I was supposed to be a lawyer. That was the plan until one weekend in college changed everything. I stumbled into a hackathon, curious but clueless, and walked out seeing the world differently. It wasn’t the coding that captured me, but the atmosphere. I loved the energy in the room, the mix of creativity and teamwork and the realization that anyone could build something meaningful from an idea and a laptop. That moment changed how I thought about learning.
Years later, as the CEO and co-founder of Major League Hacking (MLH), I see that same spark every day. More than 200,000 developers around the world come together each year to learn through building, to experiment and to grow. Watching them has made something clear to me. Universities were never meant to be factories that produce graduates. They were meant to be guilds: living communities where learning happens through practice, mentorship and shared purpose.
What Does a Guild-Based Model of Education Look Like?
Higher education must evolve from degree factories to guilds of learning and practice. This shift requires universities to blend theory with real-world experience, integrating project-based learning, internships and hackathons into curricula. The goal is to prepare students with both deep technical skills and essential life skills — like collaboration, communication and adaptability — needed for the modern, AI-accelerated workforce.
Guilds, Not Factories
You’ve probably had the conversation with someone about whether college is worth it. This sentiment is especially prevalent in technology, which often lionizes skipping school to build the next big thing in the mold of Gates or Zuckerberg. Some of the tech industry’s greatest successes underscore the idea that real innovation happens outside the classroom. But this debate often misses the deeper point. The real question is not whether higher education matters but rather what form it should take.
We shouldn’t treat college as a conveyor belt for gaining credentials, but as a platform for experimentation and learning. When viewed this way, it remains one of the most fertile environments for personal growth. It offers four years of exploration where students can test their interests, discover what they don’t yet know and develop essential life skills in a safe environment. It’s a place that prepares students to move forward with intention.
But to truly fulfill that promise, colleges must evolve. Too many schools still operate as degree factories. Students march through lectures and exams, collecting grades that signal competence but often mask inexperience. To prepare students for the world ahead, education must shift to a practice-based model in which learning and doing are inseparable. In short, they must evolve into guilds of learning and practice.
Making Education Meaningful
Nowhere is this more evident than in the world of technology. The time when a developer could work alone and focus solely on writing code is quickly disappearing. Current roles require engineers who can communicate complex ideas, collaborate across departments and connect technical decisions to user and business outcomes.
Artificial intelligence has only accelerated this shift. As automation handles more repetitive tasks, the human advantage lies in creativity. Historically, most of us began our careers as individual contributors. Today, we begin as managers, but of machines rather than people. This transition requires a radical shift in both skills and mindsets that requires active preparation. The most valuable professionals are those who combine deep technical skill with strategic understanding and turn abstract technology into real impact.
In a well-designed computer science program, students do far more than memorize chapters or master algorithms. They learn how to collaborate, present their thinking and approach problems from multiple perspectives. When universities weave internships, hackathons and research projects into their curricula, they blur the line between classroom and workplace. This hybridized environment teaches students the habits of curiosity, communication and adaptability that the modern tech industry runs on.
A New Model for Higher Ed
The shift toward a better model of education begins with project-based learning and capstones that mirror real challenges faced by companies and research teams. For example, a student’s work in a classroom should ideally relate to the real-world job they’re training for. A computer science student might make a real, functioning website for a nonprofit or a local business as part of their education curriculum. Another option would be an accounting student partnering with a campus club or a local small business to prepare a real quarterly financial statement. That’s the same type of work they’ll need to do when hired as an accountant upon graduation.
This structure should grow through internships, cooperative education and hackathons that allow students to apply their knowledge in live environments. Programs like the MLH fellowship allow students to get work experience even when they’re freshmen and sophomores. The fellowship model gets students working on open-source software projects that require the same competencies they’d gain in the workforce. This gives them more of an opportunity to see what skills they need to develop, focusing on those in addition to their classroom education.
Ultimately, this model culminates in residency-style programs where on-the-job learning becomes a core part of the academic journey. The medical field has long demonstrated how powerful this approach can be. Medical students move through structured stages of observation, practice and mentorship until they’re ready to operate independently. The same model can similarly empower students in technology, engineering, design and other fields to graduate with both expertise and experience.
Training Thinkers
In the end, the value of higher education is not found in the degree itself but in the development it enables. College is a space where curiosity becomes direction, where theory meets practice and where students learn how to learn. That’s a skill that will matter more than ever in a world defined by rapid technological change.
As education evolves, universities have the chance to reclaim their most important role: Helping people grow into thinkers, builders and collaborators who can navigate uncertainty with confidence. The future will belong to those who see learning not as a phase that ends at graduation, but as a lifelong pursuit of mastery and meaning.
