DeVry schools startups with 1871 education
incubator
September 09, 2014
Jeff Dunn, senior director of DV X, DeVry
Education Group Inc.'s research and development unit
DeVry Education Group Inc. is teaming up with
1871 on an incubator for education-technology startups.
DeVry, already an 1871 sponsor, is launching
the EdTech Incubator, expecting to admit up to 10 startups spread over two
classes annually. The program will take
applications from entrepreneurs nationwide.
The Downers Grove-based company, which runs a
for-profit network of schools and has an enrollment of more than 100,000, will
provide the startups with access to and mentoring from its executives. They'll
offer feedback on the startups' ideas and test the most promising ones at its
campuses. The company also will host education programs at 1871, which is
housed in the Merchandise Mart.
"It will help us improve teaching and
learning. We'll co-create solutions we can pilot across DeVry," said Jeff
Dunn, senior director of DV X, DeVry's research and development unit.
1871 CEO Howard Tullman
It's the latest incubator at 1871 to focus on
a specific industry — part of an
effort by CEO Howard Tullman to increase corporate sponsorship and
get the region's large companies more involved with its startups. Other
incubators and accelerators announced so far will focus on real estate and
startups led by military veterans.
Large companies
such as DeVry are
paying closer attention to startups as they look to reinvent their businesses.
"Chicago's vast network of schools,
educators and students presents a wide range of opportunities for technology to
dramatically improve the way students receive education," Mr. Tullman said
in a statement.
For DeVry, the education-technology incubator
at 1871 is an evolution of a program it has been running for several years.
DeVry has piloted more than a half-dozen experimental programs based on work
done by startups such as Civitas
Learning, an Austin, Texas-based company that provides analytics
about student performance.
Civitas helped DeVry better identify specific
test scores that were better indicators of students' eventual success. "It
changed how we rated test scores," Mr. Dunn told me. "We first
engaged them over two years ago. It was very much a co-creation. We learned
firsthand what works."
DeVry is on the verge of small-scale adoption
of technology developed by two or three other startups, with plans for wider
adoption, Mr. Dunn said.
Follow John on Twitter at @JohnPletz.