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Long ago, in the days of yore, when I was completing high school and looking to what was next, college was the path of least resistance. Unfortunately, as it turned out, following that path put me on a trajectory that would take 3 colleges, many majors and an embarrassing amount of tuition to finally spit me out the other side with a degree. And, here’s the kicker, like so many others, when I was newly minted, I still didn’t really have a clue about how to engage with the problems I wanted to help solve. That took another 5 years to figure out… and is a story for another time. So, long story short, whenever I hear about a new, innovative approach to higher education – especially one that engages students, rather than locking them into a system – I want to know more. My guest for the 172nd Terms of Reference Podcast, Eric Glustrom, is the CEO and President of Watson. Watson is a new university model tailored for next generation innovators, leaders, and social entrepreneurs. Eric tells us Watson protects the courage of the next generation so they can pioneer their education, trail blaze lives as innovators, and contribute to solving the toughest challenges facing the world. I’m hoping you’ll be as inspired as I was recording this interview with Eric and left with the hope that all of our institutions of higher education can become more learner driven. You can connect with Eric here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eric-glustrom-18a53b15/ Tweets by EricGlustrom
IN TOR 172 YOU’LL LEARN ABOUT
- Educate! And Watson, game-changing paradigms for education in West Africa and the US, respectively
- How a trip to West Africa at 18 revealed to Eric the power of education, “theoretically it is the most impactful activity” possible
- The value of balanced skills in entrepreneurship, science and engineering
- How the US Higher Ed system has been built around debt, and creates incentives for colleges not to care about their debt-ridden alumni once they graduate.
- The differences in Watson’s approach that allow students to focus on a problem they want to help solve
OUR CONVERSATION FEATURES THE FOLLOWING
Names:
-
- Watson Education
- Educate!
- Angela Thieman Dino
- Amnesty International (AI)
- AI’s Patrick Stewart Human Rights Scholarship
- Aditya Natraj
- Gandhi Fellowship
- Lynn University
- Mother Theresa
- Aung Suu Kyi
- Mahatma Gandhi
- George Washington
- Dwayne Griffith (Watson Alumni)
- Amherst College
Topics:
- Education, Human potential, Human capital investment
- Higher Ed, Structure, Design
- Problem-Based Learning, Problem-Solving
- Curriculum Design
- Liberal Arts Education
- Entrepreneurship
- Entrepreneurial Education
- Refugees
- Education System
- College Debt, Funding Models, Risk sharing
- Debt-Based Education System, Accountability of Learning Outcomes
- Local Frozen Produce, Liquid Nitrogen
- Intrapreneurship
Places:
- Boulder, Colorado
- Congo
- South Africa
- Rwanda
- Uganda
- Kenya
- North Carolina
- South Florida
- Sint Maarten
EPISODE CRIB NOTES
Download an automated transcript. Denver, Colorado, September 2017 Watson 03:05 Based on a few beliefs: Significant challenges that require our full potential (Or that need to be solved so we can achieve it?) The way to solve this issues is in the world’s higher education institutions “The best and brightest” But Higher Ed is not focused on helping students reach their full potential Watson design a curriculum that “unlocks and unleashed” the potential To create social change To bring solutions to the problems they care about Students come to Watson for help building their ideas Focus their career We all have those stories of overcoming odds 05:03 The education experience is not overwhelmingly satisfying “I went to a great liberal arts school” Amherst “Grew a lot” But classes were mostly the reflection of professor’s research interests Joins (founds) Educate! Impact works happened from midnight to 2, after classes and extracurriculars Or during the summers in West Africa, Educate!’s home base “Not only education is what I ended up doing after college” “Theoretically it is the most impactful activity” Education “is what I learned the most from” Why not… something else? 06:51 Business discipline Eric has a science background “To solve the problems we need scientists, engineers, artists, poets, philosophers” Entrepreneurship is a fundamental skill Not an either\or, but a foundation Students will bring all fields into, team up with diverse thinking Entrepreneurial problem-solving at the core In High School, Eric meets Angela Thieman Dino (PhD) Board of Amnesty International Shows AI’s scholarships for undergraduates Patrick Stewart Human Rights Scholarship Yes, the Jean-Luc Picard He founded a scholarship “I was captivated” Open canvas for students to design humans rights projects Eric wrote one and applied to AI Decides on a project with Uganda refugees To bridge live there with their students in Boulder AI denies him: “You are too young and it’s too dangerous” He was 18 Not sure what to do next Then along came Angela “Go anyways” Eric does Takes a small loan June, 2002: Arrives at the refugee community Locks eyes with a guy, Vincent Refugee himself, Vincent becomes guide, friend