Employers are looking increasingly at ways to educate and develop talent in-house aided by ed-tech innovations and programs that are also driving mobility and equity within the workforce.

2U states it uses “tech, people, and data to help top universities transform in the digital era – and eliminate the back row in higher ed.” With more than 80 educational partners, 2U’s online offerings number more than 550.

David Sutphen, chief strategy and engagement officer of 2U explains online access allows students to control their own educational pathways.

Recently, 2U was endorsed as a talent developer by OneTen, an initiative with a goal to upskill, hire, and advance one million Black individuals over the next 10 years.

“We were obviously thrilled to have that happen,” says Sutphen. “I’m excited about our ability to not only help them figure out how to attract more Black learners, I’m also excited about our ability to potentially partner with their corporate partners to help bend the cost curve.”

“At the end of the day, the debt burden that a lot of particularly the Black community faces when it comes to higher ed – if we really want to solve this problem, whether it’s traditional degrees or alternative credentials – we have to make it more affordable. I’m a big believer that the way to do that is through public private partnerships,” says Sutphen.

Click here to learn more about 2U.

WorkingNation—a collaborating partner of the ASU+GSV Summit—spoke with Sutphen in San Diego as part of our #WorkingNationOverheard social media series.

Hear from more innovators in education and tech in the public, private, and nonprofit spheres attending the ASU+GSV Summit 2021 here.

Follow the conversation on social media: #asugsvsummit #workingnationoverheard