HGSE alumni work amazing jobs across the world. We asked alumni that are one-year out to share about their new positions and post-HGSE perspectives. Chris Gyngell was in the International Education Policy program and graduated in 2019.
What is your current role/responsibilities?
I currently work at Coursera, an online education platform that hosts courses from universities and leading companies around the world. I am on the University Partnerships team, working with our partners on the West Coast of the United States to source courses and develop their online strategies. For the role itself, I would suggest that it’s about 1/3 Account Management, 1/3 Business Development, and 1/3 Sales Director. My team is always speaking with our partners to let them know of areas in which they could develop their online learning portfolios. The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the transition to online learning, which has helped Coursera in many ways, but it has also left our partners very busy as they rush to transition their courses to an online format.
How did HGSE prepare you for the position?
HGSE gave me two main skills. Firstly, I made a point of developing my statistical skills, which has proved extremely useful as I spend a lot of time in Looker each day reviewing data. HGSE also provided me with the confidence to speak authoritatively to education policy, and understand some of the decisions that universities in the United States are working through. I am fortunate to speak with professors, online learning departments, and senior leadership of universities on a daily basis, and having had many conversations at HGSE with classmates and faculty, I feel more confident in those situations.
What is your favorite HGSE memory?
I really enjoyed all of the large group classes, whether it was Felipe Barrera-Osorio’s Microeconomics classes or Joe McIntyre’s S40 class. Having camaraderie when trying to understand new topics was always much appreciated. That aside, my main highlight was my cohort, and having time to spend all day in and out of HGSE with them. I thoroughly miss my time at HGSE!
What is your advice to prospective students?
I would recommend coming to HGSE with a firm, but flexible idea of what you want to get out of it. I came into the program from K-12 education and thought I wanted to go into International Development. To do that, I knew I needed to improve my statistical skills, but in the end, I headed towards Higher Education and Ed Tech. I’d also recommend trying to make the most of networking and the range of activities available to you. There are so many courses and excellent faculty who are world-leading experts in their field. Make sure to make time to connect with everyone!
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