About Us

Minerva

Minerva Project is the education innovation company that started by establishing Minerva University.

Our experience as one of the first disruptors in higher education positions us to lead others on their own innovation journeys.

Minerva began with a clear and audacious vision: build the best university in the world, using first principles to reinvent the entire higher education model. Our goal was to deliver an outstanding learning experience for the highest performing students, and to provide an example for other institutions to aspire to.

We expressed this vision with a two-word mantra: Achieving Extraordinary. This simple concept inspired a small, multidisciplinary team to accomplish what many thought was impossible.

Today, 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 the vision: helping others reinvent themselves.

We are the only organization focused on global education reform.

Minerva Project has catalyzed the creation of dozens of new programs, colleges, and entirely new universities. Each of these partnerships contributes to reshaping global education systems in order to elevate learning, enhance wisdom, and improve the human condition.

Our History

Minerva logo
2011

Minerva Project is established with $25 million in seed investment from Benchmark Capital, the single largest investment the storied venture firm had made.

Our visionary 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 office
2012

Minerva Project is established with $25 million from Benchmark Capital, the single largest seed investment the storied venture firm had made. The founding technology team begins developing the Forum™ learning platform.

Minerva insignia
2013

Minerva Project enters into an alliance with the Keck Graduate Institute (KGI) to incubate Minerva Schools and begins development of its new university curriculum.

students on bus
2014

Minerva Schools at KGI (MSKGI) admits its first undergraduate class.

Building the Intentional University
2017

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.

HKUST logo
2018

Minerva Project establishes its first higher education partnership with the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST).

Graduation sign
2019

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 European partnership with Esade in Spain.

MBacc
2020

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.

Zayed University
2021

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 partnership in the United States with the University of Miami, launching a new interdisciplinary degree in Innovation, Technology, and Design.

WURI
2022

Minerva University is named the Most Innovative University in the World by World's Universities with Real Impact (WURI).

Minerva continues to expand its partnerships, with the launch of a DEIA program at USC Annenberg, the creation of a new engineering university anchored in a humanities foundation with KENTECH in South Korea, and the expansion of a leadership program for business leaders with Esade and the MiSK Foundation.


Universidad de la Libertad
2023

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. In addition to being named number one in the overall ranking, the university was also recognized in several additional categories including “Industrial Application,” “Fourth Industrial Revolution,” “Ethical Value,” and “Student Mobility and Openness.”

Notable new Minerva Project partnerships in the United States include The California State University, Fresno and Yale School of Management.

Our History

Minerva logo
2011

Minerva Project is established with $25 million in seed investment from Benchmark Capital, the single largest investment the storied venture firm had made.

Our visionary 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 office
2012

Minerva Project is established with $25 million from Benchmark Capital, the single largest seed investment the storied venture firm had made. The founding technology team begins developing the Forum™ learning platform.

Minerva insignia
2013

Minerva Project enters into an alliance with the Keck Graduate Institute (KGI) to incubate Minerva Schools and begins development of its new university curriculum.

students on bus
2014

Minerva Schools at KGI (MSKGI) admits its first undergraduate class.

Building the Intentional University
2017

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.

HKUST logo
2018

Minerva Project establishes its first higher education partnership with the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST).

Graduation sign
2019

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.

MBacc
2020

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.

Zayed University
2021

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 partnership in the United States with the University of Miami, launching a new interdisciplinary degree in Innovation, Technology, and Design.

WURI
2022

Minerva University is named the Most Innovative University in the World by World's Universities with Real Impact (WURI).

Minerva continues to expand its partnerships, with the launch of a DEIA program at USC Annenberg, the creation of a new engineering university anchored in a humanities foundation with KENTECH in South Korea, and the expansion of a leadership program for business leaders with Esade and the MiSK Foundation.

Universidad de la Libertad
2023

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. In addition to being named number one in the overall ranking, the university was also recognized in several additional categories including “Industrial Application,” “Fourth Industrial Revolution,” “Ethical Value,” and “Student Mobility and Openness.”

Notable new Minerva Project partnerships in the United States include The California State University, Fresno and Yale School of Management.

Our Mission

Nurturing Critical Wisdom for the Sake of the World

Ours is a humanist calling. We recognize that talent is distributed around the world, but access to high-quality learning is concentrated, closely mirroring the concentration of global wealth. Minerva aims to change this, significantly expanding access to a new, more effective way of learning. 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.

Our Vision

Uniting on Purpose

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.

Our Philosophy

Systemic Thinking for the Greater Good

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.

Our Guiding Principles

Achieving Extraordinary

Minerva is intensely focused on continuous innovation and ongoing improvement. Our Guiding Principles inform our collaboration with partners, our work within and across teams, and our individual behaviors. By adhering to these tenets, we ensure our efforts support everything we stand for.

Being Unconventional: We refuse to settle for the status quo.
Being Human: We connect on a personal level.
Being Confident: We take decisive action.
Being Thoughtful: We pay close attention to the details.
Being Selective: We find the essence and focus relentlessly.
Being Authentic: We built trust with clarity and candor.
Being Driven: We constantly push, question, iterate, and refine.
White Paper
Redefining Experiential Learning: How Universities Can Deliver an Integrated Curriculum

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White Paper
New Program Innovation: How Universities Can Create Distinctive Educational Experiences

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