The Innovator Network
A collective of individuals, universities and employers committed to student-centered academic transformation. Curated and hosted by Education Design Lab, the Network fosters thoughtful dialogue, collaboration and solutions to challenges facing higher ed today.
The Learner Revolution
How Colleges Can Thrive in a Skills and Competencies Marketplace
Education Design Lab's 2019 white paper
Reflections from five years of applied human-centered design at 100+ institutions
The Learner Revolution Discussion
On Tuesday, March 19, 2019, we celebrated the Education Design Lab's five year anniversary by hosting a dinner and discussion about the future of work and the demand for new postsecondary education-to-workforce solutions.
Moderated by Kathleen deLaski, Founder and President of the Education Design Lab, and featuring George Mason University President, Ángel Cabrera, and Amazon Web Services Senior Manager of Worldwide Education Programs, Ken Eisner.
Discussants include Goodwill Industries International Senior Vice President of Strategy and Advancement, Wendi Copeland, Penn Foster CEO, Frank Britt, League for Innovation in the Community College President and CEO, and Lab board member, Rufus Glasper.
As part of our “Future Proof” series, we’re covering the future of work landscape and the tools, pathways, and trends for designing educational programs that equip learners for an evolving workforce–– past issues covered skills mapping and 21st century skills curriculum mapping as key tools. In this “Future Proof” spotlight, the Lab’s education designer Isaac Agbeshie-Noye provides a primer on upskilling, a human capital trend, and shares examples in practice and lessons learned to date from our upskilling initiative in San Antonio, Texas.
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Single moms make up 11% of all undergraduate college students, and research shows that college success helps them build family-sustaining careers and contribute to their local economies. Over the past several months, the community colleges participating in the Single Moms Success Design Challenge (SMSDC) – Delgado Community College, Monroe Community College, Central New Mexico Community College, and Ivy Tech Community College – dove deep into understanding the experiences faced by single mother learners. Through a series of design sessions facilitated by the Lab, the schools gained important insights for ideation and prototyping of potential solutions to dramatically increase single mothers’ attainment of degrees and high-quality credentials.
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Increased financial pressures and declining enrollment are forcing small private colleges to adapt. For many, a curriculum redesign is the way forward. Florida Memorial University (FMU) is facing many of the same pressures as other colleges and universities across the country—they’re working to tackle mounting pressures and adjust to a changing landscape.
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21st century skills—otherwise known as soft skills, human skills, or mobility skills—are the future of work. The last time we dove into skills mapping, we aimed to help our partners better understand it as a key tool for designing educational programs that better equip learners for the needs of an evolving workforce. So, what do you do if you’re not able to quickly and drastically redesign your curriculum to meet employer’s skill needs? Meet 21st century skills curriculum mapping.
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At the Lab, we take great care in designing sessions with our partners that are productive, engaging, and learner-centric—and we’re always looking for ways to improve our practice. Earlier this month, our team gathered in DC to reflect, expand our methods toolkit, and ultimately, get better at what we do.
Read MoreWhat is the Innovator Network?
We’re glad you asked. It’s a collective of individuals, universities and employers committed to student-centered academic transformation.
Curated and hosted by Education Design Lab, the Network fosters thoughtful dialogue, collaboration and solutions to challenges facing higher ed today. We hope you’ll join us.
Learn more or…
The Innovator Network is a place for you to form connections with similarly motivated colleagues in higher ed, as well as other higher ed institutions and industry. The Network also serves as a community and sounding board for issues and opportunities that you and your institution face.