Do a film together “Making a film is hard” One day, talking about the vision for Congo The country from where they fled Eric sees “If anyone can solve things, it’s them” The best way to help Congo, is an education Education was something in the back of his mind Education merited no second thought up until this point Education “is an investment for the next generation” Investing in Congo education suddenly becomes the right thing, the best thing Breaking and bending education 14:51 Ideas about education come together Sometimes the best way to start is by doing it His co-founder and him start with 20 students, for years In West Africa About students, their communities, the system Lessons involve German geography Nothing about critical, local problem solving 2009 some six years have passed A time-tested education model for South Africa To take people out of poverty The model is expanding in Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya Working with government to bring evidence The education system creates job seekers, but there are no jobs Massive and impending youth unemployment crisis The governments are buying in Educate! was 10 years old in 2012 when it stroke him “African governments have been more willing to reform than the US” Leads to Watson Watson sparks 19:45 Aditya Natraj is a Gandhi fellowship Successful Indian entrepreneur Тоок а 3-month sabbatical Asks Eric to spend it with his team in Africa “I cherished every hour” It reinforced the motivation to do the job in the US The team was beyond ready “How to we take back the fundamentals to the US?” The goal: One learning conversation a day with a US expert Current landscape, lever for change Ideas start to crystallize Focus is decided: Higher Ed “So much potential is locked up” “If only we can find a way to unleash it, it really can change the course of humanity” Online education and other advents 22:43 Multi-faceted But the undercurrent matters Student debt is critical The funding model needs to change What are education’s outcomes? “We drifted away from the original mission and vision” We’re faced with existential problems How to build learning for impact? A student asks: “Why can’t we buy local frozen produce?” There’s no year-round local produce availability Long story short, he gets sells local frozen produce using liquid nitrogen He took advantage of a real opportunity, a real problem and solution. A few years later, he’s selling in 25 stores in NC, then 500 and a USD million funding He’s thankful to the space Watson gave him to dive deep into his interest Ideas require a space But also training, hard skills From prototyping to capital raising Community emphasis Close-knit relationships Watson Mentors as well The value of being surrounded by like-minded people “[The student] would otherwise feel like a black sheep” But, if I wanna be a cog? 30:06 “Watson majors” are different paths to social change Entrepreneurship would be one. The main one? Second major: Intrapreneurship. Currently in development. To start-up you need a “nut and a rock” The Watson experience is open to try People can get in to get acquainted with the problem they want to solve They might find vehicles other to entrepreneurship: Advocacy, Policy change It’s all about their purpose in life Barriers 33:27 Not an easy process “Nail-biting in a lot of ways” External challenges, but also internally “Are we actually addressing the root here?” No challenge is easy Entrepreneurship can be a fad, or the hard road Lots of challenges First: navigating the academic and accreditation landscape Importance of partners CU State Even if they do not last 13-layer hierarchy to deal with Systematic changes take 13 stages Student debt challenges Debt shapes the education system structure No accountability link on the hands of students Organizations receives funds up front, ignores the issue Incentives As a result, the higher education system has stagnated Yet the world keeps turning Watson’s income sharing program Some coding schools apply it Students don’t pay tuition up front nor get into debt Instead, they get a percentage of the student’s income for a number of years “If students aren’t successful, neither are we” Lynn University “Unlike any other higher ed I’ve ever seen, more than many startups” “Lynn is the future” Partner to create Watson Institute at Lynn 3.5-year partnership going strong Watson campus Watson “de-risks education for the student” The privilege of serving students, not the other way around Look out for new ideas on financing higher education “It will be a very healthy trend” The ugly side of education. The other one, I mean 43:52 Innovation, and a well-rounded approach to skill acquisition is at the core of Watson Employers look very fondly of Watson alumni “The student is an innovator, a trailblazer” Current disconnect Institutions v Employers idea of the graduate “We close that gap” 25% of Watson student choose to be employees Who do you pay attention to? Please don’t say your students 46:24 “My students” Biographies of world leaders in history: Ghandi, Mother Theresa, Suu Kyi, Washington “The number of battles Washington lost” Sint Maarten’s Dwayne Griffith (Watson U)Please share and participate
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