In November 2022, a few members of the CXM team had the honour of visiting the MK: U Innovation Hub in Milton Keynes. Opened in 2022, the MK: U Innovation Hub will act as the central point of support for businesses looking to innovate and learn about new technologies.
This exchange happens through the engagement of some of the brightest minds at Cranfield University. It is our honour to announce our membership at their Innovation Hub which will bring our readers more insightful, research-based, and groundbreaking stories.
Students as customers: creating the future of education
Being an MK:U student means practicing to blur the boundaries between working and learning. The world we live in is incredibly complex, and only by taking a holistic approach to education can we equip future generations for the ever-changing workplace market.
Our CEO, Neil Skehel, met Lynette Ryals, the Pro-Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive at MK: U, for an exclusive interview. Lynette is an impressive and knowledgeable leader, forward thinker, and visionary.
We hosted an event at the Innovation Hub last year about automation and robotics, which is a very hot topic. When we have those kinds of events, we try to timetable them so there are as many students as possible. They can drop in and have that opportunity because we had around seven robotics organisations demonstrating. We had a completely full room. It doesn’t have to be one thing or the other. We are both working and learning. This is the guiding philosophy behind our work, explained Lynette in the interview.
But how do they do it consistently throughout the year and how other University can follow their lead? In the conversation with Neil, Lynette talked about the challenges and opportunities of building a university from the ground up. You can expect to get answers to some of the following questions:
- What are the needs of modern students?
- What facilities do they need to embrace their full potential and create opportunities?
- How can interior design and equipment contribute to modern-day learning?
- What place can CX find in different aspects of the educational system?
- Why do businesses need to collaborate with universities to close the skills gap and ensure the best talents?
About Lynette Ryals
As Chief Executive of MK:U, Lynette leads a distinctive new education offering based in Milton Keynes. MK:U delivers applied, business- focused education and innovation in data, digital, and smart city technologies. Lynette is a Pro-Vice-Chancellor at Cranfield University – which is Milton Keynes Council’s lead education partner on MK:U.
Lynette’s professional background is in financial services and management consultancy. She is a Fellow of the Society of Investment Professionals, Fellow of the Chartered institute of Logistics and a Principal Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.
She has an MA (Oxon), an MBA, and a PhD from Cranfield which researched how understanding customer profitability changed customer management practices in two international financial institutions. Previously she was Professor of Strategic Sales and Account Management in Cranfield University’s School of Management and then inaugural Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Education). She was also Chair of The Case Centre (2011-2017) and Dean of Cranfield School of Management (2017-2019). Lynette was awarded an OBE in the New Year Honours 2019 for services to higher education.
Our team interviewed her for our annual print issue CXM Review. If you want to learn how companies can close the digital skills gap in the UK, you will find Lynette’s insights highly helpful and applicable. (page 48 of CXM Review issue 1)