Higher Education Innovations

What is the state-of-the-art in higher education? Ben Nelson, the founder of Minerva Schools, joins Dirk and Jon to share his innovative approach to higher education and the unique experience offered by his institution.

Even as the Internet and mobile computing technologies have remade our relationship with communication and information, the higher education experience has remained largely unchanged. Ben Nelson, the founder of Minerva Schools, joins Dirk and Jon to explain how he is planning to change that. Minerva blends a holistic view and pedagogical approach with the smart use of available technologies to offer a fresh and inspiring university experience.

 

Memorable Quotes

"The fact of the matter is, if you take the Harvard student body and give it to Beacon Hill Community College, and you take the Beacon Hill student body and give it to Harvard, the outcomes will be exactly reversed, it will be with the students, not with the institution."

"All of the students live together, but the professors are all over the world."

"At Minerva, students live in seven different countries by the time they graduate."

"The world isn't divided into physics in isolation from biology in most cases, or politics isolated from economics."

"Study after study has shown that a typical test and lecture based class, within six months at the end of the semester, students have forgotten 90% of what they knew.”

"Foundational concepts are things that are generative, things that once you learn, you can build off of in many different ways."

"At any time, a professor can press a button and see how much time each student has spent talking in the class."

"What we look for are professors that have very broad interests and high fluid intelligence.”

"Imagine when you think about a person who is wise, the immediate image that you see in your mind is somebody who is old, because they've had decades of experience. Imagine if the world could produce students who had the analytical capabilities to make wise choices at 22, 23, that's transformational."

"Without technology, you cannot track individual student progress and modify their personalized intellectual development in a classroom environment, you need to have the data."

"The liberal arts were those disciplines that enfranchised citizens to enjoy the fruits of liberty."

"It is the job of universities to make our society function."

 

Who You'll Hear

Dirk Knemeyer, Social Futurist and Producer of Creative Next (@dknemeyer)

Jonathan Follett, Writer, Electronic Musician, Emerging Tech Researcher and Producer of Creative Next (@jonfollett)

Ben Nelson, Founder of Minerva Schools (@MinervaSchools)

 

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Sponsors

GoInvo, A design practice dedicated to innovation in healthcare whose clients are as varied as AstraZeneca, 3M Health Information Services, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. www.goinvo.com

Design Museum Foundation, A new kind of museum, they believe design can change the world. They’re online, nomadic, and focused on making design accessible to everyone. Their mission: bring the transformative power of design everywhere. You can learn about their exhibitions, events, magazine, and more. www.designmuseumfoundation.org

BIF, As a purpose-driven firm, BIF is committed to bringing design strategy where it is needed most - health care, education, and public service to create value for our most vulnerable populations. www.bif.is