Opening data in Higher Education Institution - Metropolia's story

Abstract

Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) are producing a vast amount of information about education arrangements. At the moment that information is available only to those who have access to the information resources. HEIs are resourcing their efforts to create different systems where HEIs employees and students can retrieve information for their needs. Can the HEI's IT management keep up the pace of creating innovative, easy to use interfaces and support for different clients and platforms against the products of large corporations? Is the race really necessary or is there another solution? Yes there is.
In Finland the public transport operator decided a few years ago to open all their traffic data. Of course they built their own system for customers to show different timetables of public transport. But their goal was more far reaching. Immediately after the opening of the data many individuals started to build their own timetable applications. One of the applications was for iPhone, another for Android. New apps were more innovative and simpler to use than the initial service provided by the public transport corporation. Open data created new markets, created innovative products and customers of public transport were more satisfied with public transport services.
Is there a lesson to be learned also by Higher Education Institutions? Yes of course!