17: Outside The System Labs #1: Unbundling Higher Education With Peter Conley of Unbundl.ed
This episode is the inaugural episode of Outside The System Labs, a new series about extremely early solutions and the people building them. In this episode, I spoke with Peter Conley, the founder of Unbundl.ed, which is a marketplace for buyers and sellers of higher education alternatives. They're working to unbundle the different elements of higher education (like coursework, network, social life, and more) so students can customize and create the education experience they're looking for.
It's a really interesting concept and would allow students to take advantage of online learning programs while also living and growing with peers in-person. Not being able to meet, interact, and make friends with peers has been one of my biggest criticisms of online-only programs and Peter is working to solve it.
Timestamps
(1:55) The current college bundle and what's wrong with it
(4:52) Who is actually the customer of higher education?
(6:35) Why haven't colleges adjusted to solve this problem?
(11:22) How high fixed costs and structures prevent colleges from being nimble in adjusting to new learning models
(14:23) Teachers are no longer constrained by geography in the internet era - you can learn from the best in the world
(14:37) Khan Academy as an example of one person being able to teach the world through the internet
(16:22) Conflating college with education
(23:55) Replicating the experiences of college and alumni networks with online education
(27:36) Peter's education path
(33:59) Creating artifacts and proof of your work to verify your skills publicly
(37:54) Lack of feedback loops in traditional education vs working in public
(38:27) How to increase your luck surface area
(46:11) What is Unbundl.ed and what the long-term vision is
Resources and Links
Origin story of Sal Khan of Khan Academy
Related episode: Outside The System with Mitch Earl of Praxis
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