Higher education
iVy League
Apr 4th 2012, 16:49 by M.B.| NEW YORK
“THE first elite university to be launched in America in over a century.” Ben Nelson, who cut his entrepreneurial teeth as chief executive of Snapfish, a photo website, does not shy away from making big claims. But he has every reason to boast. On April 3rd Benchmark Capital announced that it will fund Minerva, which plans to welcome its first class of students in September 2014, to the tune of $25m—one of the biggest seed investments of a leading Silicon Valley venture firm ever.
Minerva aspires to reinvent everything, from the business model and the curriculum to the way in which teaching is delivered. The plan is for admission standards to be higher than current Ivy League levels, and for courses to be tough enough for students to fail if they do not pull their weight (a rarity in American education, except in cases of extreme incompetence). The curriculum will focus on skills rather than traditional academic studies and be based on four pillars: critical thinking, use of data, understanding complex systems and leading through effective communication.
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