Minerva Project began with a clear and audacious vision: build the best university in the world, using first principles to reinvent the entire higher education model. Today, its flagship, Minerva University, is recognized as the most selective and the most innovative university in the world.
That same spirit animates Minerva Project as we collaborate to realize the second part of our vision: helping other institutions reinvent themselves.
Minerva Project has propelled the creation of dozens of new programs, colleges, and entirely new universities. Our collaborations have impacted tens of thousands of learners, and the efforts of our partners are reshaping entire global education systems.
Our focus on global education reform fulfills our ultimate mission—nurturing critical wisdom for the sake of the world.
Minerva Project is established with $25 million in seed investment from Benchmark Capital, the single largest investment the storied venture firm had made.
Our founder, Ben Nelson, recognizes that combining learning science with digital technology to create a wholesale redesign of what, how, and where education occurs, has the potential to close not only the global skills gap, but also remedy the dearth of critical wisdom in the world.
Minerva Project gets its first round of funding, begins hiring its founding team, and begins developing Forum™.
Minerva Project enters into an alliance with the Keck Graduate Institute (KGI) to incubate Minerva Schools and begins development of its new university curriculum.
Minerva Schools at KGI (MSKGI) admits its first undergraduate class.
Building the Intentional University is published. Our book tells the story of our foundations and offers a framework for rebuilding higher education from the ground up for the twenty-first century.
Minerva Project establishes its first higher education partnership with the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST).
MSKGI graduates its first class of undergraduate students.
Minerva Institute receives pledges of more than $30 million to fund the establishment of Minerva University.
Minerva Project hands over operations of MSKGI to Minerva Institute to independently govern the university.
Minerva Project begins its first partnership in Europe with the Esade School of Business in Spain.
Minerva Project collaborates with Minerva Institute to develop and introduce the Minerva Baccalaureate high school curriculum.
Minerva Project launches thewith its first partner high schools.
Minerva Project begins its first graduate partnership in the United States, with Berkeley Law.
Minerva Institute is granted accreditation by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges Senior College and University Commission (WSCUC) and begins operating Minerva University independently.
Minerva Project begins its partnership with Zayed University to design and launch the first interdisciplinary program in the Middle East.
Minerva Project also begins its first undergraduate partnership in the United States with the University of Miami, launching a new interdisciplinary degree in Innovation, Technology, and Design,
Minerva University is named the Most Innovative University in the World by World's Universities with Real Impact (WURI).
Minerva Project announces the creation of its first new institution in Latin America, Universidad de la Libertad — an innovative, multi-generational learning campus in Mexico City. Following this, Minerva also begins partnership with Anáhuac Online and Escuela Bancaria y Comercial (EBC), both in Mexico.
Minerva University is once again named Most Innovative University in the World by WURI for the second consecutive year.
Minerva Project is established with $25 million in seed investment from Benchmark Capital, the single largest investment the storied venture firm had made.
Our founder, Ben Nelson, recognizes that combining learning science with digital technology to create a wholesale redesign of what, how, and where education occurs, has the potential to close not only the global skills gap, but also remedy the dearth of critical wisdom in the world.
Minerva Project gets its first round of funding, begins hiring its founding team, and begins developing Forum™.
Minerva Project enters into an alliance with the Keck Graduate Institute (KGI) to incubate Minerva Schools and begins development of its new university curriculum.
Minerva Schools at KGI (MSKGI) admits its first undergraduate class.
Building the Intentional University is published. Our book tells the story of our foundations and offers a framework for rebuilding higher education from the ground up for the twenty-first century.
Minerva Project establishes its first higher education partnership with the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST).
MSKGI graduates its first class of undergraduate students.
Minerva Institute receives pledges of more than $30 million to fund the establishment of Minerva University.
Minerva Project hands over operations of MSKGI to Minerva Institute to independently govern the university.
Minerva Project begins its first partnership in Europe with the Esade School of Business in Spain.
Minerva Project collaborates with Minerva Institute to develop and introduce the Minerva Baccalaureate high school curriculum.
Minerva Project launches the Minerva Baccalaureate with its first partner high schools.
Minerva Project begins its first graduate partnership in the United States, with Berkeley Law.
Minerva Institute is granted accreditation by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges Senior College and University Commission (WSCUC) and begins operating Minerva University independently.
Minerva Project begins its partnership with Zayed University to design and launch the first interdisciplinary program in the Middle East.
Minerva Project also begins its first undergraduate partnership in the United States with the University of Miami, launching a new interdisciplinary degree in Innovation, Technology, and Design.
Minerva University is named the Most Innovative University in the World by World's Universities with Real Impact (WURI).
Minerva Project announces the creation of its first new institution in Latin America, Universidad de la Libertad — an innovative, multi-generational learning campus in Mexico City. Following this, Minerva also begins partnership with Anáhuac Online and Escuela Bancaria y Comercial (EBC), both in Mexico.
Minerva University is once again named Most Innovative University in the World by WURI for the second consecutive year.
Minerva Project continues to expand its impact with new partnerships across Latin America (CETYS Universidad, Universidad Peruana de Ciencias Aplicadas, Universidad de Las Américas), North America (Bentley University, Quinnipiac University, Montclair State University, The Yale School of Management Executive Education), and Asia (Handong Global University, University of Tokyo).
Minerva University is again named Most Innovative University in the World by WURI for a third year.
Ours is a humanist calling. We recognize that elevating learning quality in turn elevates society. We are here to prepare the next generations of leaders, innovators, and global citizens with critical wisdom — the ability to readily apply knowledge to unfamiliar challenges, to make informed decisions, and to continuously consider the interconnected nature of life on earth — in order to enact positive, consequential change.
We recognize that our mission is ambitious and cannot be accomplished by one organization alone, regardless of its scale or success. Our vision is inclusive: to galvanize a movement of like-minded visionaries, who are committed to meaningful education reform and ready to undertake the difficult work needed to achieve it.
By expanding through partnerships, we can foster a heterogenous ecosystem of individuals and organizations, which shares a belief in the importance of critical wisdom. We can act expansively and urgently, driving change in multiple arenas at once. We can harness the power of multiple minds to tackle the massive and increasingly complex challenges we face.
Minerva is focused on accelerating the acquisition of critical wisdom by developing universal skills instead of imparting information. Our approach, a direct application of the educational sciences, dramatically improves learning outcomes compared to traditional systems, including better understanding, retention, recall, and the ability to transfer knowledge across domains and contexts.
We believe that ad-hoc or small-scale interventions, which target specific aspects of the system are doomed to incrementalism or outright failure. It is only through comprehensive reform that addresses curriculum, instruction, and assessment — as well as surrounding concerns such as equitable admissions and sustainable economics — that we can address the full scope of the change society needs.
