Live from ASU+GSV with Sara Leoni

Live from ASU+GSV with Sara Leoni

From The Higher Ed Geek Podcast by Dustin Ramsdell

April 30, 2026 · 20 min

About this episode

The episode features a discussion with Sara Leoni about the relevance of higher education institutions in a changing skills landscape.

In this bonus episode recorded live at the ASU+GSV summit in San Diego, we spoke with Sara Leoni* of Ziplines Education about how higher education institutions can stay relevant in a rapidly changing skills landscape. They explore the growing importance of non-credit, career-aligned programs—especially in areas like AI—and how partnerships can help institutions deliver timely, workforce-ready training at scale. The conversation highlights the role of continuing education as a strategic asset, the rise of lifelong learning, and why institutions must balance traditional degree programs with more flexible, industry-driven offerings to meet evolving learner and employer needs. *There was a slight audio recording issue that cut the conversation short at the end, so we want to apologize for that hiccup. We nevertheless wanted to make sure we shared this discussion since the majority of the content was still intact.

People in this episode

Host: Dustin Ramsdell

Guest: Sara Leoni

Topics covered

  • higher education
  • non-credit programs
  • career-aligned training
  • lifelong learning
  • workforce readiness
  • partnerships in education

Keywords

  • higher education
  • non-credit programs
  • career training
  • AI
  • lifelong learning
  • workforce readiness

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Ziplines Education

Places: San Diego, higher education, AI

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