Unicamp is the first Brazilian university to participate in the Development Trail project, an initiative of the 1Bi Foundation, the social arm of the Movile Group, a holding company that manages a series of companies, including iFood and Sympla. The objective of the project is to encourage learning, via pills sent via WhatsApp, of skills considered important for entering the job market of the future, regardless of career. “We want to help people prepare for new professions. It’s possible that some of them don’t even exist today”, says Matheus Fonseca, responsible for 1B1.
According to him, the tool is available free of charge to the entire university community, especially undergraduate students, who are still preparing to enter the job market. “We began our partnership with the academic segment through Unicamp, because of our proximity to the institution and the importance of the University on the world stage of higher education”, he explains. The Movile Group was “born” at Unicamp. The president of the holding, Fabricio Bloisi, graduated in Computer Science at the University.
To access the content offered, the interested party must register through the project page. Then, just send the WhatsApp activation code. “Then the person begins to interact and learn”, explains Fonseca. The executive notes that the available content, which is personalized, was created by experts. Currently, the following topics are worked on: Problem Solving, Self-knowledge, Emotional Intelligence, Personal Motivation, Leadership and Creativity. “One of the advantages of this system is that the participant can access the content when available, such as at night or on weekends”, explains Fonseca.
In addition to members of the Unicamp community, the Development Trail project includes the participation of other users, who are linked to different companies and institutions. “Today, around 10 thousand people already access the tool. Our goal is to continue increasing this audience”, says the person responsible for 1Bi. The project, continues Fonseca, is part of the Foundation's greater purpose, which is to generate social impact through the use of technology.
One of the pillars of this commitment is to use technological resources, such as WhatsApp, to teach efficiently. Research carried out by McKinsey, a North American consulting company, shows that at least 60% of the global workforce will be impacted by artificial intelligence by 2030. “Artificial intelligence will transform the way we work. In fact, some activities will be carried out by robots. In this sense, we need to develop skills, especially in the behavioral sphere, that differentiate us from machines. The Development Trail Project was created to help people in this sense”, reinforces Fonseca.
According to him, there is no formal test to assess the user's level of learning, but the user is encouraged to evaluate the content at the end of the stage. “It is important to highlight that the participant does not need to restrict himself to one topic or another. As long as he is interested, he can access all the content and return to it whenever he feels the need”, he concludes.
