The Future of Work Cases

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Future of work a closer look at eight select organizations from Silicon Valley that point toward what the future of work holds for us.

Future of work

CASE

HACKERRANK A skills-based recruiting platform and online coding community built around a tool for collaborative programming.

Case

...for its 4 million users who wish to upskill or improve through the use of tutorials or by competing in coding contests against other users. HackerRank hosts regular hackathons with monetary prizes and corporate sponsored events. These competitions vary in size and complexity with some lasting months while others run for less than an hour.

The platform is also used by companies looking for skilled programmers. Employers can validate skills by requiring programmers to have completed certain challenges before offering them the opportunity to apply for positions. Companies can use the platform to assess the quality of a contender’s coding ability and compare it to similar candidates on the platform.

The site uses an algorithm to determine the speed and quality of the code.

This method of monitoring allows recruiters to screen and test multiple candidates in the context of the community at large.

Business can use the platform as a collaborative tool to live test and give feedback on code or to encourage competition among employees. The online community allows programmers to compare their skills not only against their coworkers, but also peers in the entire industry.

/ HackerRank

Incentivizing lifelong learning for programmers through collaboration and competition.

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S TECHNOLOGY continues to evolve, the need among programmers to upskill becomes essential to maintaining workforce relevance. HackerRank fits in with the existing way programmers learn new skills, but adds a layer of incentivizing with elements of gamification. The platform rewards learning and collaboration with badges or rewards rather than the act of learning alone.

HackerRank is one of the few online learning platforms actively focused on the fun aspect of upskilling. This creates a social community for learning, where users can help each other and share knowledge, or compete and compare for status. While the platform is mostly applicable to programmers, it features the learning potential of sociability and playability.

By fostering an active community through learning as a game, HackerRank can catapult lifelong learning out of the classroom and into the corporate world.

From there, lifelong learning is viewed not as a mere course or tedious chore, but as a continuous and exciting social activity.

GOING FORWARD, POINTS FOR REFLECTION ON THIS MATTER MIGHT INCLUDE:

In order to maintain workforce relevance, which skills are needed over the next five years or over the next 10 years?

What will the future of reskilling and upskilling look like in a Danish context?

Future of work

CASE

UPWORK An online marketplace where businesses and independent professionals connect and collaborate remotely.

Case

...from over 180 countries, who cover 3 million jobs annually – collectively worth a total of US$1 billion. Companies can submit many types of work, from small one-off tasks to long-term projects with multiple workers.

An Upwork algorithm matches the assignment with candidates from their large talent pool, who can then apply for the job.

Upwork allows clients to interview, hire and work with freelancers and agencies through the company’s online platform. Companies can find a large range of skills – anywhere from programmers and designers, to writers and customer support. The platform makes it easy to judge potential freelancers based on their portfolio, listed qualifications and ratings from previous clients.

Upwork is not limited to contractual work but tries to incentivize long-lasting business relationships between freelancers and companies.

Freelancers and employers can also communicate, share files and collaborate on the platform in real-time. Upwork also handles the contract, billing and payment in either hourly rates or fixed pricing. The entire process from hiring to finished project happens within the confines of the platform – providing an end-to-end solution.

/ Upwork

A new gig-economy platform, enabling a more agile workforce.

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ITH THE RISE of the gig-economy, many companies are finding it profitable to hire through online platforms. The large talent pool of remote workers on these platforms allows for a wider geographic reach. Companies can quickly and easily hire talent when the need arises compared to traditional hiring paths.

Employing remote freelancers enables companies to better accommodate fluctuating workloads by supplementing their workforce with flexible resources. Upwork helps lower the bar for creating mixed teams of key-knowledge employees with a more fluctuating cast of temporary talent.

Platforms like Upwork can change a fixed cost, such as a salary, to a variable one, allowing companies to respond more easily to marketplace disruptions. Upwork touts itself as a readily available, external, human resource that is scalable up or down based on need to help shape the dynamic and agile team structures that are becoming more commonplace.

GOING FORWARD, POINTS FOR REFLECTION ON THIS MATTER MIGHT INCLUDE: What type of influence will gigplatforms have on education in Denmark?

