According to the announcement, this year’s two-day conference, titled “Ed on the Edge,” will feature speakers such as former Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, writer Margaret Atwood, 2020 presidential candidate Andrew Yang, several educators and other ed-tech leaders, to discuss career pathways, online education, school funding and the potential for technology to improve the workplace. Registration for the virtual conference is available here, and visitors can also attend in person at the Manchester Grand Hyatt in San Diego.
Sessions will include the following:
- Monday, April 4 – In a talk titled “The Future of HireEd Pathways from Category Leaders,” Cengage Group CEO Michael Hansen and others will discuss the realignment of higher education and the workforce, and trends and partnerships associated with workforce training today given a shortage in tech talent. The talk will be moderated by Marni Baker Stein, provost and chief academic officer of Western Governors University.
- Tuesday, April 5 – Marty Lange, senior vice president for Secondary Education at Cengage Group, will join representatives from IBM, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Empower Schools and Propel America to discuss online education in secondary and postsecondary systems and the need for more investment in schools, in a talk titled, “Career Education: Disrupting the K-16 Model for Equitable Access to Future Jobs.”
- Tuesday, April 5 – Balraj Kalsi, executive vice president and general manager of workforce skills at Cengage Group, will join representatives from Edthena, Unpacking, Sharpist, and Bain and Company to discuss how employers are investing in upskilling and technology to transform workplace culture. Their talk, called “Smoothing out Rough Edges: Leveraging Technology to Improve Workplace Culture,” will be moderated by NovoEd CEO Scott Kinney.
