EdTech Connect Ep. “Rasheed Behrooznia: Beyond the Student ID & The Future of Campus Commerce and Experience” – Summary

Host: Jeff Dillon
Guest: Rasheed Behrooznia (Executive Vice President & General Manager, Transact Seaboard)
Date: November 14, 2025

Episode Overview

This episode of EdTech Connect features Rasheed Behrooznia, a veteran executive in campus technology and commerce solutions. The conversation explores the evolution of student expectations, the integration of mobile and AI technologies on campus, insights on fostering innovation at scale, and predictions for the convergence of fintech and edtech. Rasheed shares both high-level strategy and practical details, emphasizing how technology is reshaping the student experience and the operations of universities.

Key Discussion Points & Takeaways

Rasheed’s Career Pathway and Influences ([02:06]–[05:08])

• Unexpected College Influences: Rasheed, originally an engineering student, found his experience broadened by philosophy, which he credits for growing his strategic thinking.
  • Quote: "I really got attracted to philosophy and some of those ... I like the strategic and long-term thinking of a lot of philosophical questions." (Rasheed, [02:15])
• Professional Journey: Rasheed reflects on his trajectory from Lockheed Martin (defense sector), to Cubic (public transit tech), to leading Transact Seaboard, linking each step to a growing desire for visible, tangible impact on daily life and education.
  • Quote: "There was a number of occasions where I could take my family and my kids on some of the systems that my team had built and I really, really liked that." (Rasheed, [03:53])

Transact Seaboard’s Mission and Approach ([05:08]–[07:39])

• Mission Statement: Centered on delivering a safe, efficient, and connected campus ecosystem—ensuring security, efficiency, and seamless experiences for students and administrators.
  • Quote: "It's about the campus, it's about the leaders on campus and their mission to provide the best experience for their students." (Rasheed, [05:23])
• Staying Connected: The company relies on direct feedback via advisory councils, user groups, conferences, and aggregated user data to stay aligned with evolving campus needs.

Practical “Smart Campus” Applications ([07:39]–[09:53])

• Campus as a Smart City: Rasheed details diverse use cases—housing access, dining, parcel pickup, health centers, makerspaces—emphasizing the importance of a seamless, secure ecosystem.
  • Quote: "It's really a little smart city... bringing them together in a seamless experience as opposed to disjointed one-off use cases is exceptionally important to those students." (Rasheed, [08:20])
• Automating Access and Commerce: Highlights automation of student access to facilities (including 3D printer use in makerspaces), supporting both traditional and modern experiences.

Innovations in Mobile Credentials and Cloud ([09:53]–[13:30])

• “Beyond the Student ID”: Mobile credentials now digitize the campus ID, enabling students to use their phones/watches for identification, access, and payments—all in a secure digital wallet.
  • Quote: "Their ID is digitized in the secure element of those phones...to kind of go about those experiences we've been talking about." (Rasheed, [11:00])
• Adoption Rates: Over 200 institutions have adopted mobile credentials, with up to 90% student uptake at those campuses.
• AI and ML for Experience Optimization: Machine learning algorithms now enhance real-time services, such as predicting food order readiness, attuned to kitchen loads, time, and seasonality.

Systems Engineering, Scale & Balancing Innovation ([13:59]–[18:18])

• Mission Critical Systems: Rasheed’s defense background brings a systems engineering rigor, vital for reliable campus operations (food, payments, facilities).
• Balancing Innovation & Reliability: The team prioritizes ideas based on lifecycle stage (innovation, growth, reliability) and client feedback, leveraging a multi-tenant cloud to deliver updates rapidly to all clients.
  • Quote: "The cycle time between innovation, ideation and then our client realizing that is much shorter." (Rasheed, [17:39])

Fostering Collaboration and Continuous Improvement ([18:18]–[19:53])

• Team Culture: Many long-tenured employees exhibit deep commitment to improving higher education. Guided retrospectives and data-driven evaluations ensure continued progress.
  • Quote: "You want to work with people that are inherently curious, interested and kind of want to always make something better." (Rasheed, [18:45])

