WHILE NONTRADITIONAL EDUCATION providers
represent intense competition for
conventional business schools, they also
model what education might look like
in the future. Here, we take a look at two
new schools, both headquartered in San
Francisco, that offer wholly different
approaches to management education.
A school for investors: Venture University,
which opened in 2018, is a trade
school for angel investors, fund managers,
entrepreneurs, and others who want
to break into venture capital. The school
is designed as an investor accelerator
and includes a venture capital/private
equity investment apprenticeship.
The first cohort researched more
than 800 companies in fields such as
artificial intelligence, robotics, and consumer
products, and chose four in which
to invest. Teams presented their findings
at "Reverse Demo Days" in Silicon Valley
and San Francisco, where they had a
chance to meet with venture capitalists
and private equity investors.
Venture University's first cohort of 17
individuals was selected from more than
3,200 applicants. The class was about
one-quarter female and included individuals from Afghanistan, Austria, the
Caribbean, China, India, Iran, Nigeria,
and the United States.
"At Venture University we believe
venture capital not only has the power
to innovate industries and generate
significant returns, but can also innovate
itself for the benefit of entrepreneurs
and investors," says J. Skyler
Fernandes, co-founder and general
partner at the school.
A school for working adults: FoundryCollege, an online two-year school designed
to educate working adults to fill "middle skills" jobs, officially launched
in January 2019. It was founded by
Stephen M. Kosslyn, former dean of
social science at Harvard University in
Boston, Massachusetts, and former chief
academic officer at the Minerva Schools
at Keck Graduate Institute.
Kosslyn explains that the college is
designed for those who want to gain
critical thinking, problem solving, and
communication skills that will help
them obtain better jobs or advance in
their current positions. He adds, "There
are 46 million adults in the U.S. with
some college and no degree, many of
whom are particularly susceptible to
labor automation."
The college will work closely with
industry, in part by partnering with
employers to co-design industry-specific
tracks. Each class will be designed
to provide students with certified
competencies. Students will receive no
grades-they will advance only as they
show mastery of the material. Foundry
College plans to apply for accreditation
and to award graduates associate degrees
in business management.
Admission is open to all candidates
who complete the application process-
regardless of test scores, previous
grades, or academic credentials-but
only a limited number of spots are
available for the first class. Tuition for
the entire program will be waived for all
students accepted into the first class.