Learning and work are disconnected. 

Work-Based Learning Marketplaces bridge the gap between learners and meaningful careers.

Explore in this new whitepaper "Economic Opportunity for All" from Riipen and Riipen Press, how a novel, digital-first, approach entering the mainstream helps the 40% of recent graduates experiencing underemployment while expanding equity–at scale.

What's Inside

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About Riipen

Riipen is North America’s largest online work-integrated learning marketplace, where organizations of all sizes connect with educators to collaborate with university and college students on short-term projects and competitions.

Our mission is to “enable all students from all backgrounds and geographies to access work-integrated experiential learning (WIEL) to support learners of all backgrounds to bridge the skills gap, gain career clarity, network with potential employers, and find jobs they love."

Examine the current landscape on education and training, the learning and career gap, and how work-based learning provides a framework to build successful interventions.

Analyze a novel approach to creating a much-needed bridge between education + training and meaningful work + successful careers, particularly for underserved learners

Look at a work-based learning marketplace in practice with early outcomes data and case studies from the Riipen marketplace.

Learning and work are disconnected. 

Work-Based Learning Marketplaces bridge the gap between learners and meaningful careers.

Explore in this whitepaper from Riipen and Riipen Press, how a novel, digital-first, approach entering the mainstream helps the 40% of recent graduates experiencing underemployment while expanding equity–at scale.

What's Inside

About Riipen

About Riipen

Riipen is the world's largest online work-based learning marketplace, where organizations of all sizes connect with post-secondary institutions to collaborate with learners on short-term projects and internships.

Our mission is to eliminate underemployment by enabling access for learners from all backgrounds and geographies to work-based learning (WBL) opportunities, so they can bridge the skills gap, gain career clarity, network with potential employers, and find jobs they love.

About Riipen

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Whitepaper Coming Soon • Receive early access by RSVP'ing for the panel discussion above.

You'll automatically receive a copy of the paper by RSVP'ing.

Your handbook to cutting-edge, industry-relevant education for all learners.

In collaboration with Emerge Education and JISC, you’ll learn the specific strategies of leading innovators in implementing employer-university collaborations at scale.

Learn More→

Your Experiential Learning Playbook

You’ll learn specific strategies to scale experiential learning across your institution with practical examples to help you tackle this challenge head-on.

Learn More→

Learn practical strategies from WBL experts

In September 2021, we held an interactive panel discussion with work-based learning experts on how institutional leaders can prepare for the future of experiential education, with a focus on advancing equity and opportunity.

Join Dr. Karen Bakker and renowned experts in work-based learning as we explore this new whitepaper in the context of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and a rapidly changing education and training sector.

Following a presentation of the findings, our panelists will discuss why a marketplace uniquely addresses traditional shortcomings in work-based learning from the perspective of institutional leaders both in academia and industry.

In closing, the audience will be able to submit questions live or in advance to panelists and contribute to advancing the conversation of improving equity and opportunity in education and training amidst a K-shaped economic downturn.

Our Panelists

Iris Palmer is a senior advisor for higher education and workforce with the Education Policy program at New America. She works closely with the Center on Education and Labor and provides research and analysis on the ethical use of predictive analytics in higher education, apprenticeship, community colleges, and adults enrolled in higher education. Palmer previously worked at the National Governors Association on postsecondary issues. There she helped states strengthen the connection between higher education and the workforce, support competency-based systems, use data from effectiveness and efficiency metrics, and improve licensure for veterans. Prior to joining NGA, she worked at HCM Strategists on the Lumina Foundation’s initiative to develop innovative higher education models, including new technologies and competency-based approaches. She received her undergraduate degree in political science from Goucher College and her master’s of public policy from George Mason University.

Iris Palmer

Senior Advisor for Higher Education and Workforce, New America

Dr. Rufus Glasper

President and CEO, League for Innovation in the Community College

Rufus Glasper is President and CEO of the League for Innovation in the Community College, an international nonprofit organization with a mission to cultivate innovation in the community college environment in a continuing effort to advance the community college field and make a positive difference for students and communities. Dr. Glasper, Chancellor Emeritus of the Maricopa Community Colleges, served as Chancellor from 2003 through February 2016, and held district leadership positions for three decades. Dr. Glasper earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Luther College, and a master’s and advanced degrees in school business administration from Northern Illinois University. He received his doctorate of philosophy degree in higher education finance from the University of Arizona.

Dr. Karen Bakker

VP, Strategic Initiatives, Riipen

Dr. Karen Bakker is Riipen’s VP of Strategic Initiatives. A Rhodes Scholar with a PhD from Oxford, Karen is a serial entrepreneur, and also a research Professor and Director at the University of British Columbia. She has been a guest lecturer at Berkeley, Harvard, and Oxford, and an Annenberg Fellow at Stanford. Karen is also a member of the boards of the National Research Council, the New Digital Research Infrastructure Organization, and the International Institute for Sustainable Development.

Register for the Webinar→RSVP for the Panel Discussion→

Learn from top WBL experts on how to build more equitable experiences for all learners–at scale.

Dr. Michael Bednar

Director, Experiential Learning, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Michael Bednar is an associate professor of business administration, academic director of Experiential Learning, and Robert & Karen May Faculty Fellow at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. His primary research interests include corporate governance, executive leadership, and the relationship between organizations and the media. Bednar joined the University of Illinois in 2008 after receiving his PhD in strategic management from the University of Texas at Austin. He also holds a BS from Brigham Young University, graduating cum laude in 2002. Bednar has received numerous teaching awards, including the Gies College of Business Excellence in Graduate Teaching Award in 2019 and the Dean’s Impact Award in 2018. He serves on the editorial review boards for Strategic Management Journal and for Academy of Management Journal.

WHITEPAPER