Arizona State University and GSV Ventures have released their power-packed agenda for one of the signature annual events in education technology: ASU-GSV Summit, which will be held both live and virtually from San Diego on April 4-6.
Among the speakers lined up for the show at the Manchester Grand Hyatt are best-selling author Margaret Atwood, entrepreneur Andrew Yang, former Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, author Stedman Graham, philosopher Cornel West and Eddie Glaude Jr., chair of Princeton’s Department of African American Studies.
Several university presidents, including ASU’s Michael Crow, Dillard University’s Walter Kimbrough and Morehouse College president David Thomas, are also slated to bring their expertise to sessions at the event, which will be focused on access, innovation and entrepreneurship. “This summit is a chance for creative minds—across education, the workplace, our communities—to share ways they’ve found to empower learners,” Crow said. “Educational equity has the power to shape our world so much for the better, and it’s crucial that we find new and better ways to achieve it.”
For higher education leaders, there are dozens of sessions of interest, from cutting-edge technologies such as AR/VR and artificial intelligence to the industry’s role in climate change to workforce pathways. But one notable inclusion is a group of sessions called “On the Razor’s Edge: Higher Education Trends and Themes.” There are 12 across the three days, including these five gems:
- Redefining University Excellence, a look at how sustainable development goals are driving new performance metrics in terms of rankings, with Crow, Elsevier Chairman Youngsuk Chi, Simon Fraser University President Joy Johnson, and University of Auckland Vice Chancellor Dawn Freshwater.
- Are Universities Ready to Partner with Employers to Align Talent with Demand, with Grand Valley State University President Philomena Mantella, University of Pittsburgh Chief of Staff for Health Sciences Leeanna McKibben and two business leaders.
- Show Your Work: Protecting Academic Integrity in an Online Integrity, moderated by Western Governors University leader Marni Baker-Stein and featuring Proctorio CEO Mike Olsen, ASU’s Justin Harding, Turnitin Chief Product Officer Annie Chechitelli and OpenStax/Rice University’s David Harris.
- Designing the New Community College through micro-pathways, with Pima Community College President Lee Lambert, Seattle Colleges Chancellor Shouan Pan and Rufus Glasper, League for Innovation in the Community College President and CEO.
- University Innovators, Heroes of the Pandemic, with several top CIOs and digital education leaders discussing how they’ll transform crisis-mode solutions for the long term, including Matthew Rascoff of Duke University, John Rathje of Kent State University, Kamalika Sandell of New Jersey Institute of Technology, Anthony Mutti of Springfield College and Rupa Saran of Coast Community College District.
In addition to higher education leadership sessions, the Summit will be host to tracks on equity and access, a specific session devoted to mental health and wellness, as well as competency-based education (CBE). Also on tap will be a look at the GSV EdTech 150, which features some of the best new company initiatives around education and technology and the GSV Cup Top 20 ed-tech pitch competition among those serving “K through Gray learners.” ASU-GSV officials say more than 575 ed-tech companies will be attending.
