For those who want to shape the world, not just fit in — LIS — a new challenger university in London.
Emerge’s network gives me the opportunity to share learnings from some of the most successful edtech entrepreneurs around the world. This month in my ongoing series of inspiring founder interviews, Chris Persson and Ed Fidoe, co-founders of LIS, a new university in London share insights into the future of higher education with a focus on challenger universities and their own journey with LIS. If you are a current or future founder running a challenger university, this is a must-read.
Take time to reflect as you read — these are purposeful long-form interviews. Why? Because we believe “there are no shortcuts to knowledge” (Ben Horowitz) and that “sometimes taking time is actually a shortcut” (Haruki Murakami). So go on — make a coffee, sit back, indulge yourself.
Here are some highlights from the interview:
👩🏽🎓 Students are demanding more focus on skills that lead to employability. As employers look past brand names and test what applicants can actually do, students are going to want to know that universities can teach them something that’s genuinely valuable in the world of work.
👨🏼💻 It’s important to remember that learning is intellectual but it’s also social. When you’re looking for a transformational learning experience it’s going to remain, for a long time, a social one — because we’re human and that’s such an important part of who we are.
💾 Challenger universities are able to start from scratch with no legacy technology. They can decide which tech to adopt that’s going to deliver the best possible experience for students. It’s a chance for them to get creative with technology and see just how much they can do.
Q. What are your thoughts about existing universities as we know them, recent trends and the near future? Are you feeling pessimistic or optimistic?
We’re optimistic. Whether you’re an established institution with a strong brand or a new challenger, education is an exciting area. In the UK, there’s a growing number of eighteen-year-olds, and more and more of those
eighteen-year-olds want to go to university — people want to learn and universities are a good place to do that. So we believe there will be a strong demand for universities and a need for more university seats. The universities which will do well will offer more choice and be focussed on the teaching and
learning experience of students. As employers look past brand names and test what applicants can actually do, students are going to want to know that universities can teach them something that’s genuinely valuable in the world of work. In which case, universities need to double down on understanding how people learn, by reviewing their teaching methodologies in light of new
developments in cognitive science.
Q. What are your thoughts around challenger universities (institutions radically different from status quo campus-only institutions; trends, types of models you are seeing and prospects for them gaining more traction)
Many challenger universities are focusing on one area, such as Hyper Island on digital or Ecole 42 on programming. The trend seems to be that if you’re starting something new, you focus on a specific area. New providers are particularly interesting when they can influence the rest of the education
system, rather than simply being a small provider influencing a small number of students. If challenger universities are very specialised or doing things differently, other providers might take note and they could start to have a stronger influence on the wider system.
There certainly seems to be overwhelming feedback from students that they want something different in higher education. Some quotes from LIS’s applicants give a flavour as to how passionate they are about a fresh approach;
“LIS have reconfigured my perception of the education system as a whole. It is far ahead of its time and I believe it will be the catalyst that leads to worldwide change in terms of redefining education. It has made me realise that interdisciplinarity is the way forward, as it allows you to see the relevance in every single thing you learn.Therefore, it would be an absolute honour to be a part of the founding cohort. I believe you will not only come out ready to tackle real world problems, but play an active part in revolutionising education.”
- Lois Hill“The world around us is changing faster than we know. This is exactly why I am excited to apply for LIS as it tackles the accelerating problems of today’s society and problems, which will give me not only the education I’m after but an understanding of the modern world.”
- Tomasz Lewandow
Q. Who do you think are the standout examples of challenger universities?
There are some really interesting challengers entering the university space. There’s room for more though. We need to keep encouraging innovation and work together to ensure students have a breadth of choice and learning experiences when choosing where to study. At LIS however, we’re interested in questions surrounding the role of expertise in the 21st century or the value of a polymathic education. To this end, our curriculum is deeply interdisciplinary (more and more, employers are recognising the power of interdisciplinary thinking) and centred around real-world problems
including knife crime, big data, and plastics pollution. The innovative nature of our curriculum has proved attractive to leading academics; we had over six-hundred applications for the first six faculty positions from institutions including Harvard, Oxbridge, and LSE.
Our emphasis on the real-world extends beyond the classroom: LIS students will be introduced to leading organisations, like Virgin and the Met Police, as part of our network of employer organisations. Not only this but LIS teachers and external experts, including academic and industry specialists, are working with us to understand the relevant parts of their disciplines and help
craft a transformational learning experience.
Our admissions process is contextual, and we are looking for a founding cohort of around one hundred students. We will interview every applicant, making conditional offers which take into account a student’s academic achievements in light of their individual backgrounds. We are
working hard to recruit a diverse cohort with a particular focus on widening participation.
Q. What does the optimal challenger university of the future looks like / have?
It’s important to remember that learning is intellectual but it’s also social. When you’re looking for a transformational learning experience it’s going to remain, for a long time, a social one — because we’re human and that’s such an important part of who we are. All of our learning happens in a deeply social way for the first few years of our lives, and it continues that way.
Online platforms are great for studying specific tools and techniques, but the social aspect of learning is still so important. Though it doesn’t have to be an either-or. Challenger universities can have a blended approach where we use technology in more sophisticated ways but hold onto the social aspect of
learning. In terms of content, new universities probably won’t offer a full suite of single subjects. Instead, we’ll see a rich plethora of different HE models — and that’s a good thing. It’s difficult to say what the university of the future will look like because the system needs to provide lots of variety in a
way that it hasn’t been done historically.
Q. Differentiation and brand is important — what niche topics / themes do you find exciting for building new universities around?
For lots of students, the most important thing about going to university is getting a job afterwards. So their preferred university is going to do well if it is porous with the outside world and will stand them in good stead for meaningful work after graduation. Place-based universities are also really interesting — ones that are focussed on transforming their particular local area in a number of different ways.
Q. What as been the biggest risk or challenge in setting up LIS to date and your thoughts around mitigating this?
Regulation (if you want to be regulated) is always hard, but it’s hard for the right reasons. We’re talking about students making decisions that will impact them for the rest of their lives, and that isn’t something that can be taken lightly. We have a responsibility to these students which regulation can help guide.
Q. Why are the most innovative exciting universities moving online and why? What are your general thoughts on the abilities of existing players to successfully re-invent themselves?
Challenger universities are able to start from scratch with no legacy technology — we can decide which tech to adopt that’s going to deliver the best possible experience for students. It’s a chance for us to get creative with technology and see just how much we can do with it.
We’re particularly interested in how tech can give teachers the ability to use their expert judgement in ways which can then be standardised. Take a look at No More Marking, founded by one of our curriculum advisors, which uses technology to aid comparative marking during assessments in school. The software has reduced the workload for teachers, and significantly improves the reliability of marking. It’s clear that education has a long way to go in harnessing the power of teacher experience and judgement, and we think tech can help with that.
Q. If you could recommend one book/article on for founders of other challenger universities then which one?
Range by David Epstein. It’s a book about generalism and the importance of having a broad range of expertise. It’s a great collection of evidence for why it’s important and has profound implications for education.
This interview was kindly given by Chris Persson and Ed Fidoe, co-founders of LIS to Nic Newman, Partner at Emerge Education.
