Rome, July 19, 2021 – The emergency following the spread of Covid-19 has also radically changed the training paradigm and the delivery of sessions with new open and flexible teaching and learning approaches. In this regard, Luiss Guido Carli University and LVenture Group have promoted an Open Innovation project in Ed Tech. It launched with the project title “Shaping the future of Higher Education” and ended today with the announcement of the winners.

115 applicants were shortlisted, including 92 start-ups and 23 teams. As highlighted by Luigi Capello – CEO of the LVenture Group: “the participation turnout was beyond expectations and very international, an indication of the impact of technologies on the world of Education Technology. In 2020, thanks to the acceleration of distance learning, investment recorded in Venture Capital doubled compared to 2019, reaching a record figure of 16,1 billion dollars worldwide”. Mr Capello concluded, “the collaboration with a partner with a broad international scope and reputation such as Luiss, certainly strengthens the potential of the selected startups”.

35% of Luiss Open Call applications come from abroad. A result that is also the outcome of the collaboration with global players, including Collider (Swiss incubator) and the GESA (Global EdTech Startup Award), the biggest competition for EdTech startups of which Luiss will become a partner in the coming months.

The four winning projects of Shaping the Future of Higher Education are:

• Magma Learning, a startup that has developed a learning system tailored to each student based on Artificial Intelligence;
• Wyblo, founded by a team of Italians based in Switzerland, has created an app involving students with the learning experience through feedback and instant polls;
• ARMarket, a new content creation business working within the realm of augmented reality that is developing solutions to transform the student selection process for university admission;
• 1001, a startup that has created an app to connect students and graduates with a network of “buddies”, managers and professionals from companies that can share information and suggestions in students’ transition phase into the world of work.

Each of the winning startups will collaborate with Luiss to enhance and refine their business proposal, and to develop solutions for Higher Education through pilot projects for students and the academy.

Once this first phase is completed, the activities will be scaled up, extending the reach and scope. In order to promote their business ideas, the winners will be able to connect with corporate partners, stakeholders, and the University’s network, starting from the Luiss Alumni 4 Growth (LA4G).

Luiss General Manager, Giovanni Lo Storto, stated: “the world of Education essentially must open up to every form of change, capturing all opportunities offered by new technologies”. He added: “with these projects, we confirm the open innovation strategy, that characterizes our University, at a time marked by the pandemic, where the development of digital platforms and infrastructures was enhanced. The success of this initiative with LVenture Group exemplifies our vision”.

Finally, the University supported by Confindustria will play a leading role in one of the “Special Tracks” dedicated to Higher Education entitled “Next Gen Higher Education”.

University Rector, Andrea Prencipe, commented: “the future of education envisions a new relationship of collaboration between human beings and technologies”. He added: “this virtuous interaction highlights the need to transform training tools and models. At Luiss, we are working towards this new study and research approach called inquiry-based, encouraging critical thinking, problem framing and problem solving. In this context, platforms and technologies become crucial to develop Open Innovation collaborations”.