OldSchool

Description

The world is rapidly aging and becoming more and more digital. The number of 65+ will rise from 700 million to 1.55 billion between 2019 and 2050. 65+ who have life-long learning goals should have access to inclusive, geragogy-based and digital education. However, there is no e-learning platform designed for 65+, although there are countless opportunities for younger generations. We envision a world that supports "life-long learning" and includes online education opportunities for seniors, which are tailored to their age and digital literacy. OldSchool is a distance learning platform specifically tailored for 65+. It will provide seniors with online academic courses (e.g., Seniors University curricula), hobby and health classes, social learning opportunities, and access to scientific research and citizen science projects. In order to diminish the digital divide in societies (e.g., between generations), we will cooperate with circular economy partners to provide digitally isolated seniors with repurposed computers. These seniors will be supported by tech-savvy seniors via our “ambassador program”, as well as other seniors who might need support. In sum, we will make a social impact by integrating all seniors in “life-long learning” and digitalization.

Technologies used

Adobe XD, After Effects, Wordpress, Photoshop, Microsoft Word, Slack, Zoom, Whatsapp.

Accomplishments

(1) We have already partnered with important stakeholders, such as the Seniors University in Zurich (UZH3) and Seniors Universities Association across Switzerland. Please see slides for more! (2) We have received seed funding from Versus Virus and Seniors University Zurich (UZH3). (3) We have entered accelaration programs (Versus Virus Incubation) and competitions (e.g., Swiss Innovation Challenge). We won Samsung's Solve for Tomorrow Initiative and entered their coaching program (starting in Sep).

Obstacles

Creating the business/financial plan is a challenge. We are also trying to decide in which format to found the company: We would like to aim for an AG, but we are also discussing whether it should be a two-entity format (i.e., an education association and an AG that support each other and receive funding from different channels).

Learnings

In the past two months, we learned about each other as a team, got to know each other and got used to working together. We also learned that we are all different, but we can all complement each other's skills and become a really well-functioning team. We learned to work efficiently together, under time pressure, with different tasks allocated for each team member (according to their skills and background). Burcu Demiray is taking a course by Innosuisse/SEIF/Startup Campus called "Social Business Creation". She is also part of the Swiss Innovation Challenge, where she takes business creation lessons. We are also part of the Versus Virus Incubation program. In all of these contexts, we are learning how to build a startup step by step in an efficient and agile way. We are learning about different funding opportunities and fundraising strategies. We learned how to write applications in a goal-oriented and strategic way. For example, we are learning how to create a strong business plan and slide deck.

Next steps

We will found the company within the next 1-2 months. We will bolster our business plan (e.g., develop fundraising strategy) and finalize our initial slide/pitch deck until the end of June. We will be pitching our idea in different places, such as Swiss Innovation Challenge, Samsung Solve for Tomorrow, etc. We will be working on finding new education partners: Our first target is Migros Klubschule to discuss their Senioren Campus couses. We will also be working on further fundraising. We are now starting to create our first online courses with Seniors University (UZH3). The MVP will be ready by the end of September (after usability tests with seniors). First online version of our platform for actual customers will be ready by the end of the year. At the end of the year, circular economy partners will be approached for second-hand computers (to distribute to seniors without computers).