A quarterly publication of AQU Catalunya
The AQU Catalunya report on graduate employment outcomes once again provides us with solid evidence regarding the value generated by the Catalan Higher Education System.
From the perspective of boards of trustees, the results of the AQU Catalunya's Employment outcomes survey are more than mere figures. Our responsibility is to ensure that universities meet society’s needs and that public investment in higher education yields the greatest possible return.
For this reason, graduate employability is not merely an employment indicator; it is an indicator of the university’s social impact.
However, boards of trustees must also examine this report with a critical eye. Positive overall results cannot mask the disparities between different fields of knowledge.
And that brings us to a concept I consider particularly relevant: opportunity cost.
Educating a university student represents a significant investment of public resources, personal effort and institutional commitment. When this talent translates into skilled employment, innovation, productivity and social progress, the return is evident. But when that knowledge is not fully utilised, the opportunity cost is not just individual - it is collective. It represents talent the country fails to harness, productivity that is never generated and social return that is lost.
For boards of trustees, skills matching is just as important as employment itself. It is not enough for graduates simply to be employed; the knowledge that society has helped fund must translate into added value for companies, institutions and the country as a whole.
Boards of trustees play a fundamental role in this process. We serve as the meeting point between universities and society, between knowledge and the needs of the production sector, and between university autonomy and accountability. Our role is to help guide strategic decisions so that universities continue to generate public value.
That’s why reports like the one from AQU Catalunya are far more than just a statistical snapshot. They are an essential tool for governance. They enable us to make evidence-based decisions, identify strengths, pinpoint areas for improvement and better steer university policies. Without data, management is impossible.
We are all aware of the disruptive challenge we are facing: an unprecedented technological transformation. Digitalisation, artificial intelligence, automation and big data analytics are reshaping professions far more rapidly than academic curricula traditionally evolve.
This compels all of us - universities, businesses and public authorities - to rethink how we prepare future professionals. To think differently. Asking the right questions will matter more than having the right answers.
Boards of trustees play a particularly vital role at this moment. We must help bridge the gap between the pace of societal evolution and the pace at which institutions evolve.
Universities must maintain high standards, as it is the foundation of their credibility. Yet they also need to become more agile, flexible and forward-looking.
New forms of knowledge, micro-credentials, lifelong learning, collaboration with businesses and the intelligent integration of AI into learning processes are no longer options for the future; they are part of the present.
Our goal must be to ensure that graduates are prepared not just for today’s job market, but for the landscape they will be facing five years from now. This is the great responsibility shared by universities, businesses and boards of trustees alike.
A university’s success is measured not merely by the number of graduates it produces, but by the value those graduates generate for society. This is the best demonstration of the return on public investment in higher education, as well as the best justification for the trust the public places in its universities.