Coworking giant WeWork blurred the boundaries between work and life last year with WeLive, its furnished “co-living” rental apartments. Now the company, said to be worth over $20 billion, is blurring the boundaries between work and school with a flurry of education investments and initiatives.
WeWork announced its latest foray into learning, a strategic partnership with 2U, a company that develops and operates online graduate programs for universities including Berkeley, Georgetown, and Yale, on Monday. As part of the deal, students enrolled in 2U programs will have access to common spaces and meeting rooms in all 285 WeWork office locations. 2U, in turn, will provide WeWork members with $5 million in scholarships. “We are all students for life,” WeWork cofounder and CEO Adam Neumann said in announcing the news.
In addition, 2U will open a learning center adjoining a WeWork location—most likely in London, 2U CEO Chip Paucek tells Fast Company, where the coworking company operates 32 offices. Dedicated to the future of learning and work, the center will showcase 2U instructors and serve as one possible home for the in-person immersion experiences that accompany many of 2U’s online degrees. (2U’s UNC MBA, for example, brings teams of students together in cities around the world for a series of group projects.) 2U will also be able to market its degree programs and shorter certificate courses to WeWork members.