THE CARIBBEAN EDUCATION

“ONLINE UNIVERSITY” CREATED BY CUBANS LIVING IN MIAMI

“ONLINE UNIVERSITY” CREATED BY CUBANS LIVING IN MIAMI
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Avellon Williams 

HAVANA, CUBA- The Cuban people have been finding creative ways to better their lives in a country where access to education is limited.

In this case, three Cubans living in Miami have created an online university so that everyone can obtain an education, regardless of their financial circumstances.

EducUp, an EdTech company, was founded by three Cubans. A mathematician, a software engineer, and an entrepreneur in the field of online business make up the trio.

Carlos Raul Garcia, an engineer in Computer Sciences and one of the project’s founders, says: “We are three Cuban-American founders living in Miami. We are entrepreneurs, educators, and engineers.”

He’s joined by Yamel Barroso, a businessman who established businesses in Spain and the United States, and Yusnier Viera, a math whiz and mental calculator who holds three Guinness World Records for mental calendar calculations.

The team is much larger and is made up of engineers, designers, professors, most of whom are Cubans living in Panama, the UK, Spain, Bulgaria, and Havana.

Learning is made fun with EducUp /Courtesy/

Since 2019, EducUp has offered technological solutions to education-related problems. With this platform, learning is made fun, easy, and accessible through a mobile app that can be downloaded for free.

According to Carlos Raul, the university offers more than 50 courses in subjects such as English, German, Portuguese, math for all levels, personal finances, digital marketing, etc.

In order to accomplish this, they developed their own teaching method: GET (gamification + educators + tutors). Their approach combines courses taught by world-renowned educators with tailor-made learning from a tutor, all in a fun environment, so students can both learn and have fun.

Since 2015, the founders had been working on other projects, which gradually built the foundation of today’s platform. One million students in 175 countries are expected to be served by the platform in the near future.

Carlos Raul speaks on EducUp past, present, and future

“Creating a startup is an emotion-filled,passionate experience of hard work. People often say it’s an emotional rollercoaster and a time of uncertainty. It’s like jumping off a cliff and assembling an airplane as you’re falling, “ Raul said.

“It is definitely a chaotic experience at times, full of action and challenges. But it’s also enriching, you learn and grow so much as a person and as a professional. Whatever the outcome, you come out of it a lot stronger.”

Recently, the team was selected to be a part of On Deck, a startup accelerator. 

“We are delighted that we have been selected for ODX, as it represents not only EducUp’s first external capital but also the support of one of the world’s best networks of founders, consultants, and investors.”

/Courtesy/

In the first half of this year, the team aims to raise seed capital and reach four million students by the end of the year. As an education company, its vision is to change the way people learn, making learning interesting and enjoyable for billions of people around the world.

The team was born and raised in Cuba and is very interested in bringing their platform to Cuba. Currently, several students are studying English in Cuba. This is the primary objective for the Cuban audience living on the island. 

“There are some challenges, of course, such as the need to use the Internet (we’re working on getting around this soon) and the payment method,” Raul said.

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Avellon Williams