Equipping graduates with data skills and practical experiences for an evolving workplace
Facing a volatile job market, students today place more emphasis on learning outcomes and employability. To respond to changing student needs, higher education institutions must adapt their programmes to better equip graduates with the skills that employers demand. However, a 2025 survey by Hult International Business School demonstrates this is rarely the reality, with less than a quarter of recent graduates believing they have all the skills they need for their current roles.
Podium Education is a leading experiential learning platform based in the US that specialises in creating a pathway from a college degree to a successful career for students. It is a unique platform that helps integrate career-building opportunities for students within degree programmes, which is a component often missing from higher education courses. Using Tableau Cloud, an enterprise-grade, cloud-based analytics solution that provides a collaborative workspace for instructors and students, Podium enables students to develop essential data skills that are relevant today and prepare them for a data-driven future.
“Our mission centres on ensuring every undergraduate student, regardless of their background or major, has access to real-world, career-connected experiences that employers value,” says Lauren Crider, senior director of product at Podium Education.
Ensuring accessible experiences for every student
Podium Education’s Global Career Accelerator is a credit-bearing digital programme that combines the benefits of experiential learning opportunities, such as internships and study abroad schemes, with university degrees. It offers a pathway for universities around the world to provide students with work opportunities at leading companies such as Intel, OpenAI and L’Oréal.
“We believe practical experience should be a component of every degree, not limited to a select few,” Crider says. “The accelerator is designed to be scalable and equitable and bridge the gap between the workplace and the classroom by providing students with tangible workplace-ready experiences.” For example, students are supported in preparing for and earning the Salesforce Certified Tableau Desktop Foundations certification. Alumni testimonials credit this hands-on experience for their ability to design interactive dashboards and tell compelling data stories.
Podium Education prioritises student outcomes as one of its guiding principles and accessibility is at the heart of this, says Eric Mackintosh, vice-president of academic operations at Podium Education. This is an important aspect of the work the company undertakes using Tableau Cloud. “The platform’s accessibility ensures all students can benefit from our offering,” Mackintosh says. “Tableau Cloud removes friction from the learning experience, which is one of the reasons we value our partnership so highly.” Tableau Cloud eliminates hardware and software barriers by being accessible via a web browser and is compatible with screen readers, so students with diverse needs can engage with the platform.
Tableau Cloud: combining flexibility and scalability
Digital tools are increasingly prevalent within the higher education space. While this has helped students and staff become more familiar with the technology, Tableau Cloud stands out for being flexible and effective in supporting learning and skill development at scale.
“Tableau Cloud offers administrative advantages, notably granular permission structures that facilitate scalable programme offerings,” says Mackintosh. “This enables segmentation of users and data access based on permissions, which confers privacy and security advantages. It also lets educators drill down into different demographics and what works best for them as learners,” he adds.
“The fact that Tableau Cloud is web-based is another draw,” says Caitlyn Canterbury, partner marketing manager at Podium Education. “It means the solution is flexible enough to shift as our needs change, without requiring software or hardware maintenance.” Tableau Cloud also makes collaborating around data easy, accelerating classroom learning through seamless team-based experiences.
Future-proofing skills: AI and career readiness
Building industry-relevant skills isn’t easy, given the pace of technological change, with many jobs predicted to be transformed by technology in the coming years. “AI proficiency is increasingly vital and Podium Education equips students to use AI as a tool to enhance analytical processes and refine data storytelling,” Crider says. “Students develop dynamic competencies that integrate data visualisation expertise with AI skills.”
The success stories involving alumni over the years demonstrate how Podium Education’s programmes help students gain practical skills and enhance their employability. For example, its collaboration with Intel enabled students to create interactive Tableau dashboards and analyse real-world energy data. “Students are encouraged to showcase their work on LinkedIn, which has helped them secure positions at well-known companies such as Goldman Sachs,” Canterbury says. “They are also encouraged to create portfolios of their Tableau work to further enhance their job prospects.”
Bring Tableau Cloud into your classroom for free with Tableau for Teaching.
Image credit: Podium Education
