"Universities are forging alliances to enhance their service delivery capabilities, mirroring a trend seen in other sectors such as the airline industry."

Higher education markets are starting to see new collaboration models emerge, a trend sometimes referred to as the unbundling of the higher education value chain. University alliances, strategic partnerships, and outsourcing of key functions are getting increasingly common, as are mergers and acquisitions. The COVID-19 pandemic is highlighting the need to put in place digital strategies that enrich face-to-face learning with more online content and through blended delivery models. Many higher education institutions cannot do this alone and are starting to seek external help from content, technology, and ‘holistic’ partners for bootcamps, Massive Open Online Courses, Online Program Managers, and developers of alternative credentials, among others. In parallel, universities are forging alliances to enhance their service delivery capabilities, mirroring a trend seen in other sectors such as the airline industry. All these forces are coalescing in a way that is accelerating market consolidation. This webinar enabled us to better understand this global trend, which continues to shape the development of the higher education sector.