Two cohorts of five startups each will be accepted per year.
DeVry Education Group and 1871 are partnering to launch an edtech incubator. It is expected that two cohorts of five startups each will be admitted into the programme, which is open to companies from anywhere within the US.
The incubator will be located in a new 25,000-square-foot expansion at 1871. The space will also be home to incubators focusing on food technology, financial technology, real-estate technology, the internet of things, woman-owned technology businesses and veteran-owned technology businesses. The first cohort will be selected for an autumn 2014 start.
DeVry operates a network of for-profit schools with a total of more than 100,000 students. It is a founding investor in 1871. Startups accepted into the incubator will receive mentoring from the group’s executives and will be able to test their products at DeVry campuses.
1871 is a community of and co-working space for digital designers, engineers and entrepreneurs. It is named for the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, which lasted for several days in October, killed some 300 people, destroyed roughly 3.3 square miles, and made 100,000 people homeless. The fire however also led to an entrepreneurial uprising of inventors, innovators and architects joining forces to rebuild the Windy City and ensuring its continued growth.
Jeff Dunn, senior director of research and development at DeVry, said: “We are looking for innovators with big ideas, who can help us reimagine education for the digital age and the future. 1871, well-known for attracting technology entrepreneurs from across the world, and the city of Chicago, with its bedrock of leading educational institutions, provides a unique opportunity for edtech companies. We are excited to be part of this endeavour and are confident that we’ll see some very exciting educational technologies that will advance teaching and learning.”
