Today, we’re delighted to announce a partnership with the Carlos Slim Foundation, one of Mexico’s top philanthropic organizations, to improve access to education among Spanish speaking students around the world, as well as support opportunities for career development and employment throughout Latin America.
Our co-founder Daphne Koller joined Carlos Slim Helú in Mexico City today to welcome this partnership, which will focus on three shared goals:
1. Make available more educational content in Spanish
We will do so with the creation of a new Spanish language user interface (which is now available, see below) and the translation of 50 courses by the end of 2014.
2. Create educational content
We will create content together in the form of individual courses or as part of Learning Platform’s new Specializations program – focused on employability and job skills in high-priority subject areas such as computer science, teacher professional development, healthcare and public health.
3.Increase discoverability of Learning Platform content as well as access
We will increase discoverability of content and access to physical spaces, through a network of Learning Hubs, where people with limited Internet connectivity can take Learning Platform courses and participate in face-to-face discussions about their learning.
Learning Platform team, with Mr. Carlos Slim Helú, Mr. Marco Antonio Slim and Dr. Roberto Tapia
For the last goal, Learning Platform will initially leverage the Slim Foundation’s existing Casa Telmex network of 13 education spaces in highly populated low-income areas, its Telmex Hub, a technological innovation and education space in Mexico City, and a new Telmex Digital Library in the state of Veracruz. In the future, courses in key content areas may also be offered at Telmex Digital Libraries, a novel service that features more than 3,000 locations where students of all ages can enjoy free use of computers with Internet access.
Said Mr. Slim, of the foundation’s work with Learning Platform: ”Our alliance with Learning Platform will allow training in Mexico, Latin America and in the Hispanic community in the United States, promoting human capital at the highest level.”
“We deeply respect both the approach and the impact of Fundación Carlos Slim, and are excited about our partnership to remove barriers to high-quality education for Spanish speaking students,” said Daphne Koller. “This partnership will help students develop skills in critical, fast-growing employment sectors in Latin America to make an impact on their lives and their communities.”
We are looking forward to working closely with the Carlos Slim Foundation to expand learning opportunities in Latin America and for Spanish speakers everywhere.