The State of Drupalin Higher Education

Zach ChandlerStanford Universityzchandler@stanford.edu

DrupalCon Asia 2016Higher Ed SummitIITB, Mumbai

2016 - Drupal has a very strong position in Higher Ed

2016 - Drupal has a very strong position in Higher Ed

(this is not news …)

But what does it mean for a university to “use” Drupal?

use cases: { ● main university website● websites at scale

(all the other websites!)● application development● scholarly publishing● scientific and research applications● library and information science

case 1: main university websites

case 2: website publishing at scale

case 3: application development

case 4: scholarly publishing

case 5: scientific and research applications

case 6: library and information science

conclusion: we do more with Drupal than marketing

dig deeper: WHY is Drupal so prevalent in Higher Ed?

Drupal is the most sophisticated content modeling framework available

Drupal is complex, but developers in Higher Ed are not afraid of complexity

Drupal: 3 Fundamental Attributes

1. Flexibility2. Community3. Leverage

#1: Flexibility

● Drupal is a tool-building tool● System designers make specific tools with its generalized build

kit, based on their needs● Content Types, and business logic, can be industry-specific● Amazing customizations are possible● Override anything

#2: Community

● As a Drupal developer, you are never alone, you have thousands of colleagues around the world

● Expensive specialties, like security, accessibility, and performance are often solved by others

● Vendors provide professional services, but are also community members

● You get to contribute to something bigger

#3: Leverage

● code: Drupal’s modularity (esp. the Features module) allows us to re-use prior work easily

● people: Internal expertise built up on simple projects are a stepping stone to more complex use cases

Community, FTW!

Drupal has a growing global community

India has a tremendous amount of talent

Like my colleagues at Stanford, YOU are not afraid of complexity

Let’s create something amazing, together!

...

thank you.