Taking SPACs to School

Publicly-listed education companies often sit uncomfortably between the demands of financial stakeholders on one side and commercial challenges of working with school systems, parents, government regulators and students on the other. Perhaps this is why education investment bankers are paid to be optimistic. Consider the recent flurry of announcements for the creation of education SPACs–or […]

Open innovation is the new job interview

People hate job interviews, and for good reason: they can be a huge waste of time. According to a number of studies, there is no reason to think that an interview leads to better-decision making, a less biased process (starting with problems with the interviewer) or that the sequential “death by interview” method has any […]

Fintech, Student Debt and a Free Lunch

In education, as in all economic life, there is no such a thing as a free lunch. Or is there? The international debate on higher education access and affordability creates a long wish list of what can or should be done, largely depending on a specific country’s development stage. In the wake of the Covid-19 […]

M&A: Coronavirus and Cross-Border Investment

Cross-border M&A activity is accelerating across a range of workforce and education segments, from education and training to career navigation, job search, workforce alignment, AI matching and productivity. This will not be a shock to many observers, although simply transacting across borders can require quarantine for 14 days or conducting endless due diligence meetings via […]

GES 20: Putting the X in Globalization?

There is a cold logic to globalization—especially when it appears to be dying. Can growth be maintained in the world’s leading economies without expanding internationally? Can education start-ups and new ventures rely solely on their local markets? How long will new markets and new consumers in emerging and frontier markets—the world’s engine for future growth—be […]

Human Capital in the Age of Pandemics

The world after Covid-19 will never be the same. What might it look like for the future of learning and work? It is impossible to assess the precise fallout at this point but a few scenarios would be helpful in structuring potential outcomes. Businesses, employers, investors and universities and their stakeholders would be well advised […]

Black Swans and the Future of Learning and Work

China’s coronavirus outbreak–which given its severity and unpredictability should be considered a Black Swan event–is already revealing stark differences in the way schools, universities and workplaces are responding and the extent to which they are prepared for operational continuity and future growth. In fact, the crisis response is making the “future of learning and work” […]

Will the Rest of the World Eat Your Lunch?

As the US trade and technology war with China staggers on, the 2019-nCoV virus shuts down schools, and more people begin to question the sustainability of global integration, I looked at a few charts in search of a reality check. Here’s what I found. First, the overall trend in outbound foreign direct investment (FDI) shows […]

Investing in the Future of (Highly Skilled) Underemployment

Are the world’s best brains gainfully employed? Ask the barista with a PhD. Or the well-qualified international graduate with a Business Analytics Master’s Degree working in a series of unfulfilling part-time internships. Or the engineering graduate who is rejected by an applicant tracking system for a spelling error on her CV. I think we all […]

The Future of Work is in Emerging Markets

For many US and European companies and investors focused developing technologies and training for the future workforce, staying at home seems like a sensible option. After all, the US and Europe both have thriving, sophisticated education and labor markets within a supportive venture capital and private equity environment. But in a world where rising working-age […]