Mini Series: Ep#3 Conversations in Higher Education with Miloš Topić - EDUCAUSE 2025

Recorded live at EDUCAUSE 2025 in Nashville, this episode features Milos Topic, a higher education technology leader, discussing the fundamental challenges and opportunities facing colleges and universities today.In this episode, Milos discusses:✅ Why restoring trust is an opportunity, not just a challenge✅ Education as the great equalizer and leveling the playing field✅ Building leadership teams: surrounding yourself with people who challenge you✅ Signal-to-noise ratio: cutting through the hype in technology✅ Data privacy: collecting only what you need and giving students control✅ Moving from data to insights to action—not just pretty charts✅ Efficiency gaps: creating flexible, student-centered scheduling✅ Rethinking assessment beyond traditional testing methods✅ Balancing innovation with pragmatic, long-term support✅ Being temporary custodians of great institutionsMilos brings a refreshingly candid perspective on leadership, emphasizing that universities exist for students first, and that great leadership means empowering teams, owning mistakes, and leaving institutions better than you found them.Recorded at EDUCAUSE 2025 in Nashville, TennesseeGuest: Milos Topic, Higher Education Technology LeaderHost: Jon Myer, Rackspace Technology - Myer Media#HigherEducation #EdTech #EDUCAUSE #Leadership #StudentSuccess #TrustInEducation #DataPrivacy #Innovation #CIO #HigherEdLeadershipYouTube Timeline0:00 - Welcome & Introduction from EDUCAUSE 20250:30 - What Milos is looking to get out of EDUCAUSE1:07 - Top 10 Initiative #1: Restoring trust in higher education1:15 - Trust as an opportunity, not just a challenge2:07 - Education as the great equalizer3:01 - Biggest leadership challenges for CIOs today3:54 - Building the right leadership team: never skimp on leadership4:23 - Leadership as a team sport & developing future leaders5:43 - Accountability at the top: when the buck stops with you6:19 - Privacy, transparency & trust with student data7:35 - Moving from data to knowledge, insights, and action8:22 - Collecting the least amount of data necessary9:21 - Understanding that users are often the product10:44 - How legal frameworks lag behind technology innovation11:04 - Biggest efficiency gaps in higher education12:35 - Student-centered scheduling vs. faculty-centered scheduling13:29 - Time to degree and graduation rate metrics13:45 - Balancing innovation with long-term support discipline15:09 - Prioritizing needs for faculty and students16:31 - Being temporary custodians of great institutions16:31 - Closing thoughts & thank you🔔 Don't forget to Like, Subscribe, and hit the notification 🔔 ✔ Subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/jonmyer/?sub_confirmation=1📱 Social Media Twitter: https://twitter.com/_JonMyerWebsite: https://jonmyer.comLinkedIN: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jon-myer/Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0wjJzdIwctq4o4pTXM2KSFLike my sounds? Here's my audio source: https://www.epidemicsound.com/referral/fj9o9k#aws #awscloud #podcast #podcasting #costoptimization #finops #cloudcost #cloudoptimization