Education Design for an Evolving Economy

Louis Soares here. I am a postsecondary education researcher, membership organization executive and economic development practitioner with 20 years of expertise designing new education programs for an evolving economy. I formed The Soares Group with a laser focus on supporting college and university leaders to launch new education programs to meet the needs of today’s students, businesses and communities.

For college and university teams designing and building education programs to meet the needs of these stakeholders is a complex challenge that plays out in real time. A challenge with deep implications for institutional enrollment, competitiveness and financial sustainability.

In order to meet this challenge and succeed, college leaders must be able to:

-  Identify meaningful labor market trends and opportunities;

-  Map organizational assets and gaps (curricula, technology, faculty, etc.);

-  Rapidly design and prototype new programs;

-  Engage internal stakeholders and develop partnerships to support implementation; and 

-  Learn from experience so that the program design process becomes an organizational capability.

Over a 20-year career, I have worked with college and university leaders as a program designer and executive advisor to implement this design process to create new programs in informational technology, biotechnology and advanced manufacturing. These new programs have helped thousands of students acquire new skills, credentials and jobs.

I welcome the opportunity to work with college and university leaders seeking to grow enrollment, design new education programs and enhance financial sustainability.