Blaž Podobnik has been analysing data behind the scenes at Mary Immaculate College (MIC) for nearly six years, where he now serves as the Data Analytics Manager in the Quality Office. Originally from Žiri, Slovenia, Blaž describes his journey to MIC as both global and unexpected.
“I studied psychology in Ljubljana and was part of the Psychological Student Association of Europe, which led me to travel a lot,” he explains. “At one of the conferences, I met my partner, and that’s how I ended up moving to Ireland”.
What was supposed to be a one-year Erasmus exchange turned into nearly a decade living in Limerick. Despite the move, Blaž found settling into Ireland surprisingly easy.
“Slovenia and Ireland have more in common than you might think. We share a history of occupation, love sports, enjoy a drink, and people are generally friendly.”
There were still some cultural surprises along the way. One of the biggest was the financial strain students face in Ireland. “In Slovenia, I was actually paid to study at university. Coming here and seeing students struggle financially to stay in college was a big culture shock”.
And then there’s jaywalking.
“The way people treat littering and jaywalking here was definitely a surprise,” he adds. Jaywalking — I think that’s the biggest one. As Slovenians, we’re very much part of that German/Austrian mentality. Jaywalking is illegal in Slovenia. If you jaywalk you do get a fine. So, you just don't do it. I get it because the system is different. But I mean, I'm getting impatient now. I'm jaywalking. I am obviously becoming part of the problem!”
When he's not dodging oncoming traffic, however, Blaž is crunching numbers. His work at MIC focuses on analysing data and translating it into meaningful insights.
“A big part of my role is running student surveys, like the Student Survey and the Graduate Outcomes Survey. We want to know what students think during their studies and where they are after graduating. I also help centralise data from across the College so staff can easily access the information they need.”
In addition to this, he sometimes works on more specific projects to help the College.
“There was also more bespoke work we did, like estimating the College’s CO2 emissions based on student commuting patterns—looking at how many students commute, how far they travel and calculating the environmental impact of that.”
But Blaž sees his work as being more than just statistics.
“Data can be intimidating, so I spend a lot of time making it approachable. Charts, dashboards, infographics—they make complex information easier to understand and start important conversations. Making complex information more digestible is one of the things I do as well. Growing up, I was into graphic design, so that helps a lot.”
He also notes that his background in psychology, computer science and even graphic design gives him a unique skill set to bridge the technical and human sides of data.
One of the projects Blaž is most proud of is centralising College data into a single resource, saving staff time and making reports and decision-making much more efficient. He also emphasises the importance of making sure student voices are heard.
“When students take the time to give feedback, we need to make sure it actually leads to something. I see data as a ‘pulse check’ on how the College is doing.”
Of course, managing data in higher education comes with challenges, he acknowledges: “Survey fatigue is real. We try to balance collecting useful information without overwhelming students. It’s also crucial to build trust—that the data we’re collecting is accurate and being used to improve things”.
Discussing what he has enjoyed most about his time here, Blaž notes:
“I know that the weather is not optimal, but it's the people, and it’s the mentality here. I've worked in international companies and companies that are more focused on the top line, or in bigger universities where it's all about publishing and all about getting yourself forward and don't care about everyone else. Here, everyone does care. They like asking about you and how you’re doing. It's a very intimate environment despite being a fairly big institution. I really like that. It’s nice.”
When Blaž isn’t perfecting the art of higher education data analysis, he’s enjoying the purr-fect company of a few feline friends. Tillie, who was rescued from the streets of Limerick City and Maize, who has only ever known a life of comfort. He also loves basketball and skiing (though those opportunities are somewhat limited in Ireland) and still enjoys working on data projects even in his spare time.
Even when he switches off from work, Blaž’s passion for working with data often follows him home.
If given the chance to analyse any dataset just for fun, Blaž smiles “Brain data”.
“I worked in cognitive science and neuroscience before, and brain studies are always fascinating. I enjoy working on data analysis that is more focused on how we can help people—understanding how the brain works, how people learn or process information, that’s the kind of data I really enjoy digging into.”
Ironically, for someone who works in meticulous data analysis, Blaž’s biggest career move came from taking a chance. “Staying here longer — that looks like the plan. Well, I think it is. For now, if I can just get a house, then I’m sorted!”
