It is a cruel fact of the current education system that graduates are required to make life changing career choices without real-life experience to support their decision. From the minute studies begin to the day a student takes off their university cap and gown, inquiring minds want to know “What are you going to do next?”.
For many students, the vast array of possible career paths combined with the total void of information regarding what life working in those careers is like can be a crippling combination that can turn what should be an exciting new chapter of their lives into a paralyzing nightmare. One startup has been trying to change this by providing real-life career experiences for students before they face their intimidating career choices.
Rob Kingyens, founder, and CEO of Qubed Education, doesn’t think things have to be this way. Kingyens is no stranger to the current educational system, and his professional career has been focused specifically on E-learning.
Rob Kingyens- Founder and CEO of Qubed Education
Kingyen was previously COO and CTO at Keystone Learning Systems – a video-based training platform, CMO and CTO at eCornell – an online education arm of Cornell University, and COO at Global learning systems – an e-learning, product knowledge and marketing firm with clients like Microsoft, Xerox and Mcdonald’s.
From his past experiences, Kingyens created Qubed Education with the aim of providing a valuable learning experience that would show the reality of a given industry to students. Qubed’s current focus is on millennial-inspired careers that are frequently outside the realm of the normal job market.
BrandedU is one of the startup’s 3 programs offered. The program was created in collaboration with some of the biggest brand names in the world, including Nike, IBM and Buzzfeed, and is aimed at passion-driven careers, like music, sports and media.
The startup’s second program is in collaboration with Columbia University’s #2 globally-ranked sports management program. The 6-course program instructs its applicants about how tech and data analysis fits into the sports industry.
“The program is about having a passion for sports, it’s also about people you know and the connections you make, but it’s also critically about understanding what’s behind the curtain and what the sport’s industry is all about,” reported Vince Gennaro, the sports industry essentials program director.
Finally, there’s the Parsons fashion program – a program consisting of five courses taught by more than 20 expert instructors from Parsons School of Design, Teen Vogue, GILT, Rebecca Minkoff and others leading the fashion industry. It provides an overview of the fashion industry, helping students develop skills and gain valuable insights into the fashion industry that ultimately help determine career paths that align to their passions and talents. Applicants, of the course, learn how to build a portfolio, prepare for a job interview, and apply to a fashion degree program that will prepare them to build a successful future in fashion.
“I am always so encouraged by the number of young people I meet who express an interest in pursuing careers in fashion. Among them are the next Alexander Wang, Rag & Bone, and Tory Burch – this program will give students the real-world knowledge and training to be successful.” – Anna Wintour, Artistic Director of Condé Nast and Editor in Chief of Vogue.
In other news, Wired launched its Integrated business master’s program in collaboration with the University of Southern California. Following the movement is the New York Times, who are launching their certificate programs dubbed “NYT EDUcation” with CIG Education Group. It’s exciting times when actual industry leaders get involved in the educational process.