Maintaining Client Proximity ([19:53]–[21:20])

• Ongoing Engagement: Leaders, including executives, directly participate in client-facing events and problem-solving, avoiding siloed support structures.
  • Quote: "We keep that across our entire teams all the way to our executive team." (Rasheed, [20:45])

Changing Student Expectations ([21:20]–[23:13])

• Student Expectations Accelerate: Today’s students expect seamless digital experiences and rapid innovation, making former “nice-to-haves” the new minimum.
  • Quote: "The technology and innovation rate change is matched by expectation. Anything is literally possible." (Rasheed, [21:39])

Fintech & EdTech Convergence ([23:13]–[25:26])

• Blurring Boundaries: Transact Seaboard operates in both edtech and fintech, leveraging payment technologies, securing digital wallets, and integrating analytics platforms to power campus commerce and insights.
  • Quote: "There's a lot of parallels. You've got a more education-focused ecosystem, but it has the same kind of experiences ... that's that smart city kind of a feel." (Rasheed, [25:05])

The Role of AI: Enhancement or Disruption? ([25:26]–[26:42])

• AI’s Dual Role: AI already streamlines operations and delivers new features (e.g., natural language system queries), but Rasheed predicts both continued enhancement and eventual disruption.
  • Quote: "I think in the short term it will help streamline the operation. I think long term there will be disruption around how that occurs." (Rasheed, [26:15])

Student Privacy and Change Adoption ([26:42]–[27:20])

• Change Curve Observed: The adoption of technologies like AI and facial recognition varies, with some students eager and others resistant, but the mainstream will evolve over time.

Leadership Advice for the Next Decade ([27:20]–[28:30])

• Value of Teamwork: Rasheed’s parting advice for university leaders is to lean on trusted partners and commit to collective, cross-disciplinary teamwork to meet the accelerated pace of change ahead.
  • Quote: "Lean on the partners you trust, bring others into the conversation, kind of lean into that collaboration ... teamwork is going to deliver a higher output." (Rasheed, [27:36])

Notable Quotes

• “[Student] expectations are... matched by expectation. Anything is literally possible. The table stakes of the past are not the table stakes of where we are today.” (Rasheed, [21:39])
• “It’s really a little smart city… bringing them together in a seamless experience as opposed to disjointed one-off use cases is exceptionally important to those students.” (Rasheed, [08:20])
• “Lean on the partners you trust, bring others into the conversation, kind of lean into that collaboration.” (Rasheed, [27:36])

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Early Influences & Career Path: [02:06]–[05:08]
• Transact Seaboard’s Mission & Connection to Students: [05:08]–[07:39]
• Smart Campus/Practical Applications: [07:39]–[09:53]
• Mobile and Cloud Innovations: [09:53]–[13:30]
• Systems Engineering & Innovation at Scale: [13:59]–[18:18]
• Collaboration & Culture: [18:18]–[19:53]
• Staying Close to Clients: [19:53]–[21:20]
• Student Expectations & Adaptability: [21:20]–[23:13]
• Fintech & Edtech Convergence: [23:13]–[25:26]
• AI—Enhancement or Disruption: [25:26]–[26:42]
• Leadership Advice for Campus Decision Makers: [27:20]–[28:30]

Memorable Moments

• Rasheed’s analogy of the modern campus as a “little smart city” [08:20]
• Statistics: Mobile credential adoption rates nearing 90% at partner campuses [11:50]
• AI in action: Machine learning for accurate campus dining wait times [12:45]
• Emphasis on listening to clients through regular contact and company-wide problem-solving [20:15]
• Thoughtful advice to university leaders emphasizing teamwork and trusted partnerships [27:36]

This episode offers a deep dive into how rapidly evolving technologies are reshaping campus life—moving beyond the traditional student ID to create holistic, efficient, and safe student experiences. Rasheed Behrooznia’s insights bridge high-level strategy and practical implementation, offering leadership lessons for anyone invested in the future of higher education.