(Listen to this article on the Sky Alpha Breakfast Show)
We are delighted to share this interview with our new partners in Education, The Learning Partnership!
PLEASE GIVE US AN INTRODUCTION TO YOUR WORK:
My name is Aulden Dunipace, I am the founder of The Learning Partnership and the creator of Dendrite Connect, and I am a disruptive educationalist. I created the Dendrite Connect ecosystem to enable all teachers and students worldwide to benefit from the very best Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics resources gathered from around the world and brought to schools, teachers and students through a brain based learning methodology.
Dendrite Connect’s initial curriculum focus is to support the sharing of outstanding resources and experiences in science, technology, engineering, arts and Mathematics (STEAM). These subjects are chosen as they are universal.
WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO CREATE THIS SERVICE?
I became disillusioned with my own education journey at 14 when a new Mathematics teacher turned me off the subject I had loved from my first day in school age 5. I lost my motivation and did not regain my love of learning until I left school. I started my first job aged 19, and by 23 was co-managing director of the company I had joined as a junior researcher 4 years earlier. Eureka – contrary to my teachers perceptions of me – I had a brain!
Through early research into global education systems in 2005 it was apparent that schools the world over taught in a way that engaged only a section of their students, and did not teach their learners how to learn, but focussed all their energy and resource on what to learn.
The goal of the ecosystem was to provide teachers and learners the different personal codes for effective learning and distribute content and experiences in STEAM subjects that made it simple for all learners to learn optimally these fundamental 21st century skills and knowledge.
WHY DO YOU THINK STEAM EDUCATION IS IMPORTANT? WHAT DO YOU HOPE PEOPLE ACHIEVE THRUGH YOUR SERVICE?
The world is in a mess. The environment is in melt down. Global trade inequality, economic imbalance and social immobility are rife. STEAM subjects are the answer to many of these problems. Any country can develop its education system to produce world class STEAM skills and these skills will deliver the solutions to these global challenges.
“The innovation that will deliver a sustainable planet is being moulded in the classrooms of the planet today.” As global citizens, by giving students the skills to be part of the solution, we will help build the economies of the world for the next 100 years.
HOW DO YOU THINK YOUR WORK WILL ENHANCE PEOPLE’S ACCESS TO EDUCATION IN AFRICA?
Wherever there is solar power, connectivity, a smart phone and a projector students can access the best STEAM teaching resources on the planet through Dendrite Connect.
Wherever there is Dendrite Connect there is a global network of teachers and students able to collaborate in order to drive educational innovation and development.
Our vision is to enable hundreds of thousands of schools from the smallest and poorest to the largest and wealthiest to collaborate for the betterment of humankind.
HOW DO YOU SEE E-LEARNING DEVELOPING IN THE NEXT 5 YEARS?
There is an old saying – give a family a fish, they will feed themselves for a day, give that family a fishing rod and the skills to fish and they will feed themselves for life. E-learning is the modern day equivalent to this saying in education. Dendrite Connect is the fish finder, we simply need to provide teachers and learners with their fishing rod (connectivity) in order to access these content waters, and teach both teachers and learners how to use the resource.
In 5 years from now every student on earth, no matter where they are, no matter how remote they are should have access to the same outstanding resources. All governments need to ensure is that every school has the capacity to connect to the digital world, the rest can be left to the imagination of the learners in those schools.
AS AN ENTREPRENEUR, WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO OUR READERS? WHAT ALLOWS YOU TO SUCCEED?
- Know Your Market.
- Build solid foundations and build within your means.
- Collaborate as much as you can to make the journey easier. It is hard enough growing a sustainable business, if you can make it easier by working with others in win-win relationships do it!
- Never Give Up. No matter how hard it is, no matter how many people tell you it cannot be done, if you know your market, if you have solid foundations keep going, entrepreneurship is all about timing and if you persist that moment where the stars align will happen.
You can find more details on their work on their websites www.dendrite.me and www.thelearningpartnership.com
