📊 Global post secondary trends from Q1: AI, skills, and new growth strategies. Join us in 🇺🇸New York, Sept 10-11.

Hello 👋

In post secondary, AI remains an active experiment—but the pace is picking up. Universities are piloting tools for instruction, advising, and student engagement, while exploring the deeper implications of AI on pedagogy, research, and operations - and there's plenty of tools and technology partners to choose from!

At the same time, pressure to align with the workforce is pushing micro-credentials, virtual apprenticeships, and employer partnerships from the margins into the mainstream. International expansion is also back on the agenda, as institutions look to diversify beyond traditional markets and scale with the help of EdTech. Q1 signals show a sector in motion—testing, adapting, and recalibrating. 👉 Dive into the detailed briefing on the platform or read the webnote summary for a view of how higher ed is navigating this inflection point.

Skills In Perspective: Global Upskilling Investment Grows, with Digital at the Forefront.

Over $500B in up-skilling and re-skilling initiatives were announced globally in the past year, with $470B focused on Digital & AI skills—highlighting a clear global pivot toward tech-driven economies. North America and Europe lead investments, though contributions span all regions. Sectors like Health, Green, and Advanced Manufacturing saw relatively modest funding, signaling an urgent global priority on digital capabilities over other emerging skill areas.

Register Now for Earlybird Prices. 2025 Back to School Summit — September 10–11 in NYC 🇺🇸

Join 700 CEOs and influential leaders at the 2025 Back to School Summit, September 10–11 in New York City 🇺🇸. Two days of high-impact presentations, private roundtables, fireside chats, and curated networking with top companies, global foundations, and major institutional investors.Register now for Early Bird Tickets. Connect with us to receive the 2025 Sponsorship Brochure.

💪 Power Moves

🤖 China introduces new AI policy guidelines

💡 upGrad collaborated with Seed Group to deliver AI-driven upskilling programs in MENA

🤝 Saudi Arabia launched a National Skills Platform and partnered with Oracle to train 50K individuals 

💰 Education Funding

HolonIQ actively monitors and tracks capital flow in the education market, spanning across all regions and transaction categories.

🏫 Noto, a US-based school management solution, has raised $3.8M to improve its AI capabilities, such as automated progress tracking, smart scheduling, and student performance insights. 

💡 Wooskill, a French platform for skill sharing, has raised $2.2M and is already looking towards international expansion.

🖥️ Kai's Education, a company providing screen-free coding tools for neurodiverse learners, has raised $1.5M to expand its offerings in US schools.

💬 Vista Higher Learning, a K-12 language learning platform, has acquired MyConversationTrainer, an AI-powered Spanish conversation practice tool provider, to increase its offerings for language learners and educators.

📢 Seesaw, a student engagement platform, has acquired Little Thinking Minds to expand its operations into the MENA region and enhance its Arabic-English educational content offerings for PreK-12 students.

Thank you for reading. Have a great week ahead!
Have some feedback or want to sponsor this newsletter? Let us know at hello@holoniq.com