Rivalling Sandstones: Universities vie for Popularity

Tertiary education in Australia is currently at a crossroads. Radically shifting economies and a market (increasingly) built on technology has driven universities to find new and innovative ways to self-reflect and change with the times. Rising to the challenge, this week Sydney University announced changes to their undergraduate structure and research investments. These announcements ratcheted up the digital and real-world rivalry between the University of New South Wales, University of Melbourne and University of Sydney.

Universities are increasingly turning to digital platforms to connect to Australian youth. Particularly adept at Instagram, today Sydney has taken the lead with a total combined audience of 226,000 with 6.3% engagement. Instagram is a particularly excellent platform, as it enables Universities to re-gram quality content produced by students. Alternatively, third ranking UNSW has an estimated combined audience of 361,000, but only engages with 4%. Sydney’s new changes leave UNSW behind and levels up with their new real-world competitor, University of Melbourne.

But while University of Melbourne officially ranks as Australia’s top University, University of Sydney’s command over digital platforms peaks them as the top ranking digital Australian University. Will Sydney’s digital dominance translate into academic reality? No doubt, they certainly hope so.