Author: Todd Maurer

Todd Maurer is an emerging markets specialist, executive, advisor and investor with a focus on human capital, education technology, and productivity ventures. He's currently CEO of iTEP International, a leader in English language assessment and testing with a presence in 60+ countries and hundreds of corporations worldwide. He also owns Versatile PhD, powered by Edunomix Inc., which combines cutting-edge career technology with global advisory expertise to help graduates with highly advanced skills thrive in today's workforce. Throughout my career I have represented and supported a diverse range of clients across four continents, from Fortune 2000 companies to leading universities, start-ups, mid-market firms, and global investment funds, leveraging my expertise in economics, analytics, strategy, and M&A. I hold a Master's in International Affairs from Columbia University, a BA in Economics from UCLA, conducted postgraduate study at Beijing and Nanjing Universities, and hold a Fundamentals of Sustainable Accounting credential from IFRS.

How the Chinese Student Juggernaut in US Higher Education Will End

This post originally appeared in the Educelerate blog on June 16, 2015. Are US colleges approaching a peak in Chinese student growth? In the past few weeks there have been articles ranging from how addicted college admissions officers are to Chinese student enrollments to the indictment of 15 Chinese students for lying on their applications and US schools expelling 8.000 Chinese […]

Opportunities in African Education: A Brief Glance at the Data

We can only get our continent to have inclusive growth if we are educated and change our mindsets — Doreen E. Noni, World Economic Forum, 2014 It doesn’t take a great deal of macroeconomic digging to understand the profound development opportunities that are emerging across Africa, which by 2013 was receiving $57 billion in foreign direct […]

M&A in Asia's Education Sector: Flies and Elephants

“A fly before his own eye is bigger than an elephant in the next field.” Anon. (Chinese) It is tempting to watch the merry-go-round of dealmaking among education entrepreneurs and venture geeks and settle into the idea that one can just can invest into something quickly, build scale and dominate a particular corner of the education market–or, if that […]

How EdTech Companies Can Invest in the Educations of All Students

This post previously appeared as an article in Edsurge on April 14, 2015. In the world we live in, unprecedented opportunities to learn co-exist with enormous inequality. Today there are over 100 more children enrolled in primary schools in lower-middle income countries than a decade ago, and early childhood education is skyrocketing–a fantastic outcome in such as short […]

Keynote at Baylor University: The Global Classroom

In March I had the honor of presenting at Baylor University’s Global Business Forum on the topic of the Global Classroom. Participants included Dr. Jouni Valijarvi from the Finnish Institute of Educational Research, Dr. Patrick Blessinger, author of Democratizing Higher Education: International Comparative Perspectives, and many other education professionals. My keynote deck is attached here.

Educating Indochina: Vietnam at the Threshold

Back when I was studying economic development theory, the idea that “many are called, few are chosen” was part of the debate on whether South Korea would break through the middle income trap. That debate has ended: Korea is a shining example of success–and higher income–in no small measure from the educational drive and prowess of its people. Fast forward to Indochina. In a recent article featured in […]

“Letting Girls Learn” in Asia

When Michelle Obama visits Cambodia next week as part of a White House and US Peace Corp initiative to help the world get the estimated 62 million girls back in school (see Let Girls Learn initiative), she might want to congratulate the Cambodian government for not only enrolling girls in school but making sure they complete their studies. At the primary […]

Valuing the International Student Market: US$1 Trillion to 2025

With the scramble for international student revenues now at fever pitch among Universities, cram schools, education service providers and investors, assessing the current and future market value of international education is no longer an academic exercise. For many countries, the recruitment and servicing of international students has reached a level of economic value that impacts bilateral […]

How Asia is Emerging as the World's EdTech Laboratory

Editor’s note: a more concise article on this theme was initially published by EdSurge If the US is the world’s education technology leader, Asia is fast becoming its most critical testing ground. The reasons for this are unambiguous: Asia is home to the world’s largest pool of K12 and college enrollments, has acute needs for educational access coupled deep internet […]

Will China be the Next Education Superpower?

Editor’s note: This post first appeared in the online publication EdReach. From A Nation at Risk to US Education Reform and National Security, education and economic competitiveness have long been part of America’s geopolitical calculus. But with an emergent China gradually moving toward deeper innovation and a smarter workforce, the stakes have suddenly become higher. In a recent New York Review of Books article, educator Diane Ravitch reassures us that China’s educational […]