MIT Solve

Step 2

Our Solution

SRA Hub: EPOC Pathways

Our solution's stage of development:

Pre-Seed

Our solution:

SRA Hub: EPOC Pathways leverages partnerships and SRA’s proven framework of Exploration, Preparation, Opportunity, and Connection to offer a blended, scalable, online/offline learning community that enables low-income youth from marginalized communities to develop the knowledge, technical skills, and professional networks needed to thrive in the 21st-century workforce.

Our pitch:

Solution

SRA Hub: EPOC Pathways offers a blended online/offline approach to workforce preparation for low-income youth. A badging/certification system incentivizes and guides students through SRA’s proven framework of Exploration, Preparation, Opportunity, and Connections, culminating in a portfolio of soft skills, 21st-century skills, high-demand computer/tech skills, hands-on experience, and a professional network for maximum workforce-entry success.

Addressing the Challenge

SRA Hub: EPOC Pathways is an online resource and interactive student community that leverages SRA’s 20 years of college and career success for low-income youth, and SRA’s extensive network of partner companies/NPOs. Support from professional Online Advisors, student peers, and volunteer mentors helps students overcome personal/logistical challenges and keeps them moving through SRA’s framework of:

Exploration

Online career assessment, online informational interviews with STEM/tech professionals, video and on-site tours at STEM/tech companies, and social media take-overs (i.e. “Day in the Life of an Intern”).

Preparation

Webinars, videos, tutorials, and customizable templates build soft/life skills (resumes/Linkedin profiles, professional etiquette, time management, financial literacy) and 21st-century skills (flexibility/adaptability, creative problem-solving, etc.)
Collaborations with companies/NPOs teach high-demand tech skills (i.e. Java, Python, Salesforce) via free access to online courses/tutorials and certification.
SRA Hub Interview Preparation Tool walks students through interview prep activities, culminating in a 30-minute prep session with an Online Advisor.

Opportunity

Online Internship and Job Board, searchable by region, skill, company, etc.

Connection

Online system for remote career mentoring and networking
Online system matches career mentors and students by region for on-site career mentoring and job shadowing

Scaling for Worldwide Change

SRA Hub: EPOC Pathways works well as a purely online community and service that can engage students and companies across the globe. For deeper impact, regions across the globe can replicate site-based components (i.e. company tours, internships).

The problem:

Low-income youth--especially those whose parents did not attend college--face disproportionate obstacles to employability. Often they have a limited occupational frame of reference, lack access to schools and education programs that teach the skills employers seek, and reduced social capital (i.e. professional networks, educational and social backgrounds needed to understand peer references). Critically, low-income youth have limited access to the technology necessary for developing basic computer skills and high-demand tech skills required for workforce entry. SRA Hub: EPOC Pathways is free, mobile optimized, builds skills and social capital, and teaches flexibility, critical thinking, and creative problem-solving.

Why our solution will solve the problem:

Our project builds on SRA’s 20-year track record of helping low-income youth get to and through college and into the workforce.

Launched in 2014, the SRA Hub takes our “in-person” program to scale with 12,000 registered users and 46 partner schools/NPOs. Free and mobile optimized, SRA Hub: EPOC Pathways is the next iteration. It upscales existing SRA Hub components (i.e. webinars/videos/templates, interview prep system), adds new online features (badging, Internship/job board, remote career mentoring, etc.), integrates on-site components (company tours, career fairs, etc.), and leverages existing online tech skills-building programs for maximum impact.

Who recommended you to Solve - or - how did you find Solve?

Mike Heimowitz, Web Producer, Atlassian SF

Step 3

Step 4

The technologies we employ:

Consumer-facing software (mobile applications, cloud services)
Digital systems (machine learning, control systems, big data)

Why our solution is unique:

SRA Hub: EPOC Pathways was developed to meet the needs and learning styles of hundreds of thousands of low-income youth and integrates online technologies such as Salesforce Communities, video conferencing, and Snapcat to offer one of the most dynamic, interactive learning communities available. SRA Hub: EPOC Pathways is unique for its hybrid, online/offline approach and 24-hour access to online professional advisors and mentors who are experienced in helping students overcome personal and logistical obstacles common among low-income youth: challenges balancing work/life/school, lack of confidence in tackling challenging curricula, family stresses, social isolation within the tech field, etc.

Why our solution is human-centered:

The SRA Hub was conceived by and developed in collaboration with a team of first-generation college graduates from low-income families, including SRA alumni. The SRA Hub already has an active community of 12,000 low-income high school, vocational, and college students who are communicating with each other and a five-member team of professional and diverse Online Advisors, including SRA alumni. The new SRA Hub: EPOC Pathways further engages students with each other via social media and with career mentors through a new remote mentor system for maximum network building.

How people will access our solution:

SRA already has 46 high school/NPO partners that are using the SRA Hub with their students. We are building new partnerships with high schools, school districts, city governments, community colleges, NPOs, and Promise Programs that serve high percentages of low-income youth to introduce the SRA Hub: EPOC Pathway to those students who need it most. Social media and traditional media/marketing campaigns will supplement our outreach. SRA Hub: EPOC Pathways will be free to students, made possible by modest fees charged to partners, corporate sponsorships, grants, and highly targeted advertising opportunities.

Technology-Readiness Level:

1-3 (Formulation)

Our website

http://studentsrisingabove.org/

Step 5

Our organization:

Non-Profit

Where we are located:

United States

How we will sustain our team financially:

The SRA Hub offers an affordable and scalable way for schools to supplement their limited resources for college counseling and career readiness training. Already, 12 of our 46 high schools/NPOs are paying modest memberships fee for the SRA Hub. (Student can log on for free and do not need to attend a partner school. Membership fees provide teacher training and tech support.) We are developing a sliding membership scale so that we can offer the SRA Hub at a higher price-point for higher-resourced schools to supplement lower-cost memberships for low-resourced schools while keeping the service free for students. Once we have a few years of outcomes data, we can demonstrate product ROI to increase access to large corporate sponsorships and national grants. Eventually, we will develop a low-cost SRA: EPOC Pathways App and new product features for which we can charge--while keeping critical components of our product free.

The factors limiting our success:

There is no limit to how many students and community partners can join SRA Hub: EPOC Pathways. But because the product is human-centered and responsive to student requests for individual support, maintaining a student/Online Advisor ratio of 2,000:1 is critical to quality control and to keep our product up-to-date with changes to technology and workforce development needs. Our ability to maintain the ideal Student/Advisor ratio depends on contributed and earned revenue. There is potential for uneven implementation of our product by school/NPO partners, which would negatively impact student engagement.

How long we have been working on our solution: