Beyond the Degree: TEDx Event Explores Innovation in Higher Education

Think a college degree is the key to landing a good job in the ‘real world'? Dale Stephens would disagree.

Stephens, one of the featured speakers at the TEDxAshokaU 2012 event, was so vehemently opposed to the idea of college as the only pathway to success that he dropped out of school (where he had grown frustrated with "people who were more interested in getting degrees than learning") and started a website and social movement, called UnCollege, devoted to helping people approach their education in a personalized, practical way.

"I want people to realize they have agency in their life and their education," he said. "You can choose how, where, when and why you learn without having to rely on the authority of school."

Stephens' ideas represent just one viewpoint among many to be presented at the third annual TEDxAshokaU event, put together by the higher education wing of Ashoka, a company seeking to foster ‘social entrepreneurship' around the globe.

A total of 12 speakers will offer their views on the topic of "Disruptive Innovation in Higher Education," including Arizona State University President Michael Crow, seemingly stationed at the opposite pole from Stephens' anti-institutional approach. But having such a wide range of perspectives is part of the point, said Romina Laouri, Global Community Director for Ashoka and one of the TEDx event's curators.

"The diversity of viewpoints is one of the strengths of the event," Laouri said. "It really allows you to explore the whole issue rather than just one aspect of it."

Beyond Stephens and Crow, the group of experts AshokaU has assembled includes figures from across the spectrum of cultural background, age, gender, nationality and race. From Christer Windeløv-Lidzélius, principal and CEO of the KaosPilots alternative business school in Denmark, to Fernando Padilla, a student at Tecnologico de Monterrey, Campus Guadalajara in Mexico, to Liz Dwyer, education editor at GOOD Magazine in Los Angeles, the speakers initially don't seem to have much in common beyond some connection to education and/or entrepreneurship. But what they do share, according to Laouri, are innovative, "crazy" ideas of how to change the world.  

These ideas range from Stephens' UnCollege to Abby Falik's "Global Citizen Year," an organization that sends high school graduates on a gap year service learning expedition to locales in Africa, Latin America and Asia, with the goal of developing leadership skills and a deeper understanding of the global issues. By bringing together the most innovative and successful people and ideas in the field, AshokaU hopes to shift the notion of what higher education can and should be about.

"It's all about presenting new ideas on what's happening in higher education, how universities are changing and adapting and how they're using new technologies and initiatives to meet the needs of their students and communities," Laouri explained. "We're looking at how we can promote more social engagement and more social entrepreneurship in higher education."

TEDx signifies an independently organized event operating under license from TED, the world-famous non-profit organization that promotes "ideas worth spreading" through its high-profile lecture series. Laouri said the TED format of a series of individual speakers is "perfect" for Ashoka's goal of looking at issues from as many angles as possible. It allows speakers to articulate their position on their terms without getting lost in the shuffle of a roundtable or panel discussion.

"It allows you to explore distinct viewpoints but also get the bigger vision," Laouri said. "Everyone's voice gets heard."

TEDxAshokaU: "Disruptive Innovation in Higher Education," ASU Galvin Playhouse, 51 E. 10th Street, Tempe, 480.965.6447, Friday, February 10, 5 p.m. to 9 p.m., $25