🧑‍💼 OPMs, Funding for Workforce Training Initiatives + HolonIQ Back to School Summit

Happy Monday 👋

OPMs are again in the spotlight this week with the 2U bankruptcy filing and delayed Online Program Management (OPM) regulations. 2U, the OPM company once valued at nearly $5.5B, has announced it has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and meanwhile, the US postponed new regulations for OPM companies until 2025 or beyond, leaving them largely unaffected for now. This week also sees continued efforts by governments to direct education spending to programs with a more immediate impact on jobs, with community colleges in the US able to apply for the US Department of Labor’s $65 million Strengthening Community Colleges Training (SCCT) Grants program, aimed at scaling workforce training in critical sectors. Expect to see continued focus on funding and policy for, and measurement of education and training with a clear path to jobs, presenting a large opportunity for traditional higher education institutions, albeit within an expanded competitive landscape. HolonIQ’s Higher Education analysis explores how could play out in the market. 

🎉 Summit: Higher Education & Workforce Track

Engage with the people and ideas that are shaping the future of Higher Education. Tickets are selling fast for the HolonIQ Back to School Summit in New York on September 10–11 in New York City. The Summit brings together 500 influential leaders from Pre-K to Higher Education and Workforce, Philanthropic foundations, leading education companies and policymakers, major institutional investors, and technology leaders for roundtables, presentations, and networking. 2024 will follow three broad tracks; Foundations & Philanthropy, Higher Education & Workforce and Technology & Finance. Register here.

💪 Power Moves

📚 KKR to Acquire Instructure in $4.8 Billion Edutech Deal. KKR, a global investment firm, has agreed to acquire Instructure, the company behind the Canvas LMS, in an all-cash deal valued at approximately $4.8 billion.

😔 Online Education Platform 2U Files for Bankruptcy. 2U, an Online Program Management (OPM), has filed for bankruptcy after facing financial challenges and was unable to continue operations.

🤝 Major Partnership to Boost Career Opportunities. ETS Solutions, Jobs for the Future Labs, and AstrumU have partnered to transform workforce opportunities for over 10 million skilled career seekers.

✍️ Upskilling

📚 IBM Launches Cyber & Data Analytics Upskilling Program. IBM has launched a new program called IBM SkillsBuild to offer cybersecurity and data analytics certificates across US community colleges to boost workforce skills development in these areas.

🎓 Interplay Learning Expands Training Offerings for Universities. Interplay Learning, a provider of immersive skilled trades training, has released new facilities training courses for universities.

📈 Malaysia Launches Future Skills Framework for Financial Sector. Malaysia has launched the Future Skills Framework (FSF) to ensure the financial sector's workforce remains relevant and skilled over the next three years by promoting continuous learning and skills mastery.

💻 AI in Education

🤖 UN Partners Launch Platform on Futures of Higher Education and AI. The UN University (UNU) and UNESCO's IESALC launched a collaborative platform to study the trends, opportunities and challenges related to the future of higher education and artificial intelligence.

📣 Anthology Integrates Generative AI into Blackboard LMS. Anthology, an education technology company, has added generative AI capabilities to its Blackboard LMS to aid in tasks like lesson planning, student assessment, and multimedia creation.

🤖 Philippines Boosts AI Development with New Initiatives. The Philippines government has launched the National AI Research Center (NAISR) 2.0 and a National Roadmap to foster an ethical AI ecosystem, advance AI research and development, and drive innovation across sectors using AI.

💰 Deals of the Week

🎓 Jobs for the Future has been awarded $25 million by American Student Assistance to create an online career center aimed at helping 20 million students & young people navigate their careers by 2030.

💰 Uplimit, a San Francisco-based company that provides AI-powered enterprise learning solutions, has raised $11 million in Series A funding.

🤝 TeachMe.To, a US-based firm that sustains a mentoring community, raised $5M in a seed funding round led by Bling Capital to update and refine existing tools on its platform.

Thank you for reading. Have a great week ahead!
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