The Future of Higher Education, Maybe.
I still clearly remember that day. It was East Coast mid-autumn sun that followed me to ECON305. My stacks of reading materials were flapping against the breezes as I rushed my way to the faraway building. When I finally arrived, the professor had already finished seating the class. The discussion question was, “How to solve poverty in India using innovative approaches?” It made me gulp.
To be perfectly honest, I was no expert on India’s domestic affairs. Sure, I lived there for two years, but who was I to say I could solve any of its “problems?” If living on top of Mahindra Hill had taught me anything, it sure was “never assume that you know.” Studying, dining, and simply being with people who could not be more different from me for two years, I’d learned to defer assumptions, respect differences, and value new ideas.
But “having been to India” was apparently no qualifier to being in the professor’s discussion that day. Everyone but me was raising their hands up high, deeply engaged in heated debates over optimal methods of solving India’s biggest problem. I sat there, small-voiced, intimidated, wondering how on Earth these people had so much to talk about when none of them had even been to the country. There was a voice in my head that kept saying, “In order to experience the world, you have to live in it.”
So naturally, four years later, when I first heard of Minerva — a newly accredited university where students would live and study in seven countries throughout the four years, the idealistic 18-year-old girl in me emerged again, her heart shouted: “UWC-alert, UWC-alert!”
Minerva’s slogan reads “Achieving Extraordinary,” which has soon become a running joke among its founding class students for being a bit too… confident. However, it is exactly that combination of idealism and humility, coupled with the need to constantly improve itself that draws people, myself included, to Minerva. The emphasis is on “achieving,” not being “extraordinary.” Like Kurt Hanz who believed that the United World College system could be a solution to the then fragmented world, Ben Nelson believes that Minerva could be a solution to some of the most pressing problems facing world in the 21stcentury. Being the “future of higher education” is no easy task, “But why settle for anything less than extraordinary?” Ben would definitely say.
Imagine a school that doesn’t teach you what to think, but how to think. In an age of information abundance and instant gratification of knowledge, news can be read through a Facebook status, complicated concepts are taught through open and easily accessible platforms like Khan Academy, and reading e-books is more productive than going to libraries. People start to question the validity of massive lectures and even of having a teacher. If school is there only for knowledge dissemination, one should simply not invest in it, especially when the alternative is much cheaper, if not free. But, what if going to class means being able to analyze and evaluate multifaceted and diluted information while actually gaining practical skills? What if students can systematically and purposefully apply habits of mind, such as “understanding your audience,” to difficult problems, like “raising awareness for a fundraising campaign for Foundation Rwanda?” The employers love it — 93% of them say there are three things that matter more than a candidate’s undergraduate degree: critical-thinking skill, effective communication skill, and creative problem-solving skill.
Imagine a school that actually utilizes technology, not for the cool and buzz-generating nature, but for its ability to maximize students’ learning outcomes. When used right, technology could help teachers better track students’ progress and generate personalized lesson plan. Imagine learning in an interactive seminar with no more than 19 students and 1 professor. Imagine being able to see constantly updated data on personal performances. You can even evaluate the professor and give him feedback. It is technology like Active Learning Platform that could change what schools look like in the 21stcentury. That change is overdue after being in place for 500 years.
Imagine a school that does not care about your nationality, socioeconomic status or even gender. Each student is chosen only and purely based on merits. A series of IQ and EQ tests are automated each time a student applies to the school. The process ends with scripted interviews designed to minimize biases. The application process is streamlined, interesting, and fair. This is to ensure accessibility to students all over the world, including those who could not afford expensive, multiple tests, let alone test prep courses.
Imagine living and learning in San Francisco, Berlin, Buenos Aires, Bangalore, Seoul, London and Istanbul. There are no “international students,” as the concept of “domestic vs. international” changes every time the class moves to another city. Students are encouraged to use these world-class cities as their campuses. That way, students are pushed to get out of their comfort zone. The Active Learning Platform allows students and professors to be anywhere in the city or in the world.
Wishful, ambitious and even crazy? Perhaps. Yet, Minerva has already existed. Its first two classes beat an admittance rate of 2.8% and 2.5% to go to the most selective university in the world. These are outstanding individuals who have published books, obtained patents, or built private companies. Minerva might be a mystery, but the people that have come to it aren’t. As one of Minerva’s first 50 employees, I’m humbled, challenged, and amazed every single day working with such talented, passionate and creative colleagues.
Hopeful and idealistic? Maybe. But apparently, the investors believe in this vision too. Last fall, we secured Minerva Series B of funding at 70 million dollars, after raising seed funding the year before at 25 million. This means: the success of Minerva and its students is pivotal to a lot of people, many of whom have essentially taken a leap of faith in joining the vision at such an early stage.
Only time will tell. But you can be sure that I’ll be the first to let you know the day Minerva has established itself as the Harvard of the 21st century.
Originally published at uspiremag.org on August 24, 2015.
