Latin America has an immense potential for intellectual and labor talent, but sadly the wounds and mistakes of the past continue to affect the way in which said potential is manifested in a large part of the region; It is no secret that in many countries we still suffer strongly from economic, social, political, and even cultural problems (as is the weight given to social classes in opportunities for improvement).
In an effort to fight such problems, there are now several entities focused on finding and applying solutions, and these vary from government entities to non-profit organizations; everything adds up, and it is that big field of potential solutions where we enter.
But how do we differ?
At Ayllu Academy we firmly believe that thinking outside the box is the best way to break existing paradigms.
“The day before something is a breakthrough, it’s a crazy idea.” – Peter Diamandis
We are firm believers in the Open Source philosophy, and for those who do not have a technical focus; this philosophy is one that supports the idea that technological tools (such as programming code) add better value for everyone, if they are built by everyone.
It is with this philosophy that we embark on exploring how new emerging technologies such as blockchain can be used to offer new solutions to old problems in Latin America; and our primary focus: Education.
The Problem
When we started this project focused on education, we faced many obstacles of philosophical nature, such as the value of education, how to measure it, and how it’s generated. In short, and without generalizing (Because I know there are exceptions), we came to the simple conclusion that in undeveloped areas, education has weight if it puts food on your table, and as Erik J. Olsson said: “Knowledge is clearly valuable in the sense of assuring success in practical life, or at least making success more likely.”
With that idea established, we began to analyze factors that currently affect education in Latin America and why we are always 1 or 2 steps behind first world countries with respect to intellectual and technological development. Among a variety of factors, we decided to focus on the following:
- Low standards of education
- High drop out rates
- Precarious job industry
At first glance, it seems complex to find a solution that addresses all these problems at the same time, but after analyzing them in detail, we decided to focus on a solution that differs from current systems, and that, together with our values and philosophy, opens the door to innovation.
The Solution
Ayllu Academy is a platform that seeks to be self-sustainable through a model that allows three important groups to achieve their goals and meet their needs; and at the same time contribute to educational and technological development in the region. These groups are:
- Technology Industry
- Instructors/Teachers
- Students
We innovate through the use of blockchain technologies to offer a more fruitful journey to the participants. We do not seek to monetize education, but to deliver the value and power that it generates to the users who participate in the educational process.
Our learning mechanics is based on the hypothesis that dropout rates are not just a metric, but can be used as fuel to boost the learning of participants who strive to excel.
Blockchain technology serves us as a tool to transfer the value created by the educational process in a transparent and immutable way; and at the same time maintains security and confidence in the platform’s digital cooperativism.