Shaping and positioning the portfolio

Undergraduate programmes

  • Competitor analysis for the undergraduate offer (university-wide). Focus groups among potential students and interviews with advisors in schools, supported by detailed, desk-based analysis of competitors’ offers. Identified emerging competitive threats and suggested ways to strengthen the offer and better tailor applicant communications.
  • Undergraduate programmes review, focusing on engineering and computing disciplines. Research among students, applicants and other stakeholders, to  clarify market positioning and refine course titles, content and progression pathways.
  • Research to inform market positioning of Foundation Year programmes, for home and international students, at a research-intensive university. Compared Foundation level programmes across the UK HE sector, to identify close competitors and to understand the ways in which the university’s offer was unique.
  • Review of Foundation Year programmes at a post-1992 university. Included detailed competitor analysis, local and national. Findings have helped the School to refine and differentiate its offer.

Postgraduate, executive and professional programmes

  • Postgraduate business programmes review.  Extensive competitor research among universities and private providers, and focus groups among students. Highlighted strengths of the current offer and identified  revisions to course titles and programmes, to better reflect market needs.
  • Portfolio development and positioning research, to inform expansion of a university’s Executive Education offer. Qualitative study, supported by desk research into competitor offers and a literature review.
  • Market-entry research for a suite of postgraduate-level management training. UK-wide research among learning and development decision-makers in large corporates, to understand approaches to management development and to test the proposed offer.
  • Research to inform positioning and marketing of programmes for the legal profession. Multi-mode study involving research among staff and students and desk research to assess both competitor offers and market size.
  • UK and global research for masters-accredited, executive learning modules. Depth interviews with expert informants (industry-specific), supported by a desk-based study to review opportunities, the competitive environment and professional accreditation routes.

CPD and short courses

  • Exploring short course markets across various industries and subject areas. Multiple projects, involving desk and primary research. Findings have informed course design, market targeting and positioning, and marketing strategies.
  • Market-entry research for a new CPD offer, targeting design-focused organisations. Research to test reaction to the proposed offer and to shape market entry strategy. Identified opportunities and barriers and developed recommendations for go-to-market strategy.
  • Research into proposed suite of leadership development short courses, targeting large public and private sector organisations. Included extensive desk research into the competitor market for leadership CPD and qualitative research among decision makers.
  • Postgraduate CPD market assessments – delivered for two Russell Group universities, including a major multi-methods consultancy/research project.