ThoughtLab Featured

Personalizing the student experience

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Higher education is shifting away from a one-size-fits-all model toward a more personalized, student-first experience. Today’s students expect the same level of customization they get from platforms like streaming services or online shopping—where recommendations, communication, and experiences are tailored specifically to them. Universities are now being pushed to meet those expectations or risk falling behind.

At its core, personalizing the student experience means treating students as individuals, not just part of a cohort. This includes offering customized learning paths, proactive academic advising, and targeted communication that reflects each student’s goals, performance, and needs. When done right, this approach helps students feel more connected, supported, and confident throughout their academic journey.

The benefits of personalization are significant. Universities that invest in it are seeing higher student engagement, improved retention rates, and stronger overall satisfaction. Students are also more likely to feel a sense of belonging—something that plays a major role in both academic success and mental well-being. In a competitive higher education landscape, these outcomes can directly impact enrollment and long-term growth.

Technology plays a key role in making personalization possible at scale. Data, artificial intelligence, and integrated digital platforms allow institutions to better understand student behavior and anticipate their needs. However, many universities struggle to implement these solutions effectively due to fragmented systems and outdated infrastructure, which create friction in the student experience.

Ultimately, personalization is no longer optional—it’s becoming essential. Universities that fix their foundational systems and invest in student-centric strategies will be better positioned to succeed, while those that don’t risk losing relevance. The future of higher education isn’t just digital—it’s deeply personal.

ServiceNow: Enterprise AI Maturity Benchmarking Tool 2025

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To measure progress in AI transformation, ServiceNow surveyed nearly 4,500 C-level and senior executives across 16 countries and 11 industries for its second annual Enterprise AI Maturity Index. The study reveals best practices and outcomes from a leading cohort of organizations driving exceptional value from AI.

To help organizations understand how they compare against their peers in their AI transformation, ThoughtLab created a simple benchmarking tool that shows how they stack up across AI strategy, data governance, talent and skills, workflows, agentic AI use, and overall performance.

Access the Enterprise AI Maturity Benchmarking Tool.

ServiceNow and NVIDIA: AI Maturity in Banking

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With the stakes high, banks around the world are rushing to adopt AI. Industry leaders believe AI will revolutionize how banks manage their end-to-end businesses, across the front, middle, and back offices. Already, according to our latest survey, banks saw an average 8.4% increase in gross margins from their use of AI last year. But some banks–especially smaller ones with limited financial and technology resources and  labyrinthine legacy systems–are falling behind. Some 40% of banks in ServiceNow’s latest survey with less than $250 million in revenue say they are only in the evaluation or experimentation stage of AI implementation, vs. no banks with over $5 billion in revenue.

To measure progress in AI transformation, we surveyed nearly 4,500 C-level and senior executives across 16 countries and 11 industries. The study reveals best practices and outcomes from a leading cohort of organizations driving exceptional value from AI—and to help you see how your organization compares, we’ve created a simple benchmarking tool that shows how you stack up across AI strategy, data governance, talent and skills, workflows, agentic AI use, and overall performance.

ServiceNow and NVIDIA: AI Maturity in Manufacturing

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Manufacturing firms are pushing forward with AI. Many of the manufacturers in our recent study ramped up their AI spending over the past fiscal year, and 82% plan to do so in the next fiscal year. Nearly three out of five manufacturers rolled out 100 or more use cases last year. Still, AI is evolving faster than the ability of most manufacturers to deploy the technology effectively. In this report, we look at the state of AI usage in manufacturing and the practices and steps that will help companies succeed at AI.

To measure progress in AI transformation, we surveyed nearly 4,500 C-level and senior executives across 16 countries and 11 industries. The study reveals best practices and outcomes from a leading cohort of organizations driving exceptional value from AI—and to help you see how your organization compares, we’ve created a simple benchmarking tool that shows how you stack up across AI strategy, data governance, talent and skills, workflows, agentic AI use, and overall performance.

SoftwareOne: Driving business outcomes through cost-optimised innovation

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In today’s fast-paced digital world, innovation is a prime driver of business growth. For middle-market companies—those with revenues between $500 million and $5 billion—the stakes are especially high. Our research reveals that mid-sized companies are lagging larger competitors (over $5 billion in revenue), which have bigger budgets and greater management appetite for embracing innovation.

We looked at seven steps that these companies can take to turbocharge innovation.

KPMG: ESG Assurance Maturity Index 2024

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While regulatory requirements are driving the urgency for businesses to gather their data and get assurance-ready, there are expected benefits beyond mere compliance. Stakeholders from investors to customers and employees want a clear picture of what companies are doing to operate on a more sustainable basis. The organizations that can present robust, accurate information — free from suspicions of greenwashing — have an opportunity to derive a competitive and reputational advantage.

ThoughtLab and KPMG surveyed senior executives and board members with ESG reporting and assurance knowledge at 1000 companies across industries, global regions, with a mean revenue of US$18.9 billion.

The KPMG ESG Assurance Maturity Index is composed of five pillars designed to help companies measure progress in each of these areas: (1) governance, (2) skills, (3) data management, (4) digital technology, and (5) value chain.