Lumaway

Current university delivery models are inflexible, and increasingly disconnected from employer needs. It's due to an inability for universities to:

1) Recognise learning from all walks of life

2) Create employer validated curriculum

3) Deliver learning journeys tailored to an individual's skills and career goals

4) Deliver learning journeys tailored to an individual's current life circumstances

Lumaway's software helps universities recognise learning from any imaginable context with machine learning. This includes your work experience, informal learning, and prior courses. It then matches you with potential role profiles, and learning with the university to bridge skill gaps. Universities can use Lumaway's role profiles and skill definitions, or codesign these with employers

Two universities use Lumaway today, to improve student employability in traditional degrees, and to deliver personalised reskilling pathways to corporate workplaces undergoing transformation.

Our offering helps universities deliver modern solutions to populations at disadvantage and impacted by transformation

Universities currently offer inflexible credentials that are increasingly disconnected from employer needs. This is a major barrier to successful, and fair education.

In America, 31 million students have left college without receiving a credential. Further, Mckinsey predicts 340 million workers globally, need reskilling in the next decade.

The common thread between these populations, are a need for flexible learning pathways. The most common reason for leaving college, is an inability to maintain work and study at the same time. Additionally, the working population has established needs such as income and life balance.

Failing to meet this need will disadvantage these learners who cannot study in full time, traditional settings.

Universities need to deliver education aligned to career goals and lifestyle needs. To do this at scale, they need the technology to:

1) Recognise learning from all walks of life

2) Understand employer requirements for a role or skill

3) Provide targeted learning recommendations to individuals

4) That can integrate with any walk of life

This technology currently doesn't exist in a single package. Without the technology, knowing these 4 elements is infeasible.

We help universities deliver personalised learning that's linked to industry and individual needs. Universities use Lumaway's software to:

1) Recognise learning gained from any imaginable context

2) Collaborate with employers to create role and skill profiles

3) Show learners potential career pathways, and learning journeys to bridge any gaps

Lumaway works in any educational setting, including the traditional degree, and workplace training. We currently help two universities:

1) Western Sydney University

2) Univeristy of Technology Sydney

Both are universities using the same software, in two different settings. Western Sydney University uses Lumaway to help degree students improve their employability. Whereas the University of Technology Sydney uses Lumaway to personalise reskilling journeys for workers undergoing displacement in Australia's corporates. Lumaway's ability to recognise learning in any setting, means universities can create learning journeys tailored to busy, disadvantaged learners.

Lumaway's AI powered software matches learners to skills, career opportunities, and learning journeys. We help universities with:

1) Skills Matching: Lumaway recognises learning in every imaginable context, including courses, work experience, and mentoring.

2) Career Pathing: Lumaway helps students explore and discover potential career paths. We base these recommendations on where the student is at, and real jobs data. Universities can link skill gaps with learning journeys to guide learning.

3) Curriculum Renewal: Lumaway's platform allows universities and employers to collaboratively create role and skill profiles.

The software is applied to both traditional university students, and in corporate workplaces, where universities need to help staff transition roles with tailored learning.

Lumaway applies state of the art research in artificial intelligence to the education field.

There currently exists another solution, to the best of our knowledge that:

1) Allows universities to recognise learning in contexts beyond traditional education and degrees, aside from traditional, expensive interviews. 

2) Allows universities to take the first capability, to create new learning models that integrate life experiences with theory.

3) Draws on the latest research in organisational psychology to help universities and employers articulate industry needs, to the level of detail instructional designers require to create learning.

4) Acts as an educational tool - that is, it helps students identify their future professional identifies, acknowledge learning gaps, and actively fill those while crafting a powerful employability narrative. 

We have successfully piloted and partnered with two universities to improve student employability and reskill displaced workers to new roles within corporates.

In both settings, universities are able to deliver a 'menu' of personalised learning interventions to learners that suit their goals and lifestyle. This has enabled new delivery models that are employer sponsored, tied to career benefits, and can be completed beyond the classroom.

