Times Higher Education has completed the acquisition of dataHE.
Bristol-based dataHE is a rapidly growing provider of data-led, code-based analysis that supports universities across the UK.
The deal is the latest in a number of high-profile acquisitions by THE, which was originally affiliated with The Times newspaper but has evolved over the decades into a global leader in higher education data and insights.
THE was acquired by private equity firm Inflexion in 2019. It said the deal further strengthens THE’s data-science capabilities, with a particular focus on helping universities analyse and optimise their place in the market, and in student recruitment and admissions.
Headquartered in London, with offices in Australia, the US and Singapore, THE has been at the heart of higher education for over 50 years, working with thousands of universities across the world. Its range of products and services touch all aspects of higher education, and include data benchmarking and consultancy for institutions and governments.
It collects data from more than 3,500 institutions and works with 800 clients across its data, consultancy and hiring services. It is also known for its events for higher education professionals, including the flagship THE World Summit Series, which engaged over 45,000 people globally in 2021.
Founded in 2017, dataHE’s mission is to help universities use data better, with products that run in a powerful code-based environment, purpose built for higher education. It was established by Mark Corver and Andrew Hargreaves, who both held executive positions within the UK admissions body UCAS prior to setting up the business.
The data-led analysis products developed by dataHE help universities to understand and develop their strategies in a range of core areas, including optimised admissions and comparison with other universities.
It works with more than 60 universities across the UK, as well as adjacent organisations including student accommodation providers and marketing agencies.
“Times Higher Education is unique: 50 years of respected expertise, a truly global presence, with the value that data brings at the heart of what it does,” said Dr Mark Corver, co-founder of dataHE.
“DataHE is dedicated to helping universities use data better, with our purpose-built analysis products making a difference across UK higher education. Taking data-backed decisions is increasingly critical to higher education worldwide, and this is always better with data and analysis working together.
“It’s rare to find such a natural match and we are immensely excited to be joining THE. We are looking forward to developing new ways of putting data to work for the benefit of universities and students in the UK and beyond.”
His co-founder Andrew Hargreaves added: “We’re absolutely delighted to be joining the THE family of companies. Together we can strengthen our data led offer to the HE sector.
“We want to enrich the services we bring to the market, we want to deliver more value to our clients. This new relationship provides a platform for us to be able to do just that. It’s very exciting.”
This year alone THE has acquired three high-profile businesses: the US-based news provider Inside Higher Ed, which gives THE a combined worldwide audience of around 50 million users; BMI, the leading global organiser of international student recruitment events, with a combined reach of around 20 million prospective students; and now dataHE.
These deals follow the earlier acquisition in December 2020 of TKP, a UK-based consultancy business, which also operates the World 100 Reputation Network.
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