BostInno's State of Innovation is a month-long feature on mobile, marketing, retail and e-commerce, and higher education innovation in Boston. #BSOI will include research reports, indexes, and more exclusive content for Channel members and the State of Innovation Forum on June 27th. Contact us to learn more.
With the average student loan debt climbing over $30,000, student entrepreneurs have started questioning their alternatives. Five Boston-area students announced in May they would be dropping out of college $100,000 richer to fly to San Francisco as part of the Thiel Fellowship program. The founders behind Boston College-born startup Jebbit made similar moves, leaving school to soon find themselves on the 2013 TechStars Boston Demo Day stage.
The education landscape in Boston has evolved far beyond the colleges and universities that call the city home. Students aren’t building the next big thing solely from the confines of their dorm room anymore, participating in accelerators, summer programs and online courses instead. What’s more, they’re cobbling those experiences together to replace, what they once considered, an invaluable MBA.
For a snapshot of what the future of education looks like here in the Hub, I have rounded up a list of places and platforms I will be exploring further in a research report as part of BostInno’s State of Innovation series—several of which will also be discussed during the education panel at our State of Innovation Forum on June 27.
TechStars — Through TechStars, startups receive three-months of mentorship, office space and access to several other perks, including the chance to pitch to dozens of angels investors and venture capitalists at Demo Day. The accelerator program invests $118,000 in each company—$18,000 in seed funding and an optional $100,000 convertible debt note. And the accomplishments speak for themselves. The last five TechStars Boston classes have collectively raised more than $80 million and hired more than 350 employees.
MassChallenge — Serving as the world’s largest accelerator program and startup competition, MassChallenge “helps early-stage entrepreneurs win.” The program recently announced the 128 companies competing in its summer accelerator, and will be offering each four-months of office space, mentorship and legal support. At the end of the program, MassChallenge will award up to $1-million in grants to winning teams in amounts of either $50,000 or $100,000.
HealthBox — The health startup accelerator moved to Cambridge last summer, and announced its newest class of 10 Boston companies in April in partnership with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts. Participants receive $50,000 in seed funding, along with mentorship, training and four months of work space. This year’s class also completed a two-week bootcamp designed “to help them increase their industry knowledge, improve value propositions and refine business models.”
LearnLaunchX — One of the city’s newest nonprofits LearnLaunch announced its education technology and learning-focused accelerator in February. The first Boston class begins on June 10, and each team will be given up to $18,000 in seed funding, mentorship, a collaborative place to work and direct access to learning marketplace leaders. In return, LearnLaunchX will take a six percent equity stake in participating startups.
Summer@Highland — Now in its sixth year running, Highland Capital Partners’ Summer@Highland program awards student startups with a no-strings attached $18,000, along with free office space in the venture capital firm’s Boston or Silicon Valley office and investor mentorship. Since 2007, 35 teams have participated in the program, and have collectively gone on to raise nearly $100 million in venture capital. For a look at the newest class, click here.
Startup Institute — Previously known as Boston Startup School, the Startup Institute is a full-time, immersive, two-month experience that trains interested talent in four key areas: web development, product and design, marketing, and sales and business development. The program costs $3,750, but 94 percent of Startup Institute graduates have been hired after completing the program. After a successful year in Boston, the first New York class will be starting on June 10. The team also recently introduced RampUp, a new part-time, community driven, hybrid learning experience currently focused on front-end and web development.
Intelligent.ly — Intelligent.ly celebrated its one-year anniversary on May 8. Within the past year, the startup education space has held more than 115 classes and now boasts a community of more than 3,000. As an added incentive for student entrepreneurs, Intelligent.ly announced free registration for undergraduates in September, allowing for even easier access to experts within Boston’s startup community.
General Assembly — General Assembly began offering classes in Kendall Square’s Cambridge Innovation Center last summer, and provides eight- to 16-week courses in technology, business and design at varying prices. General Assembly also offers online courses, and forces students to “learn by doing.” For a complete schedule of Boston events, click here.
edX — Just over a year ago, Harvard and MIT announced the joint massive open online course platform. Since launching, edX has made several international partnerships and more than doubled in size, now offering classes everywhere from Cornell to Kyoto University. Students who complete an edX course can receive a certificate of mastery. Certificates are currently free, but edX reports that may change in the future to help cover costs.
For a look at the panelists participating in the State of Innovation forum, check out the slideshow below.
