Plug and Play APAC’s Post

Having worked in the education sector, I see many similarities and collaboration opportunities between the academic world and the Plug and Play ecosystem. These are some of the benefits universities are getting from working with Plug and Play: 🔬 Innovation Labs: Nurture groundbreaking ideas in a creative ecosystem. 🎤 Pitch Sessions: Gain funding and valuable feedback for your entrepreneurs. 💡 Tech Transfer: Move innovations from the lab to market for real-world impact. 🌉 Industry Connections: Form partnerships for resources, mentorship, and commercial opportunities. 🌟 Strong Brand: Attract top talent, funding, and partnerships with a recognized innovation brand. Check the guide designed for university decision-makers ready to lead in innovation. https://pnptc.in/3VhWsLk Learn strategies engaging students in innovation activities, see top-ranking universities with successful unicorns, and explore how Plug and Play can support your journey. #PNPTC #UniversityInnovation #InnovationInEducation #EntrepreneurshipEducation

In 2023, as an educator, technologist, and changemaker, I had the incredible opportunity to participate in the first-ever incubator program in Montreal, Canada (District 3 Innovation Hub). With three mentors and eight cohorts, it was a transformative experience that allowed me to learn and explore new ideas. Each week, we had storytelling sessions where we presented our startup stories, focusing on a problem and its solution. To impress my mentors, I conducted deep research and presented a different problem and solution each week. Despite my efforts, my mentors were not fully convinced, often questioning the "why," "how," and "what" behind my weekly presentations. Week One: Lack of social-emotional learning and its impact on students' mental health. Week Two: The labor market suffering due to students' lack of life skills. Week Three: AI generation inhibiting students' ability to think and explore creatively. Week Four: The key role of knowledge and skills in labor supply for business and economic growth. Week Five: The lack of empathy between education and technology. Week Six: The lack of ecosystem relationships between students and teachers for effective teaching and learning. Despite these detailed presentations, my mentors remained unconvinced until the final demo day. On that crucial day, I combined all the problems I had previously discussed into a cohesive presentation using the Systems Thinking framework. This approach illustrated how deeply interconnected education is with every other industry. The more we delve into education, the more we uncover a web of interrelated issues, underscoring the centrality of education to societal well-being. By using the Systems Thinking framework, I was able to convey that my mission is to impact every student's learning through my platform. This holistic approach finally resonated with my mentors and the audience, fully convincing them of the importance and potential of my startup. Join me to explore more about Systems Thinking in Education for the New Era EdTech Platform. Let's make a difference in every student's learning journey! #StartupStory #Education #FutureOfLearning #EdTech #Innovation #SocialImpact #SystemsThinking #LearningfromHistory

Heading to EduTECH Australia tomorrow? Interested in AI's impact on education? Our CEO, Andrew Smith, will be delivering the Keynote: 'Education’s responsibility: Managing AI ethically', with Michael Henderson and Elissa McKenzie. As artificial intelligence becomes increasingly integrated into educational systems, the ethical management of AI has become a critical responsibility for educators, institutions and EdTech companies. Gain insights into the principles of ethical AI usage, strategies for ensuring fairness and transparency, and the importance of safeguarding student data and privacy. This session is essential for anyone involved in education, technology, or policy making, providing the tools and knowledge to manage AI ethically and effectively. Find out more: https://lnkd.in/gCwsJ3Rs

💡 The future of global education is facing unprecedented challenges, which is why we need the most innovative solutions the world has to offer. The GESAwards - Global EdTech Startup Awards represents a global network of over 40 partners and 8000+ startups from 135 countries. 🌍 Edtech has achieved global representation and inclusion in ways that have vastly outpaced academia. Scientists and scholars have so much to learn from organizations like MindCET- EdTech Innovation Center about how to create cutting-edge collaborative communities that include everyone - not just the minority world elite. 🤝 Join us in celebrating the cutting edge in global edtech. We need the world's best ideas to build a new future for global education in the 21st century. 👉 Save the date: January 23rd, 2025, hosted at Bett Global Arena, London. #GESAwards #EdTech #EducationInnovation #GlobalCollaboration #MindCET

