Chicago, Illinois - July 21, 2014: Pearson, the world's leading learning company, today announced a strategic partnership with 1871, Chicago's entrepreneurial hub for digital startups. 1871 is the largest startup hub in the U.S. with more than 250 member companies at the present time.

Pearson has long-standing relationships with many K-12 and higher education institutions in the area, such as Chicago Public Schools and Chicago City Colleges, and this partnership will enable the company to further collaborate with local education technology startups.

"At 1871, we're bringing together Chicago's brightest digital designers, engineers and entrepreneurs who are shaping new technologies, disrupting old business models, and resetting the boundaries of what's possible," said Howard A. Tullman, CEO of 1871. "We think Pearson's deep experience in the education industry and global reach will be extremely valuable to the startups in our community. As a former college president and as an education entrepreneur in my own right, I have worked with Pearson for more than twenty years and look forward to continuing to grow and expand our relationship. "

"We're committed to addressing some of the biggest challenges in education and believe that partnering with the startup community is vital for stimulating greater innovation in the industry and improving learning outcomes," said Diana Stepner, VP of Innovation Partnerships and Developer Relations. "Two of the startups selected for our edtech accelerator Pearson Catalyst for Education, announced last month, were recommended by 1871 and we look forward to working more closely with other startup talent in the area as well."

Pearson Catalyst participant Learnmetrics, which provides real-time analytics for educators, will be one of the first digital startups to be working in the newly expanded 1871 2.0 space, which is growing by 50 percent at its Merchandise Mart location this year, thanks to a $2.5 million state grant. 

"We're excited to be partnering with Pearson as part of the 2014 Catalyst class," said Julian Miller, CEO of Learnmetrics. "Given that it's a virtual program, we're able to continue working with the tech community in Chicago at 1871, while also connecting and collaborating with our Pearson mentors and sponsors from across the globe. It's the best of both worlds."

Pearson works with individuals and organisations of every size to explore smart ideas and technologies that can make education more effective and improve learning outcomes. This means collaborating with developers, global startups in the Catalyst and Edupreneurs accelerator programmes, and a growing community of innovation partners, such as 1871, RocketSpace, 1776, LearnLaunch, MaRS and Makerversity.

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For more information

Please contact:

Erin Farber / erin.farber@pearson.com / +1 (917) 697-2027

Laura Clark / laura@1871.com / +1 (330) 715-0687

About Pearson

Pearson is the world's leading learning company, with 40,000 employees in more than 70 countries working to help people of all ages to make measurable progress in their lives through learning.

We provide learning materials, technologies, assessments and services to teachers and students in order to help people everywhere aim higher and fulfil their true potential. We put the learner at the centre of everything we do.

www.pearson.com

1871 is an entrepreneurial hub for digital startups. Located in The Merchandise Mart, the soon-to-be 75,000-square-foot facility provides Chicago startups with programming, access to mentors, educational resources, potential investors and a community of like-minded entrepreneurs that help them on their path to building successful businesses. 1871 is the flagship project of the CEC.

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