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Andy has spent over 30 years working with data and information and with the systems and people that process it. After spells with PCFC and HEFCE he joined HESA in 1996 to a role focussed on improving the standard, and the broader understanding, of data quality. Andy became Director of Quality and Development in 1998 and assumed responsibility for the development of HESA systems (including the core data collection system and the HEIDI analysis system) and for broader quality issues through the ISO9001 standard.

In 2013 Andy was appointed Director of the Higher Education Data & Information Improvement Programme (HEDIIP) which was created to reduce the burden and increase the value and accessibility of data and information about HE. HEDIIP created a new architecture for the HE data landscape which is now being implemented through the HESA Data Futures programme and the Data Landscape Steering Group.

Andy has advised governments in Bulgaria, Saudi Arabia and Oman on data processing and quality issues and he has worked on a UN project in Jordan that developed statistical reporting for universities across the Middle East. He now works with organisations across HE as a writer, speaker and advisor on data issues.

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Andy Youell is a writer, speaker and strategic data advisor. Formerly the Director of Data Policy and Governance at HESA, Andy has been at the leading edge of data issues across higher education over three decades. His work has covered all aspects of the data and systems lifecycle and in recent years has focussed on improving the HE sector’s relationship with data.

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