by JONATHAN CHANG
Before I joined New Markets Advisors as an Associate, I was on the team that opened the University of Central Asia’s Naryn campus in Kyrgyzstan for its inaugural 2016–2017 school year. It was one of the most incredible experiences in my life and I’m proud to have been a part of it.
With the insights I’ve since gained at New Markets, I’d like to examine the University of Central Asia (UCA) through the lens of disruptive innovation and Jobs to Be Done, two concepts popularized by Clayton Christensen, the author of The Innovator’s Dilemma. Now more than ever, these concepts are crucial for universities globally, which must innovate to stay relevant and serve real student needs.
The Need for University Innovation
A central strand of Christensen’s 2011 book, The Innovative University, is that each university has a “DNA”, core institutional traits that define its identity. The genetic code comprises many features: department organization, degree programs (2-year, 4-year, advanced degrees), residences and residential life, student admissions, and the role of athletics, to list a few.
Universities around the world have attempted to clone the DNA of elite institutions, consciously or unconsciously. For much of the 20th century, according to Christensen, this emulation helped the typical American university and college succeed. State universities and community colleges offered more subjects of study and advanced degrees, increasing accessibility to higher education.
But today, this aspirational cloning has become a detriment to the relevance and sustainability of universities. In the arms race to advance academic rankings, foster Nobel-prize winning research, and procure eye-catching amenities, many universities have actually overshot the performance needs of their target students. The competition among institutions to outdo each other has contributed to the ballooning sticker price of tuition, which has greatly surpassed what is affordable to most families.
The sky-high cost of university education is exacerbated by trends such as:
- the development of online platforms like edX and Coursera where students can cover the same curriculum from elite universities but from the comfort of their homes and at their own pace,
- the rise of technical bootcamps, which advertise guaranteed job placement and average salaries starting at six figures,
- the increased blurring between non-profit and for-profit business models, such as Purdue University’s purchase of Kaplan University.
The current university system is being disrupted, and this is only the beginning. Universities need to find innovative, cost-effective ways to address educational Jobs to Be Done (fundamental tasks consumers are trying to address), or risk extinction.
When we look at the university in the Central Asian context, we see that the challenges are distinct from those in the US. Like its neighbors, Kyrgyzstan has no shortage of universities; in the capital city of Bishkek alone, there are 28! The issue is not about the quantity, but about the quality and underlying DNA of institutions.
University buildings, often from the Soviet era, are overdue for major renovations — cracked concrete walls, dim lighting, and dingy odors are commonplace — and resources like libraries and computer labs are underfunded. Limited dorms mean most students commute, stifling campus student life and community. Bribes for better grades are common and with the salary of professors at a barely livable rate (~$500 per month), that problem is unlikely to go away anytime soon.
Though Central Asian universities favor pre-professional programs over liberal arts ones, the degrees offered are still not market-driven. In Kyrgyzstan, for example, a significant oversupply of law students means that most will never apply their law-related knowledge. Schools are accredited within each country, but students have trouble getting accepted into international graduate schools. For all these reasons, many of the top students leave Central Asia and go to Russia, Turkey, the US, or other European countries for a chance to earn a more valuable degree.
The DNA of UCA
To avoid the pitfalls that undercut US and Central Asian institutions, UCA is guided by several core principals that each address real Jobs to be Done for students and their communities.
- Create a high-quality, liberal arts undergraduate program in Central Asia
UCA is the first fully-residential liberal arts university in Central Asia and the world’s first internationally chartered institution of higher education. The residential model offers Central Asians a student life experience and holistic learning environment found nowhere else in the region. The university also believes that in the long run, a liberal arts degree backed by internationally-recognized credentials will serve students better than pre-professional training, especially as the job landscape rapidly evolves.
UCA currently only offers 5-year undergraduate degrees. The first year is a rigorous Preparatory program to make sure all students are on relatively equal footing in English, math, and science, regardless of academic background. UCA also only offers six majors, each selected due to their practicality and market need in Central Asia. Students also participate in a co-op program for real-world work experience over three summers.
In contrast to the global rush to become the latest and greatest, roll-out has happened incrementally. Only around 70 students were enrolled the first year to keep class sizes small and minimize the operational load. The campus is being built in phases, with the initial facilities built for a couple hundred people and spaces designed to be multi-functional and modular.
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