This Week in Edtech with Ben Kornell, 2/5/22
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This week, we sat down with Jonathan Finkelstein, CEO of Credly, which was acquired by Pearson this week for $200m), and with Rhys Spence, lead author of the recent Europe Edtech Funding Report 2022). HEADLINES:1. COVID beat Interesting linkedin post) by a teacher caught our eye. There was also a series of articles on Edsurge and elsewhere about life as a COVID principal, pandemic brain science, and student mental health.  Big theme of ‘no way to go back’ . **2. Project Kitty Hawk takes off UNC’s $97M Plan to Reach Adult Online Learners) **hopes to become an alternative to traditional OPM providers and a way to create 120 online programs over the next years,. 

3. New data shows Gen Z prefers alt pathways) for higher edA Survey of American high schoolers found that:

• 45% prefer programs they can complete in two years or less—a significant shift from pre-pandemic levels. 
• Nearly 70% want on-the-job training like apprenticeships and internships during their college experience.
• **86% **of those surveyed say they feel pressure—from parents, teachers, and society at large—to pursue that specific pathway, even if it’s not the right choice for them

4. Funding Rounds

• Spain-based Domestika, an online platform for creatives, received a $100m round at a $1.3b valuation, becoming the** latest Edtech Unicorn**).
• Fourthrev, a UK-based career accelerator program, *announced an $8m Series A)*.
• Singapore-based college application platform *Cialfo received a $40m funding round)*.
• **Indian Upskilling platform **Scaler Academy received a $55 million funding round)
• Indian edtech Wise** raised $5m**)
• **Arabic “​​EdTech platform *Playbook announces that it has closed pre-seed funding with $700,000)*. **

Post-Recording Updates:

• **Studytube **acquires Springest & closes $30m series B)
• **GoStudent **acquires Seneca Learning & Tus Media Group)