Shaul Kuper

Biography

As Founder, President and Chief Executive Officer of Destiny Solutions, Shaul Kuper has provided the visionary leadership and focus on lifelong learning integral to the company’s year-over-year growth. The pairing of his expertise managing fast-growth Internet software companies with his passion for non-traditional learning has been critical to Destiny Solutions‘ successful transition from a start-up company to a recognized innovator of lifelong learning business solutions. Widely considered one of the foremost experts in reimagining the business of higher education, Kuper conceptualized and built the higher education industry’s first comprehensive business software solution, Destiny OneTM, designed exclusively to meet the divergent needs of non-traditional learners at a time when most schools were still functioning off pen and paper. Kuper’s innovative, comprehensive solution has been adopted by such marquee institutions as North Carolina State University, Stanford University, University of Toronto and Penn State University. A true visionary, Kuper ensured that Destiny One was the first system to utilize a 100 percent multi-tenant architecture. He also led the charge to certify the company with the Payment Card Industry’s Payment Application Data Security Standard (PCI PA-DSS) Version 2.0 specification, making Destiny Solutions the first enterprise software provider to achieve such a high level of certification. After having worked closely with the late Dr. Mary Cone Barrie (1945 – 2009), the former director of the School of Continuing Studies at University of Toronto, Kuper became a champion for lifelong learning and continuing education. In 2009, Kuper launched The Mary Cone Barrie Scholarship Award as a tribute to his trusted friend and mentor. The annual scholarship recognizes the efforts of adult learners who are improving their lives through continuing education and workforce development. Prior to Destiny Solutions, Kuper was President of Destiny Web Designs, a Toronto-based website development firm. Under his leadership, the firm built the world’s first fully-functional web-based e-commerce system for open education. Realizing his passion for education, Kuper parlayed all that he had learned about e-commerce, business and marketing into the higher education industry. Kuper holds a Bachelor’s degree in molecular biology and genetics from University of Toronto. While there, he worked at Sick Children’s Hospital as a member of the team that discovered the Cystic Fibrosis gene. Today, Kuper regularly advises on student engagement strategies with industry leaders in higher education and enterprises around the world and is a frequent speaker on the business of non-traditional education.

EDUCAUSE Publications

  • Why Should Colleges Be Doing MOOCs? Relationships
    • Article
    • Author

    Institutions do not currently maintain relationships with MOOC-taking students, instead outsourcing the relationship-building process to MOOC providers rather than owning it themselves.