A Dynamic Response from a Dynamic Postsecondary Ecosystem
Announcing the 25 Higher Education Ecosystem Challenge Finalists — Vote on the public choice winners!
“The education ecosystem of 2030 is LIVELY!”
When we launched a challenge in June to reimagine the higher education ecosystem, we saw the tremendous potential for innovation in an education landscape at the crossroads of policy challenges and technological invention.
We were certain that if we created an opportunity for educators, practitioners, technology developers, and policymakers to collectively dream about the future, we would surface ideas for bold, systemic changes and creative pilots.
We were not disappointed. Over the two months that the challenge was open for submissions, 164 teams submitted imaginative and thoughtful visions of the future. These examined aspects of the landscape ranging from the ever-growing and ever-changing role of institutions and the emergence of technology-supported learning experiences, to the economic mechanisms that will enable us to fill the increasing demand for a skilled workforce and ultimately to provide individual learners the tools and support they need for a lifetime of learning.
Over the past week, a panel of judges scored these submissions and had the difficult job of determining which of these ideas would advance to the finals.
Today, we are excited to announce the top 25 project finalists from which eight winning proposals will be selected. These 25 projects represent varied and exciting ideas that will enable transformative change in our postsecondary ecosystem. They include projects that integrate technology with in-person supports, design universally accepted and individually portable documentation of skills, and develop wayfinding tools can allow lifelong learners to access resources and information to succeed.
Will these projects really transform the postsecondary ecosystem and usher in a future “where employers get the talent they need, the marketplace thrives, the economy booms with productivity and individuals are empowered to access their full potential”?
People’s Choice Awards
Today we are inviting you to vote on the “People’s Choice” awards: the two winners from the top 25 finalists that will be selected by popular vote on the challenge platform. The People’s Choice winners will not only be featured as challenge winners, but each team will receive one complimentary ticket to the ASU+GSV 2019 Summit.
When voting for the “People’s Choice” awards, you will get to play the role of investor and fund the projects that have the boldest visions and the pilots that will lead to the most transformative change. Over the next month, you will have plenty of time to read through the submissions and decide which of these projects are the best. You may even want to leave comments for teams to ask them questions before deciding in which projects to invest.
To invest, register for an account on the challenge platform and receive 1,000 “edu2030-coins” that can be “invested” in your favorite ideas. (Please note that edu2030-coin is a made-up currency with no real or virtual value and that finalists will not be receiving cash prizes based on this public voting.) You may invest up to 50% of your edu2030-coins in a single project.
Voting ends on September 27, 2018, and final winners will be announced in early October.
Continue the conversation
This challenge has highlighted the significant momentum and enthusiasm for innovation in higher education. We hope that over the next month of the public voting you will engage with the ideas by leaving comments for the finalists on the platform or otherwise on social media using #edu2030. This will help to refine the ideas and continue to spur innovative thinking across this active and lively postsecondary ecosystem.
This is a time of incredible transformation and there is much important and exciting work to be done to extend the promise of postsecondary education to millions more who are counting on it to enrich their personal lives, transform their professional prospects, and realize their dreams.
Sharon Leu and David Soo are Sr. Policy Advisors at the US Department of Education’s Office of Educational Technology