💡 The future of global education is facing unprecedented challenges, which is why we need the most innovative solutions the world has to offer. The GESAwards - Global EdTech Startup Awards represents a global network of over 40 partners and 8000+ startups from 135 countries. 🌍 Edtech has achieved global representation and inclusion in ways that have vastly outpaced academia. Scientists and scholars have so much to learn from organizations like MindCET- EdTech Innovation Center about how to create cutting-edge collaborative communities that include everyone - not just the minority world elite. 🤝 Join us in celebrating the cutting edge in global edtech. We need the world's best ideas to build a new future for global education in the 21st century. 👉 Save the date: January 23rd, 2025, hosted at Bett Global Arena, London. #GESAwards #EdTech #EducationInnovation #GlobalCollaboration #MindCET

Last week at #WebSummit, I spoke on a panel together with Andrew Skrypnyk Matthieu Delac Serena Kutchinsky about "How to Teach for Tomorrow's Jobs, Today", addressing how we can better prepare for the fast-changing demands of the job market. I also joined the semi-final pitch competition on the Central Stage as a judge, and I want to share some insights with you: By 2030, 85% of jobs will be new—yet education systems aren’t keeping up. My panel explored how we must rethink education to prepare students not just to adapt but to create the future. As a university president, this is at the heart of my goal: ensuring education aligns with rapidly changing industry needs, especially in the AI-driven economy. The semi-final pitch competition reinforced the urgency of this conversation. The winner, Intuitivo, is an EdTech startup that has developed an all-in-one digital assessment platform aimed at enhancing teacher productivity and improving the student experience. As someone who oversees a university committed to innovation, I see startups like Intuitivo as both partners and inspirations. They highlight how technology can solve systemic problems in education, bridging the gap between outdated systems and the skills demanded by tomorrow’s jobs. Yet, the competition also revealed a key shift in the ecosystem: investors now demand traction and sustainability—not just ideas. This aligns with what I see in academia and entrepreneurship: the need to balance vision with actionable, scalable solutions. Grateful to the Web Summit team Ciara (Ki-ra) H. Antonnette Smith Gavin Morrison for creating a space where these critical conversations and connections happen.

How can university spin-outs bridge the gap between research and real-world impact while overcoming major roadblocks? A recent independent review of British universities highlights key insights into the spin-out ecosystem and offers 11 actionable recommendations to overcome these hurdles, including: 1. Fair Equity Distribution: Encourage proportionate equity distribution among founders, recognizing their contributions to originating intellectual property and their continued efforts to grow the company. 2. Data Transparency via a National Register: Create a national register of spin-outs with publicly available data on typical deal terms to improve transparency and build trust between universities, investors, and founders. 3. Strategic Use of HEIF: Allocate Higher Education Innovation Funding (HEIF) to support spin-outs and reduce technology transfer costs, particularly for universities with fewer resources. 4. Establishment of Regional Technology Transfer Offices (TTOs): Create regional TTOs to build expertise and capacity, enabling universities without in-house commercialization teams to access high-quality support. 5. Shared Resources for Spin-Outs: Encourage collaboration through shared investor funds and innovation hubs to provide spin-outs with resources and reduce competition among universities. 6. Enhanced Support for Scale-Ups: Provide additional resources for spin-outs to scale, such as access to experienced advisors, networks, and tailored capital raising strategies. 7. Support for Founders: Offer support to founders, including training on entrepreneurship, legal and financial advice, and assistance with building business cases, recruiting talent, and accessing funding. 8. PhD Student Engagement: Ensure PhD students have access to entrepreneurial training and internship opportunities within spin-outs, local capital firms, and TTOs. 9. Improved Government Funding Policies: Introduce government policies to provide better access to financing, venture capital, and incentives for spin-outs to grow and remain in their home regions. 10. Fostering Academic-Industry Porosity: Develop schemes, such as fellowships, to facilitate movement between academia and industry, encouraging knowledge exchange without career disadvantages. 11. Flexibility in IP Ownership: Enable founder-friendly IP ownership terms to encourage innovation. #venturecapital #entrepreneurship #deeptech #highereducation #economicdevelopment #innovation

