From Career Upskilling to Lifelong Learning: A Q&A with 2U's Anant Agarwal
Grush: What are some of the broad trends in society that indicate a need for change in our education models? Does higher education move quickly enough to respond to the changes in society? Can edX help bridge the gap?
Agarwal: If today's fast-changing world has taught us anything, it's that every learner is different, and a one-size-fits-all approach to education no longer works. We also need a better way to learn new skills, faster. We recently did a survey that found that executives estimate that nearly half (49 percent) of the skills that exist in their workforce today won't be relevant in 2025. Long gone are the days when the only option was to get a college degree early in your career and then work for the rest of your life.
Executives estimate that nearly half (49 percent) of the skills that exist in their workforce today won't be relevant in 2025.
Today, we need to be learning and upskilling continuously in smaller chunks with a lifelong learning mindset. When universities and employers shift from that either-or mindset of the past to a modular and stackable approach to education, they embrace "AND thinking" and champion the unique needs of all kinds of learners. At 2U, we're focused on helping our partners respond quickly to societal changes by establishing a continuous education model that is more flexible, accessible, and offers courses that are immediately relevant to current industry demands, providing learners with the skills they need to thrive in today's dynamic world.
Today, we need to be learning and upskilling continuously in smaller chunks with a lifelong learning mindset.
Grush: What are some specific ways in which 2U can partner with industry to support upskilling and career development opportunities on its edX platform?
Agarwal: We offer a variety of programs on the edX platform that directly address the skills gap in the workforce with courses and credentials from the best universities and industry content partners in the world. By collaborating with universities and companies, we ensure that our content is not only academically rigorous but also practically relevant, providing learners with the skills they need for career development and upskilling. We offer a subscription catalog of our content for enterprises and governments called edX for Business, so they can upskill their employees for the future of work. Two examples of these programs in action come to mind:
The first example is edX Academies, an edX for Business featuring eight in-demand skill areas — AI, sustainability, leadership, and supply chain among them — that enable a company to curate a program of learning that can be configured across an organization, from CEO to individual contributor, to drive critical career progression for employees and cultivate business critical skills across the organization.
The second is Access Partnerships that bring together education institutions, nonprofit and workforce agencies, funding organizations, and diversity-minded employers — all working to offer adult learners affordable pathways to job-relevant tech skills that, in turn, can lead to life-changing careers. One of our first partnerships in Tulsa, Oklahoma [citing an edX case study featuring Tulsa Community College] gave 40 learners from a wide variety of backgrounds — including blue-collar workers, military veterans, women re-entering the workforce, and individuals from the Cherokee Nation — the opportunity to enroll part-time in online cybersecurity and data analytics boot camps offered through Tulsa Community College. The cohorts achieved an 89.7 percent graduation rate, with many learners continuing on to a full-time paid assistantship that helps them learn on the job before transitioning to a permanent position.