Future of work

CASE

MINECRAFT:

EDUCATION EDITION An open-world learning game focused on developing young students’ skills and creativity.

Case

...is based on Microsoft’s popular game, Minecraft—the second-highest-selling game of all time.

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INECRAFT IS CENTERED on pixelated

building blocks used to create and construct a wide variety of objects in a virtual universe. Minecraft: Education Edition expands that concept by utilizing the simulation environment for K-12 classroom teachings. Launched in 2016, Minecraft: Education Edition is now available in 115 countries with more than 2 million licensed users.

The game has an internal logic that approximates the laws of physics and provides a great platform for students to learn STEM skills by conducting experiments or even creating code with the building blocks. Students can also explore in-game recreations of historical sites or create their own works of art. Teachers can join the students’ game worlds and use a variety of tools to easily guide and assist their students, virtually.

As an advanced world simulator for creative learning and problem-solving, Minecraft’s simulation of the real world creates new opportunities for both students and teachers.

Building the learning experience on a game, which students are already familiar with, creates a very low barrier of entry.

Minecraft: Education Edition is opening a world for the younger generation, in which to experiment with tackling and diffusing problems of the real world within a virtual one.

Within its immersive environment, the game encourages students to solve problems much more spatially and creatively than traditional classrooms might allow.

/ Minecraft: Educational Edition

Minecraft: Education Edition becomes a space for education and learning, where the only limit is the students’ imagination.

This virtual freedom gives students room to explore skills such as collaboration, creative problem-solving, innovation and self-expression – both guided and individual. By integrating learning with gaming mechanics, the educational aspects merge the social and fun characteristics of recreational gaming.

An early adoption of digitally assisted, active learning can create a strong foundation for the lifelong learning needed in the future.

GOING FORWARD, POINTS FOR REFLECTION ON THIS MATTER MIGHT INCLUDE: How can online games or gamified platforms play into the education mainframe currently in place in Danish elementary schools?

How can higher education or the workplace use simulations or virtual worlds for training or testing?

Future of work

CASE

MINERVA A new type of university dedicated to teaching the skills needed for the future of work.

Case

MINERVA SCHOOLS (MINERVA) ...is an accredited university founded in 2014 that offers online undergraduate degrees. Instead of physical classrooms and fixed lectures, enrolled students travel to seven cities around the world during the span of the four-year program. Minerva’s centered, online platform is called Active Learning Forum – a virtual classroom where students can interact and learn. Minerva’s courses are limited to just 18 students per classroom, resulting in only a handful of students each year, as Minerva seeks to create small yet diverse teams.

Minerva’s model is based on cognitive and behavioral pedagogy research and is designed to tap into these abilities by focusing on critical life skills, professional capabilities and personal character. This is achieved through global cultural immersion and interdisciplinary academics, enabling students to develop a broad knowledge and the practical skills needed to solve the complex issues of tomorrow’s world.

CREATING A UNIVERSITY OF THE FUTURE THROUGH RESEARCH-BACKED PEDAGOGY AND EDUCATIONAL SCIENCE.

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INERVA BELIEVES effective and

engaging learning cannot happen with a passive absorption of facts, as is the case with traditional university lectures. At Minerva, the pedagogic model is flipped – classes are devoted to discussing, debating and collaboratively working on projects. The active learning is supplemented with weekly feedback from professors.

The feedback is essential for students to gain deeper insight into their performance, better respond to criticism and continue their intellectual growth.

/ Minerva

Minerva’s goal of developing students’ skills is achieved through a curriculum that balances interpersonal skills, critical thinking and creativity with practical experience from outcome-centric projects. Each semester’s learning builds on results of the previous semester and is adjusted to the social and cultural contexts of each new city.

This creates a unique learning environment for students that reflects on real-world surroundings and focuses on creating a more global-oriented citizen.

Minerva is helping shape students with an essential skillset for an era of global uncertainty and adaptability to an ever-changing job market.

Despite the low number of alumni, the effect of Minerva’s learning approach remains crystal clear, as it already ranks as number one of all universities in standardized testing.

GOING FORWARD, POINTS FOR REFLECTION ON THIS MATTER MIGHT INCLUDE: Can the Danish education system embrace the opportunities in online education? To what extent do students and teachers need a model for online education?

