{"id":4760,"date":"2021-01-27T06:32:11","date_gmt":"2021-01-27T06:32:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/techclot.com\/index.php\/2021\/01\/27\/a-big-focus-on-ai-and-k-12-to-college-transitions-in-uscs-ed-tech-accelerator-program\/"},"modified":"2021-01-27T06:32:11","modified_gmt":"2021-01-27T06:32:11","slug":"a-big-focus-on-ai-and-k-12-to-college-transitions-in-uscs-ed-tech-accelerator-program","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/techclot.com\/index.php\/2021\/01\/27\/a-big-focus-on-ai-and-k-12-to-college-transitions-in-uscs-ed-tech-accelerator-program\/","title":{"rendered":"A Big Focus on AI, and K-12 to College Transitions in USC’s Ed-Tech Accelerator Program"},"content":{"rendered":"

A Big Focus on AI, and K-12 to College Transitions in USC’s Ed-Tech Accelerator Program<\/a><\/p>\n

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As the pandemic rages on, an ed-tech accelerator designed to support women- and minority-owned businesses is seeing a wave of new companies focused on transitioning beyond high school<\/span> and college<\/span> and bringing <\/span>artificial intelligence or <\/span>machine learning to education<\/span>.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

The University of Southern California\u2019s Center for Engagement-Driven Global Education<\/a> program, and the companies in its third class have been forced to pivot because of the barriers imposed by COVID.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

The program has always had a strong virtual component, said Doug E. Lynch, a senior fellow at USC\u2019s Rossier School of Education and the accelerator\u2019s director.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

The program has always been run virtually to incentivize women and minority founders who would find it difficult to pick up and move to California to participate, said Lynch.<\/span> <\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

Even so, the process for companies making a case to enter the program had to be adjusted to accommodate social distancing.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve had to create several virtual pitching events,<\/span> <\/span>but we do that anyway<\/span>,\u201d Lynch said. <\/span> \u201c<\/span>We run pitch events for women founders and pitch events for founders of color that are virtual, that attract investors, but <\/span>[the structure this year]<\/span> was something different. In years past, people descended on USC, and there are some benefits to being able to bump into people in the hallway.\u201d<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

Still, the accelerator\u2019s participants appreciate the opportunity to participate, even without getting to go pitch at USC.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

The program\u2019s support for companies run by women and minorities, who<\/span>se path to securing funding might normally run into obstacles, <\/span>said Anna Ivey, the c<\/span>o-founder of CommonCoach, one of the companies in this year\u2019s class<\/span>.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m a female founder of a certain age,\u201d said Ivey, who is a <\/span>former University of Chicago Law School dean of admissions<\/span>. \u201c<\/span>I\u2019m not a young techie guy in a hoodie, I never have been, but that is typically who gets funded and who typically gets ed-tech media coverage, even when they have no subject matter expertise in higher ed or admissions.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Lynch explained that one of the commonalities among this year\u2019s cohort \u2013 an emphasis on transitions \u2013 might be related to the uncertainty COVID-19 has caused. <\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201c<\/span>T<\/span>his might <\/span>be a reflection of<\/span> the agita and the uncertainty around the econom<\/span>y,\u201d he said.<\/span> <\/span>\u201c<\/span>I\u2019m going to go to college, will I get a good job? Should I go to college?<\/span> <\/span> <\/span>Should I go directly to work? How do I get skills for jobs<\/span>?\u201d<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

The companies<\/span> that Lynch categorized as<\/span> focusing on life transitions include <\/span>OpenLab<\/span>, <\/span>Cirkled<\/span> in, Fluid Education, <\/span>CommonCoach<\/span>, Hughes Who Technologies Studio, Key Learning, Scholarships360 and 1Up Career Coaching.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n