Videos
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Ben Nelson on the Future of Higher Education -
Dialogue at UTokyo GlobE #6 [Mr.Ben Nelson (Founder of Minerva)]
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Ben Nelson - TEDxSF - Taking on the Ivy League
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Ben Nelson · Founder & CEO of Minerva | Ed on the Edge
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Uncharted Learning: AI, Adaptability & Success | ASU+GSV SHOW -
Keynote: AI in Education and its Impact on Society
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Revolutionizing Higher Education: A Conversation with Ben Nelson, Founder of Minerva University
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New Kids on the Block: New Universities Reinventing Education in the 21st Century | ASU+GSV 2024
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Socioeconomic Bias in College Admissions
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The Future of Education: Ben Nelson (Minerva)
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Varsity Blues Scandal: Ben Nelson (Minerva University) on Fair College Admissions – Ask Dr. Drew
![Dialogue at UTokyo GlobE #6 [Mr.Ben Nelson (Founder of Minerva)]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/LEgxAS00NCo/hqdefault.jpg)
Learn More About Ben Nelson
Ben Nelson is the founder, chairman and CEO of Minerva Project, founder and chancellor of Minerva University and a visionary with a passion to reinvent higher education.
Nelson started Minerva in 2011 with a goal of nurturing critical wisdom for the sake of the world through a systematic and evidence-based approach to learning. Over the past decade, he has build Minerva University into the most selective, innovative (ranked #1 according to the WURI rankings) and effective university in the U.S. Nelson has also developed a business, Minerva Project, to share Minerva’s unique approach with other like-minded institutions.
Prior to Minerva, Nelson spent more than ten years at Snapfish, where he helped build the company from startup to the world’s largest personal publishing service, with over 42 million transactions across 22 countries — nearly five times greater than its closest competitor. Prior to joining Snapfish, Nelson was president and CEO of Community Ventures, a network of locally branded portals for American communities.
Nelson’s passion for reforming undergraduate education was first sparked in college where he created a blueprint for curricular reform in his first year of school. Nelson went on to become the chair of the Student Committee on Undergraduate Education (SCUE), a pedagogical think tank at the University of Pennsylvania.
Ben Nelson is available to advise your organization via virtual and in-person consulting meetings, interactive workshops and customized keynotes through the exclusive representation of Stern Speakers & Advisors, a division of Stern Strategy Group®.
A Blueprint for Reforming Higher Education
When Ben Nelson, founder of Minerva University (MU) and founder and CEO of Minerva Project (MP), realized that traditional universities were fundamentally failing on their promises to develop students’ critical thinking skills and prepare them for the workforce of tomorrow, he set out to create an educational movement that pursued wisdom over knowledge. A pioneering entrepreneur and visionary with a passion to reinvent higher education, Nelson’s enlightening presentations reveal an alternative educational model that produces impressive outcomes for graduates. The numbers are clear: every Minerva University grad who applies for an elite graduate program is accepted by at least one of the programs they apply to; when they start businesses, they are ten times more likely than top Ivy League graduates to become a founder or co-founder of a funded startup. Nelson’s acclaimed book “Building the Intentional University” offers a blueprint for how other institutions can adopt the Minerva approach, which has generated vastly superior student outcomes in a more socioeconomically diverse student body, and higher rates of securing jobs post-graduation than those enrolled at elite, traditional institutions.
How to Increase the Likelihood of Innovation in Your Organization
How do executives lead change and innovation when they’re weighed down by the traditions of their sectors? Ben Nelson, an executive, entrepreneur and technology innovator, successfully disrupted multiple archaic and rigid industries to build the first post-AI university in the world (Minerva University) and the third largest global e-commerce platform (Snapfish, which was bought by HP). In this engaging talk, Nelson gives audiences a high-level view of modern innovation strategy and how it actually works, what they should or shouldn’t do when innovating and lessons on leading innovation within a larger organization.
The Skill Factor: What to Have and What to Acquire in an Age of Continuous Disruption
The skills people need to thrive in the workforce are quickly changing. What are the top skills today’s workers – the workers of the next generation – need to succeed, and how can schools and businesses work together to help the workforce learn them? In a post-AI world, says Ben Nelson, founder of Minerva University and founder and CEO of Minerva Project, employees’ roles will shift from creation to discernment, which entails learning and applying a series of skills that are not always intentionally taught. In this talk, Nelson will outline what the durable skills often broad-brushed as “critical thinking” are, and how institutions and organizations can effectively teach them.
Reimagining Organizational Structures
The future of work demands a new kind of organizational structure in businesses and institutions, but it can be hard to feel confident moving forward without an example of how to think differently. Before remote work was even in the corporate lexicon, Ben Nelson, an executive, entrepreneur, founder of Minerva University and founder & CEO of Minerva Project, built a mission-driven company focused on finding the best talent, anywhere. While he is based in Silicon Valley, his employees are home-based between Thailand and Trinidad, spanning almost every time zone. In this talk, Nelson shares how to create a mission-first culture where highly skilled employees have autonomy and drive, and where excellence in outcomes is not compromised.