Which lessons can Danish universities learn from Minerva’s student-centric and multicultural approach to learning?

Future of work

CASE

LINKEDIN LEARNING An online learning platform for organizations and individuals.

Case

...customized, online-learning platform with video courses taught by professional educators.

Started in 1995 as Lynda.com, LinkedIn Learning is one of the oldest sites in the eLearning space. It has since become the go-to destination for individuals wanting to learn new skills as well as organizations seeking to upskill employees.

LinkedIn Learning offers a wide range of relevant courses covering extensive subject matter and a personalized user experience accessible anytime and anywhere.

The LinkedIn Learning platform gives users unlimited access to more than 12,000 courses across the creative, tech and business industries – taught by educators with real-world expertise.

Courses are structured around a series of videos with supplementary exercise files. Every video chapter ends with a quiz, which users need to pass in order to advance to the next chapter.

At course completion, LinkedIn Learning issues a certificate onto the users LinkedIn profile.

/ LinkedIn Learning

Personalized education making upskilling and reskilling more accessible.

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USINESS SUBSCRIPTIONS enable orga-

nizations and institutions to enroll their entire staff and even allow subscribers to create and customize courses beyond the existing course catalog. Through LinkedIn Learning’s analytics, employers can track employee progress and compare employee development and skills with coworkers or potential candidates. Likewise, subscribers can gain insight into their own performance in comparison to others within their industry.

LinkedIn Learning uses the large amount of data available on the platform to personalize education for its users, endorsing relevant courses based on user interest and job position. Furthermore, LinkedIn Learning recommends courses taken by similar professionals allowing users to stay up to date within their industry.

The LinkedIn Learning platform is answering the growing demand for personalized learning and unbundled education, creating an on-demand learning environment.

GOING FORWARD, POINTS FOR REFLECTION ON THIS MATTER MIGHT INCLUDE: Explain how the Danish labor market can use online platforms for upskilling and reskilling?

Future of work

CASE

UDACITY A for-profit educational organization that offers industry-focused tech nanodegrees through Massive Open Online Courses.

Case

...as an online alternative to formal higher education, especially in the field of technology.

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T ACTIVELY focuseson creating education

that fulfills the educational needs of its tech partners and users. Udacity offers a wide range of nanodegrees in the fields of Artificial Intelligence, Autonomous Systems, Data Analysis, Programming and Business. The online degrees are taught by active industry experts, rather than traditional teachers.

Students are taught in virtual classrooms while interacting with their educators, the student community and online resources.

Programs take up to 10 months of study and require students to complete five to nine projects based on real-world tech problems and are graded by industry mentors.

Students must receive a passing grade on each project in order to ultimately receive an official Udacity Nanodegree credential.

Udacity has several partnerships with large tech companies, who use the platform for both talent scouting and upskilling of their own employees. Some partners also contribute to the creation of new nanodegrees allowing them to shape and customize the skillset of future candidates.

While the effectiveness of Udacity’s degrees and programs is not yet fully appreciated, industry interest is already supportive and strong.

/ Udacity

Closing the tech skill gap and creating educations that respond to the needs of the industry and students.

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S TECHNOLOGIES continue to evolve

more rapidly, universities and educational organizations must respond more quickly to job market demands. The skills gap only grows if the industry changes faster than the degrees – especially in the tech industry.

By involving companies in the creation of new degrees, Udacity can respond more quickly to industry disruptions by creating highly relevant training outlines within a short time frame.

Udacity is creating hyper-flexible online degrees taken anytime and anywhere, which are customized to an individual’s specific needs. Platform flexibility and a high, student graduation rate create highly responsive and sought-after degrees at a fraction of the cost of similar, full degrees at traditional universities.

The tech industry now has a growing acceptance of these alternative degrees – IBM has explicitly stated that, “jobs are about skills, not degrees.” Support from employers outside Silicon Valley is more hesitant as the concept is still maturing.

GOING FORWARD, POINTS FOR REFLECTION ON THIS MATTER MIGHT INCLUDE: How would the teacher-student dynamic within the Danish education system react if it was disturbed or challenged?

