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Experiential Learning Made EVEN EASIER! Introducing CapSource’s Customizable Software Platform: CapSource CONNECT

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Written by Capsource

Experiential learning is rapidly becoming a major focus for both colleges and employers. According to a study conducted by Strada Education & Gallup Poll, only 11% of employers believe that students graduating from universities have the skills and competencies needed to succeed in their role in the 21st century economy. In an attempt to bridge this “skills gap,” CapSource has established a method to help universities and their students match and collaborate with innovative companies through project-based experiential learning engagements. Through these immersive hands-on learning projects, students receive valuable on-the-job exposure and training in exciting, fast-growing industries and occupations, while employers gain access to fresh solutions and a consistent pipeline of next-gen talent.

 

Over the past two years, CapSource has served more than 30+ higher education institutions by connecting them with 100+ host companies, reaching over 1,500 students located at campuses around the world through on-site and virtual engagements, including Site Visits, Co-Ops, Capstones, and Live Business Cases. Clients have included the University of Notre Dame, the University of Illinois, Pace University, and the Copenhagen Business Academy. Up until now, CapSource has enabled students to undertake projects through their managed services model, which is an on-demand company sourcing and project design service for university customers.

 

In an effort to expand experiential learning offerings to even more schools and students, CapSource is proud to announce the launch of their CONNECT Platform, which is software enabling educators and school administrators to source and design their own project-based learning collaborations with third-party industry stakeholders. This new “white label” product uses CapSource’s proprietary process and technology to coordinate high-impact, custom experiential learning engagements.

Here is a quick overview of the new product, as well as how you can learn more if you’re interested…

How It Works

The new Software as a Service (SaaS) model adapts the existing CapSource platform to each school’s branding in order to provide them with a native, home-grown experience and feel. The goal of the platform is to create a centralized way for schools to build and manage host company relationships, market available opportunities to internal and external stakeholders, and quickly design experiential learning project scopes in order to ensure all parties are aligned on goals and objectives before engaging.

 

Using CapSource’s white label experiential learning SaaS platform will yield many benefits for our school users. By providing school faculty and administrators with access to our specially designed tools and process, coordinating and communicating with industry stakeholders will be easier than ever before. Some of the key CapSource Connect features include:

 

  • INTERNAL MARKETING TOOLS: Explain experiential learning benefits and opportunities to educators and/or students.
  • EXTERNAL MARKETING TOOLS: Attract industry stakeholders to work with students and faculty on experiential learning engagements.
  • STAKEHOLDER TRACKING & RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT: Profile and track progress with key stakeholders involved in the experiential learning process including faculty, students, and industry third-parties.
  • ENGAGEMENT DESIGN TOOLS: Establish engagement objectives using customizable engagement formats and templates.
  • ENGAGEMENT LAUNCH TOOLS: Establish a collaboration timeline, organize background materials, and execute key legal documents
  • ORGANIZED REFERENCE MATERIALS: Showcase successfully completed engagements, high caliber student deliverables, and stakeholder testimonials.

The Benefits of Using CapSource’s White Label Platform

Schools that integrate experiential learning into their graduate and undergraduate studies are typically faced with many challenges related to the quality and scalability of their programs. With CapSource Connect, for the first time ever, schools can empower their experiential learning coordinators with the tools needed to drastically scale the amount of industry collaboration they’re able to organize. In addition, using CapSource’s software enables school coordinators to ensure collaboration goals and timelines are clearly defined, which leads to better overall outcomes and more satisfied stakeholders. Some of the other key benefits of using CapSource Connect to coordinate experiential learning collaborations include:

 

  • Save money and time by reducing the number of resources required to recruit industry partners and design projects
  • Better track, manage, and market program benefits to all stakeholders including alumni
  • Organize and showcase your school’s successful track record and network of industry collaborators
  • Generate revenue by charging host companies to participate in collaborations

What Can You Customize on the Platform?

Rather than building an experiential learning platform and website from scratch, CapSource Connect empowers school stakeholders with a turn-key solution, including a suite of tools and templates designed specially for coordinating industry collaborations. Plus, you can brand it loud and proud while customizing the following pages and features. Check out this sample we organized for SUNY Potsdam’s Center for Applied Learning:

 

You can learn more about the customization and implementation process on our new CapSource CONNECT overview page.

 

Staying True to Our Mission

Our mission is to make experiential learning easier to coordinate and scale for schools and companies, thus providing more opportunities for students to engage in immersive, impactful, real-world learning experiences all over the globe. We believe in the power of using industry stakeholders to provide students with a relevant context to try new things and gain reference worthy work experience while enrolled in school. We hope that with our new tool, more students will be able to identify what they’re most passionate about by diving in and solving real challenges for real mentors at real companies of all different shapes and sizes.

Interested in Getting Started?

CapSource will be running a number of limited pilots for Fall 2019. If you’re interested in learning more or signing up, please schedule a demo with our team!