inVision U project: designing a university that will teach students how to problem-solve for the good of their societies

We are finishing the year with a dream. inVision U is only now being designed, so we will discuss the plan instead of the execution. The new university, sponsored by inDrive founder Arsen Tomsky, will be a system of 5-6 connected university campuses in different countries, catering to students who want to be a force of good in the world and come largely from disadvantaged backgrounds. It will prioritize collaborative problem-solving over anything else. And it will be unlike any university that currently exists, because otherwise why bother? Join us as we talk specifics with the lead institutional designer for this project.
 

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Dara Melnyk:

1. Maybe it makes sense to base one of the typologies of universities on the types of leaders they produce. I suppose we'll get that done at some point.
2. When thinking about your future university model, begin with defining what your graduates must do for the world, then proceed to a graduate model, and only after that do everything else. For Arsen Tomsky, the founder of InVision U Andrew is designing, a graduate continuing their education at one of the Harvard's graduate schools is a failure. Why? Because a target graduate would stay in their home region post-graduation and do some good, right there and then. Limiting? Maybe. Clear vision-wise? Yes.
3. To use the university to change the reality, you need students who know and understand the reality. One cannot only take students from the highest socio-economic strata and expect them to lift the the country up—they don't know what they ought to be lifting it from. Thus InDrive University's current stance on focusing on low-income students makes perfect sense. The graduates will transform what they know, but with new, powerful tools. The lesson? Your vision drives your target audience, not vice versa.