Episode description

Overview

In this episode of EdUp EdTech, we interviewed Marco De Rossi, CEO of WeSchool. De Rossi shares his journey into the EdTech space, which began when he was a dissatisfied student who wanted to study computer science but found no resources at his school. This led him to create a website for free computer science education. WeSchool, which started five years ago, is a community learning platform that focuses on people interacting rather than just consuming content.

De Rossi believes that technology is not enough to change education; it's all about people. He also shares about WeSchool's upcoming features, including a teaching assistant that predicts dropout rates and a system that emits learning credentials on the blockchain. De Rossi encourages everyone to be confident in their ability to teach and urges EdTech entrepreneurs to be creative and open-minded about the future of education.

More About Marco De Rossi

Since 2016, WeSchool has grown to over 70 employees across three countries, closed a 6.4M€ Series A funding round, been used by over 2 million learners and has been recommended as one of the three platforms by the Italian Ministry of Education for distance learning (alongside Microsoft and Google).

At age 32, Marco is a champion of digital education. His passion for education started as a teenager. At the age of 14, he asked his teachers where he could learn how to code. Everyone around him shook his head. This frustration prompted him to found his first free online school, the “OilProject” to self-enroll himself and learn about the topics he wanted, on his terms.

This innovative spirit and builder personality pushes Marco to pursue disruptive ideas in a quest to deliver meaningful change through technological innovation at times when common sense and the status quo do not necessarily approve.

He strongly believes that education is the only “social technology” that can enable anybody to become independent Knowledge Age citizens and thinkers. In the post-industrial and tech-driven age, “knowledge” is the weapon to stay relevant and survive, while education is the technology that will empower individuals to be independent, autonomous, and empowered.

This mission has come to life time and again. In 2004, he delivered education via videos on the Internet when YouTube didn’t exist. In 2016, he betted on blended learning via a mobile app when it was illegal to use mobile phones in physical classrooms. During the Covid crisis, he shifted his attention to training educators to adapt to teaching in an online environment.

Along the way, WeSchool has partnered with leading companies, such as:

- J.P. Morgan

- Vodafone

- AWS

- IKEA

- Multiple NGOs and educational institutions

to deliver educational projects that align with WeSchool’s vision. Beyond that, the ed-tech powerhouse has worked with the European Ministry of Education and UNESCO to support the development of educational systems globally.

Beyond his expertise, Marco is a philosopher at heart and is fond of discussing social impact, Web3, contemporary arts, wine, and AI.

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Connect with Marco De Rossi on LinkedIn and Follow WeSchool on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.  

Episode Sponsor: Goosechase - At Goosechase experience is everything. Originally inspired by scavenger hunts, Goosechase is an online platform that enables educators, schools, and districts to engage, activate, and educate their communities through delightful interactive experiences.

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