Did you know students spend only 20% of their time in the classroom? This means they are only focused on dedicated learning 20% of the time. That leaves huge opportunities for creating learning spaces outside of classrooms. Lifelong learning doesn’t only happen behind a desk, it should and could happen at the grocery store, the bus stop, or anywhere else. That is what Sebastien Turbot is dedicated to unveiling with his work. To build learning ecosystems at the city level, beyond traditional educational models. Sebastien is the CEO and chief strategist of EKO6, a Canadian-based consultancy that guides governments, cities, businesses, and civil society, and creating, engaging platforms that turn ideas into action, as well as a research fellow at WISE, the World Innovation Summit for Education. 

Sebastien believes education must be less siloed and support learner agency.  

Big Takeaways:  

• (8:00) “We have 21st-century students with 20th-century teachers, a 19th-century curriculum, and an 18th-century school calendar... how do we move away from that? Making sure that learning and education is less siloed, more connected to the real world. It's really about lifelong learning.” 
• (18:00) “This link between formal and informal really encourages a skills-based learning approach...It's hard skills, soft skills, social, emotional skills, collaboration, communication, creativity, empathy, foresight, [and] adaptability. So skills are really front and center of this learning ecosystems conversation.” 
• (28:00)“For me, personalized learning has been kind of taken over by the tech conversation [its] how do we develop software and algorithms that can push content to me depending on how the software assesses my level in any given topic... [instead,] how can we design systems where the learners are really in the driver's seat of their own learning?” 

Follow Sebastian: on Twitter @sturbo 

Linkedin: @Sebastien Turbot 

Follow @ekosixcommunities 

WISE - World Innovation Summit For Education