How Arukay is Transforming Colombia’s K-12 Education Landscape
“Learning to code is your superpower — you get to create whatever you want.”
We love the idea of giving individuals the tools to choose their destiny. In an economy where technological skills are becoming increasingly necessary to land a job, we were inspired by Arukay’s mission to provide K-12 students with the ability to enhance their technical and emotional intelligence through afterschool programming.
This passion led us to Vicky Ricaurte, founder of Arukay — a blended learning platform for K-12 education, which has grown from servicing 0 to over 10,000 students in less than 2 years. We met Ricaurte through our EdTech network in Colombia and were keen to learn more about how their innovative curriculum is disrupting Colombia’s K-12 education model.
“I want Arukay to disrupt education in Colombia by providing an easily accessible STEM education to all students.”
Disruptive Innovation in Colombia’s Education System
“Currently, only 1/10 of students in Colombia have access to quality STEM education programming” — this leaves most students behind in a quickly changing global economy.
Ricaurte wants to change this by preparing students for the digital age.
“We started as a franchise, but that didn’t really work. Now we’re focusing on expanding our afterschool programs and providing teacher training services so that we can continue to scale.”
With only about 100 other EdTech platforms in Colombia, very few focus on K-12 programming. Arukay has scaled quickly in this environment, from 0–10,000 students in only a few years. Furthermore, they are backed by InncubatED, Latin America’s first education incubator, which gives the startup the freedom to delegate funds where they see fit.
It is her hope that these successes will disrupt current educational programming and translate into an updated curriculum throughout the country in which a STEM courses are the norm, rather than the exception.
3 Ways Arukay Disrupts Colombia’s Traditional Education Model with STEM Programming
- Arukay is enhancing Colombia’s human capital capacity by providing students’ access to STEM programming. In an increasingly globalized and tech-based world, workers in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields play a key role in the sustained growth and stability of the economy. Arukay recognizes this and ties its curriculum to training that will translate into job security for students and global competitiveness for Colombia.
- Arukay provides a convenient and enjoyable medium for students to learn STEM. Ricaurte has adjusted the model to reach more students, “in the beginning, we offered courses at our learning centers but found it was difficult for students to make it with traffic, we now offer onsite courses at their school.” Furthermore, Arukay’s model partners with brands such as LEGO, Minecraft Education, App Inventor and Scratch to create engaging lessons that pique students’ interests.
- In additional to providing technical skills training, Arukay focuses on enhancing students’ emotional intelligence (EI) by tying its curriculum to design thinking methodology. Although we are more connected than ever before, some experts believe a decrease in face-to-face interactions has led to lower EI levels. Ricaurte believes this method allows students to better work in teams, deal with rejection and adjust to changes, which will ultimately make them more successful.
Overcoming Challenges and Seizing Opportunities
Like any growing startup, Arukay struggles to keep up with an increasing demand — “but we’re managing.” Ricaurte finds it most difficult to change attitudes in the education space and convince teachers to adapt to a STEM curriculum. Moreover, Arukay sources all of its coursework from the USA, so they must contextually and linguistically translate everything for a local context.
With these challenges come great opportunities. When students have knowledge of STEM, they have the potential to earn a high wage (26% more) and find a well-paying job right out of high school. Ricaurte believes this is something to be seized upon.
“This doesn’t just benefit student livelihoods, it is beneficial for Colombia; technology has the power to disrupt any sector, just look at Uber!”
Arukay functions as an afterschool, blended learning program that provides students with technological and emotional skills needed for the digital age. Arukay facilitates its programming through mediums such as Minecraft Education, App Inventor, Scratch and Lego EV3 Robotics and also offers courses in engineering and nanotechnology. These hard skills are supplemented by the design thinking process, which builds the agency, empathy and creativity needed for personal and professional success in a quickly evolving landscape. Arukay now services over 10,000 students throughout Colombia and has a presence in Bogotá, Medellín, Bucaramanga, Barranquilla and Cali. In the upcoming weeks, they will launch an added component for teacher training and will continue to scale their blended learning model throughout Colombia.
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