This week’s featured startup
Chezuba (Sukhendra Rompally, Founder & CEO) – AI-based Corporate Social Responsibility platform enabling employees of companies to volunteer and donate in 100+ countries. Our platform allows companies with distributed workforces to thus build volunteering programs, across skills, cause areas and locations.
Data Dive
The premium earned by Americans with advanced degrees (Guy Berger, Ph.D.) – How much more does an advanced degree pay out? It’s the lowest premium since 2000.
Investment
Disruptive Startup Campus Raises $55M in Funding to Revolutionize Online Education – Campus, a fully accredited online community college, uses a software-enabled approach to be more lean and efficient compared to traditional institutions.
Doinstruct Raises €7.6M in Funding – 80% of the global workforce are frontline workers, but current training options are considered to be time-consuming, inefficient and not designed with workers in mind.
Education technology provider zSpace sets terms for $15 million IPO – zSpace provides augmented/virtual reality educational technology with a focus on K-12 and Career & Technical Education (CTE), delivering an interactive, stereoscopic 3D learning experience without the need for VR goggles.
JFF receives award from ASA for career center – The funding from American Student Assistance will support JFF’s goal to enhance career readiness for young people aged 16-24.
TeachMe.To Raises $5 Million – The platform makes it easy for anyone to find and book local lessons with the closest, most affordable and friendliest coaches, while supporting the ongoing learning experience.
Trait raises €1M in seed funding – The platform aims to provide a more personalized training experience for runners.
Events
Solving EdTech Problems with a UX Mindset (EdTech Insider) – Nicole Gallardo, Founder and Chief Design Officer at Founders Who UX, will be leading a session focused on practical UX strategies for EdTech & creating user-centric learning experiences.
The Only Effective Program Shown to Improve Employee Well-Being (Common Impact) – Join this webinar to understand why volunteering is the only effective program for enhancing employee well-being. Features groundbreaking insights from the Oxford Wellbeing Research Centre.
Opportunities
Department of Labor Offers $65M to Colleges for Tech Career Programs – Grant funding for career training programs in sectors such as clean energy, semiconductors and biotechnology.
EdTech MBA Fellowship for Employers – Fill out this form to be a host employer for the EdTech MBA Community Fellowship (Sept 2024 cohort). They’ll match your proposal with MBA / graduate students dedicated to edtech.
Ontario investing up to $260M in new funding to train workers – Goal is to tackle the province’s labour shortage and connect Ontario workers with high-paying jobs in their communities.
In the news
2U Files for Bankruptcy in Prepackaged Deal (On EdTech) – 2U still has a strategic turnaround to execute, and need to convince most academic partners to stay onboard. The company will have half the total debt and two extra years for the turnaround.
Arkansas is having success solving teacher shortages and other states should take notice (The Hechinger Report) – Legislative reforms. have focused on teacher pay/benefits, and additional pay via mentoring.
Instructure to be Acquired by KKR for $4.8 Billion (company release) – The management team, led by CEO Steve Daly, will continue to lead the company in their current roles.
Metallica Scholars Initiative Workforce Education Program Now in All 50 States (AWMH company release) – Yes, that Metallica.
Multiverse is getting out of apprenticeships in the U.S. (Work Shift) – “What we heard from employers was a need for training that can be deployed rapidly, can adapt to the ever-changing technology landscape, and can deliver immediate results.”
Remote Workers Have Highest Productivity and Best Work-Life Balance (HR News) – UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s focus over the next 12 months includes making flexible working a day one right.
Students Headed to High School Are Academically a Year Behind, COVID Study Finds (The 74) – Older students don’t make gains as quickly as younger kids and will have to work harder to catch up, the researchers said.
Why Are Ed-Tech Products Sitting Unused? It Starts With Failing to Research Teachers (EdWeek Market Brief) – “One of the fundamental problems is that you can sell to chief academic officers and school systems, but you’re not always accountable for the impact of those products.”
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