At The Class Conference 2020, we gather provocative thinkers and practitioners to ask the big questions that will help us make a better future happen faster. How can higher education and student mobility provide the right competencies in a changing labour market? How will cities need to position themselves to remain attractive to talent? What business models can help our organisations embrace the paradigm shifts to come? As we do so, we are proud to partner with our Platinum Sponsors, who are leading the way in shaping living, working, and learning in university-cities.

Despite the challenges of 2020, this has been the year that Nido Student has truly gone global. They acquired, designed, and launched new builds in the UK and expanded into markets in Germany, the Netherlands, and Ireland. While the pandemic has made its impact known on PBSA and the student experience, it has reaffirmed NIDO’s commitment to placing students at the heart of everything they do.

The Class Conference will address the slew of changes COVID-19 is accelerating in student learning and living pathways. NIDO’s own research has revealed that 85% of students were still strongly considering moving away from home for their studies despite the prospect of virtual learning and that parents are playing a much more important role in the decision-making process when it comes to accommodation.

As a looming recession and lackluster job market approach, NIDO Student expects to see a surge in the number of university applications, especially for post-graduate courses- mirroring a trend that emerged in the wake of the global financial crisis.

Looking into 2021, NIDO Student anticipates business as usual in terms of occupancy rates across their residences by September with greater rental uplift. This will be thanks to their continued focus on wellbeing, safety, and connectivity- all of which have long been central tenets of NIDO residences.

As attitudes towards working and studying from home are changing through the COVID-19 pandemic, fast and reliable Internet has become an even more important part of our lives. High-quality Internet is now the most desired feature for those in rental accommodation and this is unlikely to change soon as learning, working, and socializing remotely become integral to our way of living.

ASK4 has been working hard over the past few years to understand how students use the Internet, the types of devices they own, and how their Internet service needs to adapt to ensure the best possible Internet experience for them. Students now arrive at their accommodation with more devices than ever before and requiring more bandwidth as a result. Having an Internet service they can depend on is non-negotiable.

As we emerge from the pandemic with new priorities and fresh perspectives, ASK4 will be working with its partners to ensure their buildings are capable of catering to students’ needs as well as future-proofing the forever-changing IoT landscape.

We look forward to exploring together what our community can do to provide opportunities for global talent.