New Book Examining Innovative Approaches In Education To Accelerate Economic Development Launches At Davos

WASHINGTON, NEW YORK, BOSTON, and DAVOS-KLOSTERS, Switzerland, Jan. 22, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Seeking to increase awareness of the need to improve education systems around the world, members of the World Economic Forum's Global Agenda Council on Education & Skills, including Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) Professor David E. Bloom, Mercer Regional President – North America, Pat Milligan, and 2U, Inc. CEO Chip Paucek, have prepared a forward thinking book, "Education & Skills 2.0: New Targets & Innovative Approaches," that examines the challenges and opportunities related to education and skill development with an emphasis on actions and outcomes. 

"The world can do a much better job of equipping people of all ages with the skills needed to satisfy tomorrow's needs, not yesterday's," said Bloom, Clarence James Gamble Professor of Economics and Demography at HSPH and Chairman of the Global Agenda Council on Education & Skills. "This book sets forth concrete ideas for education-and skill-based solutions to problems like poverty, illiteracy, and inequity, which impinge so heavily, widely, and needlessly on human progress. It opens our minds to the transformative potential of a judicious blend of financial muscle, political will, common sense, and new thinking, institutions, and technology." 

Paucek co-authored the chapter entitled "Online Education: From Novelty to Necessity," focusing on the potential for educational technology to transform the learning experience in the classroom and influence global educational policy in the years to come. "Online education can be a critical tool to drive educational outcomes and we are hopeful these ideas will stimulate real action towards leveraging the power of online education to drive improvements in the educational experiences of people worldwide."

"The book showcases practical and scalable solutions that address issues such as youth employment, education for girls, and reskilling mature talent," said Milligan. Her chapter "Older and Wiser: Tapping the Full Potential of the Mature Workforce," focuses on harnessing the power of collaboration between the public, private sector, and academia to bridge skills gaps with underutilized population segments.

The book is now widely available in a variety of formats:

• An iPhone/iPad app (first of its kind for any publication from the Global Agenda Councils, developed by 2U)
• Fully readable on 2U Inc.'s website
• A downloadable PDF

Also 2U Inc.'s University partners created visual images highlighting content from a few key chapters:

• Big Data & Higher Education by datascience@berkeley
• Girls' Education: The 2013 Report Card by Teach.com
• Helping to Increase Literacy Across the World by Teach.com
• Human Capital Index by International Relations Online at American University
• Tapping the Full Potential of the Aging Workforce by MBA@UNC and Mercer

Readers are encouraged to follow the World Economic Forum on Twitter @davos, and to tweet their reactions to the book using #WEFedu. For more information on the Global Agenda Council on Education & Skills, please visit their website.

About the World Economic Forum Global Agenda Council on Education & Skills:
The Global Agenda Council on Education & Skills has identified the need to zero in on the most optimal way of bringing together experts to help leaders take the education and skills agenda to the next level by raising global awareness on the need to improve education systems in order to spur productivity, innovation, job creation and, ultimately, economic growth. 

About 2U, Inc.: 2U exists to transform the way leading colleges and universities deliver higher education to qualified students anywhere.  Founded in 2008 by a team of education and technology veterans, our innovative online learning platform and bundled technology-enabled services provide the comprehensive operating infrastructure colleges and universities need to attract, enroll, educate, support and graduate their students.  2U's partner programs are designed to deliver positive student outcomes, not only in educational achievement but in student satisfaction, graduation rates and other measures of success.  For more information about 2U please visit http://www.2u.com. You can follow 2U on Twitter, at @2Uinc.

About Mercer:
Mercer is a global consulting leader in talent, health, retirement, and investments. Mercer helps clients around the world advance the health, wealth, and performance of their most vital asset – their people. Mercer's more than 20,000 employees are based in 42 countries, and the firm operates in over 140 countries. Mercer is a wholly owned subsidiary of Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE: MMC), a global team of professional services companies offering clients advice and solutions in the areas of risk, strategy, and human capital. With over 53,000 employees worldwide and annual revenue exceeding $11 billion, Marsh & McLennan Companies is also the parent company of Marsh, a global leader in insurance broking and risk management; Guy Carpenter, a global leader in providing risk and reinsurance intermediary services; and Oliver Wyman, a global leader in management consulting. For more information, visit www.mercer.com. Follow Mercer on Twitter @MercerInsights.

About Harvard School of Public Health: Harvard School of Public Health brings together dedicated experts from many disciplines to educate new generations of global health leaders and produce powerful ideas that improve the lives and health of people everywhere. As a community of leading scientists, educators, and students, we work together to take innovative ideas from the laboratory and the classroom to people's lives—not only making scientific breakthroughs, but also working to change individual behaviors, public policies, and health care practices. Each year, more than 400 faculty members at HSPH teach 1,000-plus full-time students from around the world and train thousands more through online and executive education courses. Founded in 1913 as the Harvard-MIT School of Health Officers, the School is recognized as America's first professional training program in public health.

Media Contacts:
2U: Chance Patterson, [email protected], (202-262-5213)
Mercer:   Stacy Bronstein 215 982 8025; [email protected] (USA) or Alistair Peck +1 44 20 7178 3143; [email protected] (UK)
HSPH: Marge Dwyer 617 432 8416; [email protected]

SOURCE 2U, Inc.