Bridging the Gap Between Academia and Industry: A Student's Perspective As I navigate through my third semester and third month working across startups, I've realized a significant gap between what we learn in academia and what the industry actually demands. In classrooms, we are bombarded with theory, but when it comes to the practical skills needed in real-life business situations, we're left to figure it out on our own. Basic competencies like:   - Taking effective meetings   - Reaching out to potential clients   - Understanding business communication and ethics   - Conducting practical, actionable research   - Learning how to make yourself valuable in a team or organization   - Actively seeking growth and skill development  These are critical skills we aren’t taught in business courses. No offense or target to anyone, but many students like me feel that our professors, having not built anything themselves, struggle to bring real-world applications into the lecture hall. It's like academia exists in a bubble, removed from the reality of how businesses and startups operate. While theory is essential, there's so much more to learn outside that bubble—skills that can only be honed through experience. It’s time for academic institutions to evolve and integrate practical, real-world learning with traditional coursework. #AcademiaVsIndustry #RealWorldSkills #PracticalLearning #BusinessGrowth #StartupLife

Echoing accolades from John Ruffolo below for Canadian Universities, here is some "Back of the envelope" math (IE some rough consolidation assumptions herein)… Top 3 by reported number of companies generated and capital raised Harvard, Stanford, MIT. Together accounted for 15,670 or 30.2% of the total number of companies created by "the top 50 universities" and 34.7% of the total capital raised by “the top 50 universities” at $827B. Top 5 by reported number of companies generated Harvard, Stanford, MIT, U Penn, UC Berkeley together account for 22,900+ or 44.2% of the total number of companies created by “the top 50 universities” and 47% of the total capital raised by “the top 50 universities” of $2.39T. Schools that reported generating over 1,000 companies Out of the schools that generated over 1,000 companies, (top 16 schools) the average capital raised per company was $44.6MM+/- ranging from a low of $36MM to a high of 65.2MM (Tel Aviv University). For this cohort, total capital ranged from a low was $38.5B to Stanford and Harvard at $343B and $395B respectively. Universities reported as generating over $32.5B in capital (top 50) After consolidating the reported degree level segregation for each of the schools that generated over $32.5B in capital per school there are 50 schools.

 "If I have not made any mistake, it means I am not trying something new." This powerful insight set the tone for an engaging panel discussion, moderated by Mr. Atul Bharat, Director of AIIH Foundation, on how academic institutions can nurture entrepreneurship by weaving innovation, critical thinking, and real-world experiences into education. The panel explored actionable strategies to empower students to embrace risk, tackle real-world challenges, and unleash their entrepreneurial potential—building a generation ready to innovate and lead. Key Takeaways: Entrepreneurship is Innate: Mr. Dipan Sahu emphasized that entrepreneurship is about tapping into one's natural potential, with passion, attitude, and hands-on experience being key to developing entrepreneurial skills. Real-World Experience is Key: Dr. Rajeev Roy stressed that entrepreneurial skills cannot be taught solely in classrooms but need to be developed through real-world challenges and experiential learning. Importance of Collaboration: Panelists highlighted the need for stronger collaboration between academia and industry to help students transition from theoretical learning to practical entrepreneurial success. Role of Faculties: Faculties should inspire students to innovate and explore entrepreneurship beyond the syllabus, guiding them to take risks and solve real-world problems. Focus on Experiential Learning: Panelists agreed that integrating experiential learning, such as ideation, execution, and market understanding, into curriculum is essential for preparing students for entrepreneurship. Overcoming Barriers: The discussion addressed challenges like fear of failure and lack of support systems in academia, urging for policies and initiatives to create a more supportive environment for student entrepreneurs. The panel reinforced that fostering an entrepreneurial mindset requires a blend of academic discipline, experiential learning, and strong industry-academia collaboration. It also stressed the need to empower students to embrace risk, learn from failure, and pursue meaningful, innovative work. A truly inspiring and insightful discussion that encouraged the audience to rethink how entrepreneurship can be nurtured within educational systems. A heartfelt thank you to our esteemed panelists, Mr. Dipan Sahu and Dr. Rajeev Roy, and moderator Mr. Atul Bharat for their enlightening perspectives. Your insights have inspired us to rethink how academic institutions can shape the next generation of innovators and changemakers. #Entrepreneurship #Innovation #Startups #Education #PanelDiscussion #ExperientialLearning #FutureSkills #Mentorship #Leadership #Collaboration #InnovationEcosystem