About the episode

In this episode, Dana Stephenson, the co-founder and CEO of Riipen, offers a comprehensive framework for how education can shift to set students up for stronger careers. He makes the case that the classroom and on-the-job learning should be united, not separated, and offers several ways to implement this. He describes how part-time or remote work can be incorporated into a student's schedule, and offers a 'scaffolding' model to help scale students up from short-term, low-stakes work projects to longer-term, high-stakes initiatives.

Dana makes the case for a tighter feedback loop between educators and employers. He argues that employers should be letting educators know what prepares students for the workforce, and what doesn't. He also goes into some of the character-building benefits of working a job that students stand to benefit from.

Finally, Dana advises students to pick a major that genuinely motivates them and to prioritize programs with experiential learning. He closes with some thoughts on how AI will change the way startups do business.

Mentioned in the episode

Riipen - Dana's company. A project-based learning platform for educators, learners, and employers.
Council of Independent Colleges - A partner of Riipen.
U.S. Chamber of Commerce's Employer Provided Innovation Challenges (EPIC) initiative - A project-based learning initiative from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce that also partners with Riipen.