Every week I interview entrepreneurs and experts from around the world to share their big idea about new forms of value creation and the potential we can unlock when technology augments the unique strengths of people to deliver remarkable impact.

Transforming from Graduation to Employability
I got inspired by the big idea behind FLEXA: hence I invited Professor of Strategic Management and Innovation,  Federico Frattini to my podcast. We explore the changes in the market place, and how this is putting more and more pressure on the education system and the students they serve. The goal should not be just to successfully graduate, but to actually be employable after you graduate. This changes the requirement 180 degrees on how students, employers and university’s communicate and collaborate together.

The thing that triggered me most from my interview with Federico
“The basic idea is to give our students exactly the knowledge they need to achieve their career goals faster and to make them more employable.”

Why did this trigger me? What’s the bigger value here?
It’s again a very strong example what happens when we start innovation with outcome in mind, rather than output. It might seem obvious, but it’s a 180 degree turn in how ‘the business’ of Education works. By applying intelligent technologies to the learning process any university can make the shift from delivering graduated students to students that can actually directly start to make an impact and be self-sustainable in society.

Beyond that linking effort to tangible results will, from my perspective, add more meaning, and as such lower the number of drop outs, and help students to accelerate their education process, which is a win-win for everybody.

The concept is more widely applicable though. It reminds me of my podcast with Tom Pennings, CEO of Onsophic, who’s solution ties corporate learning to business outcomes and performance management. FLEXA however, addresses the challenges at the very start of the process – the student – and with that creates a positive ripple effect that impacts everyone.

What’s the more significant question/opportunity that raises?
The example above is just the first step in accelerating a large-scale transformation in Education. Matching curriculum with aspirations is one side of the coin. Imagine what happens when employers start to engage in the process? That way you have the perfect platform to match demand and supply – and as such critical information to perfectly tune curriculum development. It’s turning curriculum process from top-down (education system led) to bottom-up (market led).

If you know what employers really search for, and what knowledge students need to achieve career targets, it means that for the first time the education system can start to anticipate and follow the shifting demands in the real business world, resulting in new ways to close the rapidly growing skills gap as well s the gap between students and placement.

Taking that one step further – as Federico rightly quoted: “potentially this service can be offered without any degree, to strengthen the digital heart and soft skills of any person in the planet, whether they are students or not of our school, I think that this gives you an idea of potential societal impact.”

To help accelerate this development, just think about how your companies’ HR, recruiters, headhunters or other players in the HR industry could benefit from this platform. Share your views here.

Listen to the big idea behind FLEXA,  and why it has the potential to transform the way Education works and creates impact.