WHU - Otto Beisheim School of Management
WHU and Liberating Education Organization Strengthen AI Expertise in Underserved Regions of the World
- Photo Info
- Download
WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management supports the Liberating Education Organization’s hybrid learning model to allow young people in remote regions of the world to develop skills in the field of generative artificial intelligence.
WHU and Liberating Education Organization Strengthen AI Expertise in Underserved Regions of the World
WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management and the Liberating Education Organization have entered into a strategic cooperation to provide young people in remote regions of the world with access to the latest technological findings and teach them the fundamental principles of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI).
As part of an agreement signed on March 1, 2025, Professor Dries Faems (Chair of Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Technological Transformation) has developed a comprehensive AI in Entrepreneurship course, offered at Liberating Education Organization’s Hybrid Uni Centers in remote areas, e.g., in the more rural regions of Kenya. The course is designed to teach students the practical basics of generative AI and how the technology can be used in an entrepreneurial context. This course will give the young participants the knowledge they need to develop innovative business ideas and tap into the economic opportunities right in their home regions.
“With this cooperation, we are taking a future-oriented step toward personalized learning that combines the benefits of AI and entrepreneurship,” explains Konstantin Kölmel, co-founder and CEO of the Liberating Education Organization. “Our aim is to give young people in these areas an education and improve their economic prospects. We want to democratize education, promote economic independence, and counteract rural exodus through sustainable development.”
“Generative AI is an amazing technology that can help aspiring entrepreneurs to fundamentally accelearte their start-up and venture building acticities,” says Professor Faems. “With this cooperation, we are giving young people access to fundamental skills and helping them to develop an entrepreneurial mindset.”
This joint project from WHU and the Liberating Education Organization is based on the latter’s successful hybrid education model, which combines digital, university-level studies (i.e., content from top universities accessed via satellite internet) with practical approaches to entrepreneurship. The hybrid model already offers remote content, live lectures, and tutoring—and can now count Generative AI among its tools. Kenya is already home to three education centers, which, thanks to early positive response from graduates, is generating a lot of interest in other countries, including Ghana, Uganda, Malawi, Nigeria, and India. Since the beginning of March, Liberating Education Organization has also been operating a new Hybrid Uni Center in Mumbai, India. Over the course of this year, a total of ten Hybrid Uni Centers are to be established in five different countries.
Alongside this collaborative project, the Liberating Education Organization is launching a research initiative focused on interactive AI study materials to make learning more individualized and efficient. The organization has developed AI-assisted tutors to guide students through challenges, such as developing a business idea for a new start-up. The non-profit is currently working on a prototype software that adapts course content in real time, thereby combining teaching and performance monitoring and allowing for individual learning paths. This technology is intended to ensure that every student embarks on the learning journey that is right for them—regardless of how they learn, the speed at which they learn, or how familiar they already are with the subject matter.
Liberating Education Organization
The non-profit Liberating Education Organization was founded in 2023 by Konstantin Kölmel and Nils Rauscher to bring secondary education to remote regions of the world. Its hybrid model, developed by the young team, combines digital learning with content from top international universities and practical approaches to entrepreneurship in order to create a cost- and resource-efficient educational infrastructure. The initiative has become a pioneer in innovative educational technology and efficient development cooperation.
If you have any questions or interview requests, please contact Konstantin Kölmel (kk@liberatingeducation.org) or the WHU Press Department (presse@whu.edu).
_____________________________________
Kerstin Leitel Associate Director Public Relations WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management Campus Vallendar, Burgplatz 2, 56179 Vallendar, Germany Tel.: +49 261 6509-540; presse@whu.edu; www.whu.edu WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management is the Business School of the WHU Foundation.