Global Education: A New Frontier

Category: Entrepreneurship in Education, In The Community, Teaching and Learning, Thought Leaders

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This is a reflection on Chris Whittle’s presentation at the Innovation in Education Summit at ASU Skysong, April 21st 2010. He made a speech on the rise of global education. You can read it here.

When you live and breathe a subject, rarely do you hear any surprising information. However, every once in a while you hear information you mostly know organized in a new and profound way. Of all the “innovators” at ASU who presented, keynote speaker Chris Whittle (Founder of Edison Schools) was the one who most raised an eyebrow.

His Thesis

There’s a huge opportunity for globally-branded, globally-minded educational institutions. Like, schools. Big ones who support multi-cultural experiences and prepare students for the future, who achieve scale and serve students across continents in consistent and effective ways.

His Argument

Demand for quality, reputable education outstrips supply by a long shot. Families in emerging economies (namely, China and India) go to leaps and bounds to prepare their children for a Western education or career, and families in the West want their children to prepare for a future with Asia as an equal (or superior) economic partner to the West. Many families actually live global lifestyles and are relocated or travel in and out of international markets frequently. The families that have this top of mind have buying power, and they have lots complaints about the rarity of available seats and the inconsistency of services across national borders.

His Main Points

Of the top 100 institutions, 83% are in the US, UK, Australia, and Canada
Of the top 100, only 2 are in mainland China
Of the top 100, none are in Brazil, India, or Russia
Non of the top 100 are in 16 of the worlds largest 20 countries, including Indonesia and Mexico
And of the top 20 universities in the world, ALL OF THEM are in the US, UK, Australia, and Canada.

What made me raise my eyebrow was this idea:

As an economy, we have yet to take advantage of the fact that our Higher Education system and many of our top brands are already globally recognized.

 of the top 100, 83% are in the U.S., U.K., Australia, Canada and Western Europe;  of the top 100, only 2 are in mainland China;

Draft: Please do not cite without permission from the author.

 of the top 100, none are in Brazil, India, or Russia, three of the vaunted-for-their- growth “BRIC” countries;

 none of the top 100 are in 16 of the world’s largest 20 countries, including as those just noted and also Indonesia and Mexico;

 and of the top 20 universities in the world, all are in the U.S., UK, Australia, and Canada.

May 6, 2010