New business incubator set to help nurture education startups

A teacher at the University of Pennsylvania is working to create a wide-reaching business incubation program to “create an ecosystem for education,” which would encourage entrepreneurs to create a corporation focused on improving education, the Associated Press reports.

Doug Lynch, the vice dean of the university’s School of Education, told the news source that while education is a $1-trillion market, it’s a segment that has been traditionally ignored by entrepreneurs – who turn to other industries such as technology. The incubator program, he said, would work to link education researchers with entrepreneurs and help them turn educational theories into physical products and new businesses.

“You’re going to get the country’s best talent working in this market instead of going to Silicon Valley working on the next social network,” Shaun Sims, CEO of Digital Proctor – a recent education startup – told the news source.

The school has also had discussions with Arizona State University’s business incubator – SkySong – which is becoming increasingly focused on education because of the market’s growth potential.