The offer of content on investments, management, finance and technology grows

The debate about the contents that are applied in schools and universities for students of different age groups is gaining more and more relevance. While universities seek alternatives to go beyond fixed curricula, edtechs are gaining ground by offering content aimed at the job market.

Finance, trends, robotics, cybernetics, investments and management are just some of these companies’ bets. However, doubts surrounding the quality of professional training in Brazil persist.

“The big problem for the young man, fresh out of college, is that he only knows the theoretical world segmented into disciplines. It lacks a vision of the whole and actually understand how companies, the market and the world work in practice. Those who have this knowledge can enter the market and grow within a company much faster”, says Richard Vasconcelos, Master in Educational Technologies from the University of Oxford and founding partner of LEO Learning Brasil.

Thinking about occupying this space, supposedly left by some higher education institutions, Zoe Universidad, fintech and edtech, will arrive “physically” in Brazil next year.

Born in Argentina, the company, which was already active on the internet, wants to compete for space in the on-site courses with management, coaching, robotics and cybernetics content.

“We are going to enter Brazil with what is lacking in the world market. We are training people to have an opinion. Our dynamic is that freedom is your knowledge. In the pandemic, we grew more than 9,000%”, says Leandro Corazza Jr., president and head of operations.

According to Richard Vasconcelos, this growth of edtechs happens for a simple reason.

“They offer a more applicable knowledge, immediate and short. This attracts young people much more who can learn from people who bring more innovative content and formats. And that puts pressure on universities to review their curricula and classes to move away from the 1990s content.”

On the universities’ side, Priscila Simões, director of Corporate Solutions at Ibmec, an institution focused on the business area, says.

“Our objective is to train professionals who will work in the areas of management and finance, so the knowledge on the subject is much deeper than that necessary for other people. After graduation or an MBA, for example, the professional must be able to apply methodologies and techniques to manage different business contexts; mastering its practical effects for solving management problems.”

Any spaces left by university education are an alert for those who want to hire high quality professionals.

Juliano Costa, professor and vice president of educational products Pearson LATAM, understands that “thinking about content related to digital transformation, in all departments and segments, is fundamental for the future of work in any area.”

“In this context, universities continue to be responsible for the critical mass of knowledge, but Edtechs are seeking to fill this space for updating knowledge, new skills or updating skills for innovations in the labor market”, says Costa.

On the other hand, Daniel Castanho, Chairman of the Anima Group, which owns institutions such as Anhembi Morumbi and São Judas universities, it cannot be said that universities are outdated and edtechs are necessarily more innovative companies from an educational point of view.

For him, what matters is the value proposition that is delivered to the learner, as just “sell content” is no longer well-regarded by anyone.

“If the proposal is to deliver content to the student, receive a test and issue a certificate, there is something wrong. This dynamic is obsolete. And there are also edtechs that do this. Now, if the proposal is focused on the student, so that he can learn new skills and maximize existing ones, both individual and collective, through experiences, curatorship, quality mentoring, infrastructure and continuous assessment, then we are talking about the future in education. ”

Daniel Castanho also states that universities are organizing partnerships with large companies to carry out case studies and real projects with the aim of preparing students to enter the job market with quality and practical knowledge.

In the midst of the debate on higher education, there is a space for what is called continuing education, from a very early age. For this reason, finance, management, technology and innovation content is not restricted to university students.

“Preparation for the modern world needs to come from basic education. Content focused on the reality of the world, especially on the job market, should be part of the student’s daily life from the first years of school life”, says Rita Carolino, educator, Master in Technology and coordinator of Distance Education.