AXELOS continues a very busy 2015 with the launch of their global Academia initiative to promote the value of best practice in higher education.

AXELOS is the U.K. enterprise that owns the Global Best Practice portfolio, including ITIL, PRINCE2, and the other PPM products. ITIL is the most popular and utilized service management framework in the industry. There are currently more than 2 million ITIL certifications worldwide.

The global Academia initiative is designed to improve collaboration between academia, students and organizations that will hire them after graduation. AXELOS recognizes the important role higher education institutions (HEIs) play in preparing students to successfully operate in today's fast-paced business environments. Their ultimate goal is to support academic institutions and students by making sure the students have the requisite skills and knowledge of best practice solutions across IT Service management (ITSM), Project and Program Management (PPM) and Cyber Resilience.

As with prior initiatives, AXELOS is leveraging outsiders to contribute. AXELOS ITSM Portfolio Manager, Philip Hearsum, said in a press release that the company's aim, is to "foster a community of interested stakeholders and promote discussion and debate around how best practice is leveraged in academia. As owners of the Global Best Practice portfolio, we want to support both HEIs and students on their journey, and make sure graduates enter the job market with up-to-date skills, giving them a real competitive advantage."

AXELOS recognizes that HEIs are on the leading edge of preparing students for business innovation. The initiative enable HEIs to access a platform to discuss and collaborate with other institutions around the world on better ways in which to increase awareness and implementation of the AXELOS portfolio in business-oriented courses. According to AXELOS' press materials, HEIs also have the opportunity "for further development of the AXELOS Global Best Practice portfolio" either in well-established domains like ITSM and PPM, or in new areas such as Cyber Resilience. We wish to encourage research in these areas, help form partnerships, and secure available funding."

As part of their curriculum, students attending participating HEIs will gain valuable exposure and experience to research projects and opportunities directly contributing to the development of best practice in ITSM, PPM and Cyber Resilience. Additionally, familiarity and mastery of best practice fundamentals, coupled with the opportunity to earn globally recognized qualifications, will give students a competitive advantage as they enter the job market. Students will have a greater understanding and appreciation of the value of implementing best practice in their organizations.

According to Sandra Whittleston, ITSM senior lecturer at the Northampton Business School within the University of Northampton, "Existing frameworks and standards such as those found in ITSM and project management are the linchpin of what works in the real world. Therefore we need to get our young people early enough in the learning cycle so that they understand these principles as they start their careers. By teaching them a range of ITSM methodologies through formal education routes, such as those found in university programmes and apprenticeships, we are giving them a fighting chance of acquiring appropriate knowledge and skills."

The initiative will also work with the various businesses, not-for-profit organizations, and government institutions to identify the knowledge and skills needed in the various domains. According to Hearsum, participating enterprises will benefit, "By addressing business needs with pragmatic high quality academic research, supported by best practices, academic organizations can form and improve partnerships with the community. In turn, discussions and innovations resulting from this can contribute greatly to the development and enhancement of best practices."

In support of this initiative, AXELOS has created a LinkedIn group for individuals, HEIs, and other organizations wishing to participate. Their goal is to identify and share global best practices being successfully used in academia. Interested parties are also encouraged to contribute white papers focused on HEI and guest blog posts to be featured on AXELOS.com.