Waterloo-based ClevrU Corporation has acquired NewMindsets Inc., a company founded on online pedagogy researched and developed by two Schulich School of Business professors that has provided leading-edge educational content and services to more than 10,000 Schulich students at York University over the past decade.
Gareth Morgan
Through the acquisition, ClevrU will fully integrate NewMindsets’ proven e-teaching pedagogy in leadership, researched and developed by Professors Gareth Morgan and Jean Adams, into its world-class e-teaching platform, to be presented to York as a pilot and then delivered to students worldwide. The two companies announced a partnership in October 2012 to establish a second-generation online learning standard for millions of students worldwide.
ClevrU had the mobile-friendly, multilingual, globally adaptive solution to create interactive learning environments; New Mindsets had spent 12 years developing and validating their pedagogy for an engaging, effective online learning experience with thousands of undergraduate and graduate leadership and management students at Schulich. “We created NewMindsets so universities and colleges could deliver online education in a meaningful way,” says Morgan, founder and chairman of NewMindsets. “Now that our pedagogy is being completely integrated into ClevrU’s platform, we have the perfect solution to help students learn in a responsive, interactive and user-friendly environment.”
Jean Adams
“ClevrU is excited to partner with New Mindsets and York University,” said Mark Arnason, president and CEO ClevrU Corporation. “As the online education market matures, universities are looking at superior forms of online and distance learning as new revenue opportunities. ClevrU will provide a solution for educational institutions wishing to develop and deliver effective online courses and effective learning outcomes to students in Canada and internationally. Together, we’re going to build a marketplace where students can use a flexible, fully-customizable learning system to gain valuable, personalized learning outcomes.”
MaRS Innovation— working in close collaboration with Innovation York, York University’s commercialization office — developed New Mindsets’ commercialization plan, arranged the initial introduction between the companies, structured the initial partnership and negotiated the resulting transaction.
“York University is pleased to partner with ClevrU and MaRs Innovation to support this innovative technology,” said Robert Haché, York’s Vice-President Research & Innovation. “Professors Morgan and Adams have developed an e-teaching model and pedagogy that will be integrated into ClevrU’s e-teaching platform and made available to students around the world. This initiative is a prime example of Innovation York’s role in working together with external organizations to help researchers maximize the social and economic impact of their intellectual property.”
“MaRS Innovation is enthusiastic about the commercial prospects represented by the marriage of ClevrU’s positioning in the e-learning market and content delivery system to the proven, highly engaging pedagogy methods and leadership training content developed by internationally recognized York University professors,” said Raphael Hofstein, president and CEO. “This transaction illustrates the effectiveness of MI’s commercialization process, our collaboration with our members and our contribution to strengthening of Ontario companies’ competitiveness on the world stage.”