Thread by @kunksed

The purpose of college / university is to impart education. However, most end up paying for being a part of the brand -- which is nothing but the net worth of the alumni network.

What's the future going to do to the gap between the intended use & actual use of institutions?

There's the skill development aspect as well as the networking aspect involved. Solving problems together is undoubtedly a great way to bond, develop trust and be invested in each other's futures.

Universities get paid $$$ for mediating these interactions.

The fine balance between building + maintaining an exclusive network, making diverse bets as well as being open enough to stay profitable is what a university has to figure out. As of now, they've been pretty geographically restricted.

Universities also support the bulk of scholars. Keep in mind that most institutes do not engage people who are actively contributing to knowledge creation. Such institutes barely help with networking or skills. There's very little that they have going on for them.

The obvious : the internet has made information accessible and social networks very powerful. A majority of institutes ought to feel threatened by this because it stands to shake up the very fundamentals of higher ed.

The not so obvious : Information comes free. Knowledge requires efforts & comes at a cost -- can be bought. But the magic ingredients are the networks : they bring in the wisdom. And wisdom is priceless.

Essentially, how does one make a model to mediate these networks at scale?