Not all Innovations result from an invention. Mostly, it’s the impact we’re interested in. One essential factor though is the uniqueness of the innovative solution in meeting a need that exists in a novel way. Numerous techniques and strategies employed to create/recreate products and services in ways that capture the attention of people are intensifying and the plethora of tools becoming more affordable and accessible.
Be it in the New Way of Giving as exemplified with The Giving Pledge – with over eighty (80) billionaires committing to offer at least half of their fortunes to charity, or the significantly affordable and accessible DNA sequencing and genotyping from 23andme, a leading personal genetics company ; what particularly grabs my attention the most is the growing innovation in the area of Open Education.
While, the concept of Open Education has been in existence years back, new technologies and powerful smart devices available today, usher a whole different approach to not just the implementation, content and delivery now available, but most interestingly, the accessibility of quality education to people and at places never imagined before.
An interesting example is the the Aakash tablet. With funding from the Indian Government, the device is made available to Students and Pupils – both in cities and down in native villages, effectively eliminating the barriers to entry and/or access to premium education to those who can’t afford to live in cities or afford the fees for a good education. Worthy of note, also are the companies springing up and creating content (mostly free) specifically targeted for these devices.
Today, it has become difficult to start any talk about innovation in education or education reform without mentioning the words “Khan Academy.” Khan Acdemy, which started in 2006 by Salman Khan, a graduate student of both MIT and Harvard for the purpose of tutoring his cousins in math now serves millions of students across the world who use the site, alongside major school districts who have begun to incorporate Khan Academy into their curriculum. Already, 23andme has partnered with Khan Academy to offer its Video Courses – Genetics 101 and Human Prehistory 101 video series at absolutely no cost.
And with the announcement of Coursera securing $16 million in Venture Capital Funding for its innovative Free Online Learning System and partnership with at least five major universities including, University of Michigan, Berkeley, Princeton, University of Pennsylvania and Stanford and counting; it’s interesting to see how free access to premium educational content from the world’s leading universities can impact learning generally.
Several other startups and institutes are following in the pursuit to offer their content free online. Udacity, Minerva and even other higher educational institutions including MIT are offering their valuable course content at absolutely no cost on similar platforms. For now, we are not sure how these startups intend to monetize or generate profits from these ventures. One thing is certain – the impact is real and lives are changing.
If you want to partner with some of the most innovative young startups globally, submit a brief now!
Peter
1/05/12
