How Disruptive Innovators Prepare Today's Students to Be Tomorrow's Workforce?: Descomplica and Effective Remote Learning

Accesible PDF image
Peer Reviewed icon Peer Reviewed
Author
Fisbhen, Marco ;
Sahate, Victor ;
Duarte, Augusto
Date issued
Dec 2020
Subject
Educational Technology;
Higher Education;
Disruptive Innovation;
Educational Innovation;
Digital Platform;
Freemium;
E-Learning;
Access to Education;
Distance Education;
Business Model
JEL code
I25 - Education and Economic Development;
I28 - Government Policy;
I20 - Education and Research Institutions: General
Country
Brazil
Category
Magazines, Journals and Newsletters
In Brazil, income and race impact on standardized test grades. Standardized test grades are the sole criterion for access to most public universities, or the top higher education institutions. In response, the whole university preparation industry has emerged to cater to students from high-income families, rigging the selection process and perpetuating inequality. This paper aims to describe typical university admissions systems in Brazil to demonstrate how Descomplica is changing the odds of thousands of underprivileged students. With a clear picture of how this system caters to the more privileged, we introduce Descomplica, its tools and learning methodology, and the significant improvements it brings to students, who would not have a hope of joining quality higher education institutions in Brazil otherwise. Finally, the paper discusses the potential impacts and replicability for similar innovation elsewhere in the Americas to help decision-makers in the region especially when lockdowns and curfews are necessary, such as the COVID-19 pandemic.