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A Global Hub for Technology
Model Legislation
And a Nominee for Opportunity!

 

The third in our 12-ish days of Christmas series, intended to bring gifts to education reformers everywhere!

by Jonathan Harber — Founder, StartED Accelerator

Move over, Menlo Park — there’s another tech boom coming, and not necessarily where you’d expect it. This boom is being driven by the edtech sector, and it has found its new home in New York City!

Consider that New York is home to over two million active students and has the largest hub of education institutions, publishing giants, corporate training departments, cutting edge researchers and investors in the industry. We also have the largest school district, community college network, expansive and hugely successful charter schools, and corporate training budgets. The potential is enormous.

New York City has both the biggest potential edtech consumer base and the most places to pilot innovative ideas. No other city in the country has as many university students – not even Boston.

NYC Is a Tech, Deal Hub

It is true that the largest share of the world’s technology innovation is still happening in California, in and around San Francisco and Silicon Valley, but Gotham is number two.

And where there is tech innovation, there’s usually investment. In a 2014 ranking of cities with the most tech start-up funding, California, unsurprisingly, led the way. New York was third, and only because San Francisco and Silicon Valley were listed separately.

It’s undeniable that education systems continue to face pressure to change. With more investment and rapid innovation, we’re nearing a tipping point where the digital transformation in education will develop its own inertia. The community that can cultivate and harvest the benefits of the coming edtech explosion will enjoy one of largest wealth creation events we’ve seen in the past century. We’ll see lives, fortunes, jobs and entire economies changed and created. It’s going to happen somewhere. That somewhere is New York City.

That’s why in addition to founding StartED, my fellow directors and I have teamed up with NYU to produce NY EDTECH WEEK, a global education innovation festival at NYU taking place this week, December 19 – 21. The festival will highlight problems and opportunities on the horizon as new technologies transform the global education industry.

To help spark the transformation, over forty of the hottest startups from six countries will get prime opportunities to pitch over 150 investors. More than 800 investors, entrepreneurs, policy leaders, educators, and journalists are expected to attend NY EDTECH WEEK, hoping their companies and others take root in NYC.

We are confident that we can continue to develop and build a vibrant eco-system of education innovation that leverages our intellectual, financial, and network capital to improve the world.