Semilla EDUCUN

Corporacion unificada de educacion superior

Semilla EDUCUN

Semilla EDUCUN is a digital platform that connects rural youth with educational and employment opportunities through immersive technology.

Bogotá, Colombia

COL

Hybrid of for-profit and nonprofit

In Colombia, over one million children and youth in rural areas face structural barriers to accessing quality education—similar to many historically excluded communities. Only 2.6% of rural youth reach higher education or secure formal employment. But this is not the only barrier: the absence of programs near their communities limits access, and dropout rates in regions like Chocó exceed 80%. The lack of connectivity, culturally relevant content, trained teachers, and clear pathways to technical certification severely limits their opportunities. Globally, 244 million youth are out of school (UNESCO, 2023), and millions more receive education disconnected from their culture, identity, or economic reality. This exclusion perpetuates poverty, drives forced migration, and weakens ties to community and territory. Traditional education systems also rarely offer critical 21st-century skills such as critical thinking, digital literacy, robotics, or artificial intelligence—further distancing these communities from the future economy and limiting their access to decent work. Semilla EDUCUN responds to this exclusion through an immersive, hybrid, and multilingual platform that works offline. It offers certified technical education rooted in local needs, connecting rural youth not only to solid employment pathways, but also to entrepreneurship, cultural identity, and long-term territorial development.

Semilla EDUCUN is a hybrid platform that offers both online and offline content, providing officially recognized technical education in Colombia, multilingual learning resources, and immersive experiences that enhance learning for children and youth in rural areas and conflict-affected territories. It operates through three interconnected components: 1. Offline Educational Platform A mobile app and learning environment that function without internet access. It offers content in Spanish and local languages, with a practical focus on critical thinking, digital literacy, educational robotics, basic AI, and socioemotional development. 2. Immersive Simulator Virtual reality modules that recreate real-life scenarios from the territory—such as a harvest, a rural business, or a community fair—allowing students to learn from everyday experiences, closely tied to their environment and culture. 3. Technical Certification Pathway Young people can enroll in official technical training programs focused on areas like agroindustry, rural tourism, or digital services. All content is linked to real employment and entrepreneurship opportunities. Semilla EDUCUN also trains teachers and families in digital skills, promoting intergenerational learning rooted in local identity. It is deployed through the national digital infrastructure of CUN, ensuring scalability and long-term sustainability.

Semilla EDUCUN is designed for children and youth from rural areas affected by armed conflict, as well as Indigenous and Afro-descendant communities living in territories marked by poverty, historical exclusion, and violence. Our main target population faces structural inequality, poor or no internet connectivity, and is often located far from urban centers. Through this initiative, we continue to train teachers and deliver educational content that can be adapted to their language, culture, and customs. In many rural areas, children must walk more than three hours to reach school, making continued attendance extremely difficult. To pursue a technical degree, they often have to migrate to large cities, disconnected from their territory. Moreover, the education they receive is often basic, irrelevant, and lacks formal recognition in the labor market. Semilla EDUCUN addresses these gaps through a hybrid, multilingual, and offline platform that provides access to relevant educational content and certified technical training without the need to migrate. It also trains teachers and families, engaging the entire community in the learning process. The solution not only improves access to employment but also strengthens cultural identity and territorial belonging, offering accessible, locally rooted education with real value.