📱 Digital solutions, real-world outcomes from PreK to Post Secondary. AI in Higher Ed + Back to School Summit.
Australia, Nigeria, and the U.S. each show how early learning, literacy, and career pathways are evolving, with digital tools at the core. Register before it's too late for the HolonIQ Back to School Summit in NYC this September!
Hello 👋
📆 This Week. Foundational education is getting overdue attention across ages and geographies. In South Australia, a new AU$84M initiative will extend preschool access to three-year-olds, targeting developmental gaps long before school begins. In Nigeria, state leaders are working with NewGlobe and the Nigeria Governors’ Forum to close basic literacy deficits using real-time instructional tools and data—reporting double-digit gains in early reading. And in the U.S., MidAmerica Nazarene University is introducing three new academic tracks designed for affordability and direct career relevance, reinforcing postsecondary education as a foundation for economic mobility. Whether in early learning, core schooling, or higher education, these efforts point to a broader shift: foundational doesn’t mean simple or starting out, it’s about continuity, context, and setting learners up for what comes next.
⭐ AI & Digital Innovation Spotlight
🤖 2U and IBM launched six new technical micro-credentials on edX, including programs for data science, AI, and software engineering, aiming to provide flexible, job-aligned training and IBM certification upon completion.
⚛ Goodwill and Google launched a program offering free AI Essentials training across North America, aiming to equip 200K individuals with foundational AI skills while providing practical generative AI experience, culminating in a Google certificate.
⚡ CodeSignal and Amazon Web Services launched a free generative AI training program to upskill over 30,000 global students and other learners, including prompt engineering and enterprise AI, using AWS tools.
🤝 Policy & Partnerships
💻 Pakistan has approved its National AI Policy 2025 with plans to train 1M AI professionals by 2030, establish AI funds, initiate AI-driven civic projects, and offer scholarships. This initiative aims to utilize AI for national growth.
✨ Mississippi State University partnered with Amazon Web Services and Quintilian to launch an AI initiative that aims to improve engagement with prospective students and alumni through AU use and offers internships to students.
🏛️ APG Shimla University partnered with GeniusMentor to integrate AI into its curriculum to introduce personalized learning, 24/7 AI tutor support, and data-driven assessments.
🇺🇸 2025 Back to School Summit, Sept 9-11,NYC
Join CEOs, University Presidents, Tech Leaders, Investors and more at at the 2025 Back to School Summit, September 9–11 in New York City. Register Now to reserve your spot. This summit will sell out!
💪 Power Moves
🌐 Ignite has relaunched DigiSkills 3.0, a digital skills training program, after a one-year delay, targeting three 3M free training opportunities in Pakistan over 3.5 years.
🤝 India and the UK signed an agreement that enables British universities to open in India, with six UK universities planning to establish campuses.
💸 KKR partnered with Cornell University to establish a program to support first-generation college students at Cornell's SC Johnson School of Business.
💰 Education Funding
🤖 Julius AI, a US-based provider of an AI tool for analysis, raised $10M to expand operations and its development efforts.
💡 Arivihan, an Indian exam prep platform, raised $4.2M to expand into three new Indian states, accelerate AI R&D, and strengthen offline distribution and marketing strategies.
