and the reach of these courses is undeniable.

Another area that has perhaps gained less press, but will have an equally big impact, is in how research outcomes are disseminated to peers, industry and the public. Just as the media has seen an enormous upheaval because of the rate and speed at which news can now be disseminated, institutional research publishing will undoubtedly experience a similar upheaval. Although universities are slower to adapt, there is great opportunity to harness the many channels and reach associated with unconventional digital vehicles.

CHANGE IS GOOD

These radical changes, which are no doubt the tip of the iceberg, present a number of challenges to the traditional university model – and for higher education institutes, there are therefore many factors to be considered when thinking strategically. “Arguably, many university graduates had their most memorable experiences while living on or near campus, and were strongly infl uenced at a personal and professional level by these experiences,” Rabeau explains; an important question is to what degree the experience of university life provides value beyond a simple educational course. The answer is likely to suggest that a balance must be struck between the content and the experience to ensure students are getting the best education possible.

“The digital disruption the world is undergoing will create change. It’s not a bad thing, it’s just change, and with change comes opportunity,” Rabeau summates. Universities are famously traditional institutions, and ingrained habits do not change overnight – but nonetheless, digital disruption in the context of online courses, as well as the prospects of virtual seminars and pre-recorded lectures accessible through web platforms, offer an opportunity to enhance education. There are also considerable opportunities to amplify engagement at the interface between research-industry-public, with breakthrough research outcomes becoming more accessible and available through digital channels. With a willingness to adopt and adapt to technological changes, universities like Macquarie can continue to inspire students and teachers, enhance the impact of institutional research and ensure a competitive Australia in a mercurial future.

INTELLIGENCE

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