Which metrics are in place to determine if the Danish job market can readily adapt to accept small, unaccredited, alternative degrees?

Future of work

CASE

CEREGO A personalized learning platform that uses adaptive technology to increase learning.

Case

CEREGO

IS AN INTELLIGENT ...learning platform for corporations and educational institutions.

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T UTILIZES machine learning to create

personalized learning content based on user data and cognitive science models. The platform actively helps a user spread out their learning over longer periods of time and in shorter intervals. These tailored learning schedules can help users not just learn more efficiently but also retain knowledge.

Cerego’s algorithms are highly generalizable – applicable to a wide range of subject matter and sources. When creating content, instructors can choose between text-based, image-based, pattern recognition or stepby-step exercises. Instructors can simply upload PDFs, videos or web pages directly to the platform, which automatically extracts the most important information and creates instant learning content.

/ Cerego

Applying cognitive science and AI to create engaging learning experiences.

People tend to gradually forget new knowledge unless it is continuously stimulated or applied – also known as the forgetting curve.

Cerego tries to circumvent use of this curve by utilizing machine learning to predict when and how a user needs re-exposure to certain information in order to strengthen their overall retention of knowledge. Cerego’s adaptive algorithms measure not only what a student knows, but also whatever knowledge the student has already forgotten, and gives users a deeper insight into their personal learning process.

Organizations can use Cerego as a means for both faster and smarter upskilling of their employees. Leaders can cost-effectively teach multiple employees or train new candidates in a highly personalized and flexible manner that best suits the business.

The platform assists with both the creation and facilitation of learning material, augmenting how knowledge is distributed in an organization.

When learning sets are thoughtfully designed, containing well-delineated material, Cerego provides a time-efficient way for workers to learn on the job. More than 15 independent studies indicate that implementation of Cerego leads to higher performance among workers. The platform routinely increases performance by 10-30 percent in both academic and workplace assessments.

GOING FORWARD, POINTS FOR REFLECTION ON THIS MATTER MIGHT INCLUDE: Compared to the general learning culture in the current Danish education system, what does Cerego’s approach to learning offer the Danish debate on using technology in education?

In Danish companies, what is the current need for improved tools to measure learning performance?

Future of work

CASE

42 Schools A non-profit, tuition-free coding school disrupting engineering education and tech talent pipelines.

Case

...without teachers, degrees, classrooms or a fixed schedule.

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NSTEAD, IT IS an always-open campus centered on around a computer floor called The Lab where students learn and study together. 42 was founded in 2013

by French billionaire Xavier Niel, who sought to challenge a traditional education system he considered outdated and rigid.

At 42, the learning process is based on a gamified, digital-learning platform where students can find new projects or collaborate and compete with fellow students.

Student projects are graded by their peers and reward students with experience points and levels based on performance rather than grades. There are no formal restrictions for these projects, but students must advance a new level each month, which unlocks new and more challenging projects.

Graduation takes place when a student reaches level 21, which 42 expects to take students 3-5 years to accomplish.

/ 42 Schools

Challenging what education can achieve in the digital age.

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HE GOAL OF 42’S model is to push students to venture outside their comfort zone in order to grow professionally and personally. 42’s digital platform is built to foster soft skills, such as creativity, problem-solving, time management, collaboration and autonomy.

Unlike most higher education, anyone can become a student at 42 – regardless of their social, economic or educational background.

42’s tuition-free model and free on-campus accommodation have allowed more than 4,000 students to receive a university education. Many 42 students come from low to middle-income families and might not have had an opportunity for secondary education otherwise.

The school continues to empower this relatively untapped pool of knowledgeable and skilled students, improving social mobility.

In the beginning, 42 experienced some resistance in the job market to students without traditional diplomas. More recently, there is a growing recognition of alternative degrees, and employers are beginning to not just accept, but actively seek out students from 42. Around 80 percent of enrolled 42 students never actually graduate but are headhunted before reaching level 21.

GOING FORWARD, POINTS FOR REFLECTION ON THIS MATTER MIGHT INCLUDE: What form of inspiration to the existing model can the 42 model provide for higher education and training?

Which other potential fields of education can integrate gamification as a learning model?