Creating Practical Pathways for Global Education Change

Jenny Zapf, Faculty Director, University of Pennsylvania and Denise Abulafia, Entrepreneur in Residence, University of Pennsylvania

Jenny Zapf co-founded the world’s first MSEd and MSEd-MBA in Education Entrepreneurship at Penn GSE and the Wharton School and runs a Global Certificate in Education Innovation, a Global Impact Fellowship and an Education Prize at Penn. Over three decades, she has trained thousands of education and business leaders on education innovation, provided advisory support to projects in more than 30 countries and spoken around the globe on cultivating entrepreneurial thinking in education. Denise Abulafia is an Entrepreneur in Residence for Penn’s Education Entrepreneurship MSEd-MBA and Global Certificate programs. A neuroscientist and edtech entrepreneur, she has spent 15 years building startups in the U.S., Mexico and Argentina while advising ventures and corporations across Latin America. As a member of the Ibero-American Association of Edtech, she maps regional innovation and promotes solutions with real-world impact.

Through this interview, Zapf and Abulafia highlight how education innovation grows when entrepreneurial thinking is paired with an equity-first lens, a research mindset and learners' lived realities worldwide.

Building Education with Purpose and Access

At Penn GSE, we are committed to learner access and equity. That is why we built the first global certificates, fellowships and funds in education entrepreneurship. Our goal was simple: to open doors to people around the world who could not commit to a full-year and full-cost program on campus but who needed the tools to create change at scale in their own communities.

Our global certificate in entrepreneurship is a good example of a lean, high-flex learner-centered model. Based on a group’s articulated needs, the program can range from a three-day onsite boot camp to a one- or two-month online or blended program. It can be a test kitchen, solution accelerator or a more structured academic program. Another differentiator from more traditional programs is that the curriculum is organized around the learners’ problems of practice drawn directly from their companies, institutions, schools and startups. Together, we practice solving problems using entrepreneurial knowledge, tools and experiments and test and refine solutions. Over a decade, our faculty have delivered these highly responsive programs in countries across the globe, constantly adapting to diverse stakeholder needs, cultural contexts and market conditions – both opportunities and constraints.

“Innovation cannot be squeezed into the margins of daily operations. It demands space in labs, workshops and structured design sessions, where people can step back, test ideas and reimagine solutions”

Denise’s background in neuroscience has helped us continuously ask how people actually learn, how evidence can guide design and how technologies like AI can be used ethically and meaningfully. Jenny’s expertise in evaluation and design lends a hard focus on outcomes, driving our emphasis on impact, scale and sustainability. Together, these and other faculty perspectives shape what we call “productive knowledge,” which is paired with a research-driven innovation practice responsive to the needs of others.

Making Innovation Intentional

Innovation cannot be squeezed into the margins of daily operations. It demands space in labs, workshops and structured design sessions where people can step back, test ideas and reimagine solutions. In every strong organization, the balance comes from keeping day-today functions running smoothly while making innovation part of the core mission. It should never feel like extra work. It should be who you are.

That philosophy is built into all our programs at Penn. Our certificate and master’s serve as training grounds for this mindset, giving participants the time and structure to practice intentional innovation. Interactive workbooks, including tools like the Creative Difference framework we developed from IDEO’s work, help participants align entrepreneurial thinking with organizational identity. AI labs and co-creation projects provide hands-on experience so that experimentation becomes embedded in everyday practice. In this way, innovation is not an afterthought or a layer on top but part of the DNA of a team, a company or a school.

Where Trends Are Taking Learning

Everywhere we look, digital education is moving fast. In our programs, we see tremendous interest in personalization where digital teaching assistants extend learning, tailor it to individuals and reach populations that have often been left out. Gamification is another area for building deeper engagement and retention, and we actively support its development.

But market forces do not always line up with real needs. Venture capital has been poured into professional development and micro credentials, while K-12 continues to need far more attention, especially in the United States and Latin America. That gap is why innovation must stay grounded in learners, not just where the largest investment flows.

Artificial intelligence is central to these shifts. Early on, many treated AI as chatbots or simple assistants. The conversation is moving toward meaningful integration, using AI to create real impact in learning and design. What matters most is the ability to use it well. That is the emphasis in our labs and programs, helping people move beyond the hype and learn how to work with technology in enduring ways.

Scaling Innovation in Complex Systems

In under-resourced settings, scaling begins with co-creation. You have to work with teachers, students, local administrators and other stakeholders to design solutions that fit the realities on the ground. Markets like Latin America are less regulated and far more dependent on people’s immediate needs. Impressive solutions built elsewhere often collapse once they meet different infrastructures, training levels or cultural contexts. The lesson we have learned is simple. Start by solving one specific problem well before fixing everything at once.

Being on-site is also essential. Innovation grows through partnerships with governments, NGOs and the private sector and is rooted in communities' daily experiences. That is why our programs at Penn are designed to put diverse stakeholders at the center. At the same time, they gain the entrepreneurial mindset and business skills to sit at the table, understand capital flows and help shape scaling decisions. Sustainable change only happens when front-line employees understand and lead the work.

Advice for Education Entrepreneurs

Do not start with the solution; start with the problem. Every step of our work begins by asking how to fix a real challenge and involves working alongside the people who face it. When you build that way, the solutions fit and grow stronger as they scale. And once the problem is clear, think big and think at scale.

This work also requires community. No one drives change alone. It requires all stakeholders to be at the table, learning from one another and building together. Persistence, resilience and adaptability matter as much as vision. Funding cycles may be lean, but disruption always brings opportunity. This is an extraordinary moment to make a difference for those committed to solving meaningful problems and leading with empathy and evidence.

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