The solution is gaining interest with broader employers, and we have commenced discussions with two other universities after the pilot - that are progressing quickly. We take these as signs our product is iterating towards solving the real issue at hand.

We're currently helping 50,000 students at Western Sydney University, and are set to help 8,000 people in our first year of work with University of Technology Sydney (UTS) reskill towards new roles at their employers.

In one year, we're expecting to sign on another two universities, and win two more corporates alongside UTS. This means another 110,000 people we will be helping.

In five years, we're aiming to help 10,000,000 people as a scale up.

This year, we're aiming to scale our offering with other universities in Australia, and begin to enter the United States market. This will allow us to make an impact to potentially up to 170 million people. 

As Australia and the United States have respected education offerings, we then will turn to bringing flexible, fair and equitable education to ASEAN. In five years, we're aiming to help 10,000,000 people actively. 

As we are an early stage business in Australia, we need to research the United States market, and learn the market dynamics there. In addition, to scale successfully, we will need to raise capital to build a team - however we are cognisant there are major talent shortages in the technology realm!

United States entry: We plan to connect with mentors, and see if our academic research partners can facilitate introductions. We will also encourage our customers to explore 'alliances' with prospective US universities and colleges.

Capital Raising: We have recently begun a process to talk with leading venture capitalists. However, we really respect firms like First Round Review and OpenView Partners in the US, so we're trying to grow organically currently.

Skill shortages: As an edutech startup, we believe the future of recruitment is in making, not finding talent. We will put our money where our mouths are. For every candidate we hire from traditional sources, we will experiment and create learning pathways for people with non traditional backgrounds to grow with us.

Our customers are universities in Australia. We will be looking to scale to other states beyond NSW this year. In addition, we are eyeing an entry to the United States market.

5 full time staff

3 advisors, and non-exec directors

We apply the latest thinking in artificial intelligence, organisational psychology, human resources, and education to our product. Universities look to us for integrating these perspectives to improve their education and employability offerings. 

In addition, few if any technology start ups like us have successfully, or have an appetite to conduct research with academics. This research not only boosts our credibility with the universities, and act as inbound marketing assets, but also serve as revenue generation and product iteration.

Our team:

Robert Hua: Background in educational technology and sales. Worked as a former recruiter. Founded a start up with a successful exit. 

Sanjay Narayana: Software engineer with a background in educational and financial technology.

Alexander Tran: Designer, with a background in venture capital.

Hiam Sakakini (Advisor): Ex APAC L&D lead of Google

Dr Karen WhittingHam: PHD in Neuroscience and Organisational Psychology. Reguarly consults large corporates on learning and development. Prior a director of TAFE, Australia's largest provider of vocational higher education.

Nick Lothian: AI expert, listed on Smart 100's list of top company directors.

University of Sydney: Research Partnership

Western Sydney University: Research and pilot partnership

University of Technology, Sydney: Channel partnership (deploying Lumaway to service corporate education and training market)

Our beneficiaries are learners and students needing credential pathways that are aligned to industry need, and their lifestyle requirements.

Our customers are universities, looking to create flexible learning pathways.

Our social impact, is to help anyone, find meaningful work, regardless of their background, with personalised pathways.

Our northern star metric is the number of people we help find meaningful employment. 

Our profits are invested back into:

1) Sponsoring severely disadvantaged learners

2) Providing work experience for learners with non traditional backgrounds

3) Planting a diverse range of vegetation and trees 

4) Business growth

A combination of software as a service subscriptions, scalable growth, and investments to cover any cashflow shortages until we are profitable. 

To improve student employability in degree settings, Lumaway charges universities $18 per learner, per anum.

To implement Lumaway in corporate workforce training, Lumaway charges universities $130 per learner.

To make a bigger impact, we need to reach a larger amount of universities and help them establish stronger relationships with their local employers.

ServiceNow can help Lumaway understand what talent professionals in industry are thinking, to help universities deliver a powerful solution. 

In addition, support on mapping and entering the US market would help Lumaway derisk its venture. 

Universities and large employers facing talent gaps, and hoping to collaborate with educational institutions to bridge these gaps.