Our Journey

Aurora Skills Ecosystem emerges as the culmination of a journey of research and entrepreneurship that began in 2018 at the Centre for Transformative Education at the University of Groningen (formerly the Centre for the Internationalization of Education) in the Netherlands. In that pioneering project, Kelly Henao set out to understand how the competencies necessary to tackle complexity and global challenges develop in an interconnected world. Her work, inspired by intensive collaborations with Latin American universities—as the representative of the Columbus Association in the region—revealed that the most effective learning environments arise from direct interaction between educators and learners with local realities, collaborating with businesses and social actors for solving real problems many of which, though global in nature, land in local context (such environments cannot be simulated in traditional classrooms). 

 

These insights materialised for the first time when Grey Learning was founded alongside Anthony Regalado (former Kelly’s English teacher). Driven by the need for decentralisation of education, Anthony—who had explored rhizomatic learning during his master’s studies—and Kelly, who introduced the concept of “skills” as a unit of measurement and exchange in the entire ecosystem, investigated how technology could bridge the gap between the business and educational worlds. Technologies such as Web 3.0, NFTs, Blockchain, and cryptocurrencies opened the door to a universe of possibilities for closing the gaps between labour market and education.

 

During the final years of Grey Learning in Colombia, Kelly met Leonardo Nieto, a passionate and rebellious advocate of open-source. Together, they found that the market was not prepared for a solution focused solely on technology. Two factors proved decisive in Grey’s proposal failing at that time (2022): an environment still unready to welcome disruptive solutions and an excessively technological approach that did not capture the comprehensive value of learning.

 

Then, in 2024—amid a global crisis in university enrollments and the rise of Edtech companies offering blockchain-verified credentials alongside the exponential use of Artificial Intelligence—Kelly and Leonardo reconnected to bring forth a renewed vision. Setting aside technology as the protagonist, they chose instead to emphasise lifelong learning and to enhance the value of skills in emerging sectors—such as green and blue skills—. This time solutions not rely on a single type of ever-changing technology but place the value of learning and individual skills at the centre of multi-layer solutions. To ensure that every asset in the ecosystem (businesses, learners, and educators) was valued, Angelica Echeverria joined the team, passionate about creating shared value through large-scale and impactful digital products.

 

Today, Aurora Skills Ecosystem is born from the synergy between a long path of learning in education and technology fields, as well as rigorous research —Kelly continually integrates the findings of her doctoral work in collaboration with their Centre’s colleagues through a spin-off mechanism—. The robust experience of a visionary team is committed to transforming learning and making the best possible use of technology in a variety of solutions. In this renewed vision, every piece of the ecosystem matters, and educational institutions do not disappear; they transform and integrate more effectively with businesses and learners to potentiate the real value for skills.

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​Just like the value of skills continually evolving throughout life, this story is still being written under Aurora, who in Roman mythology stands as a symbol of radiance, renewal, and transformation.