Mr. Rebell, now executive director of the Campaign for Educational Equity at Teachers College, Columbia University, agreed that the answer may not lie in setting a dollar amount.

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"Our name has huge brand equity in educational institutions everywhere in the world, " says Prem Vrat, a former director of the IIT Delhi campus.

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For instance, there are ideas recommended by the CREATE programme - the Consortium for Research on Educational Access, Transitions and Equity - which is funded by the UK's Department for International Development.

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Susan Cohen is a researcher at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill who offers this clarification: Accelerators are organizations that provide cohorts of selected nascent ventures seed-investment, usually in exchange for equity, and limited-duration educational programming, including extensive mentorship and structured educational components.

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As for Bogue, he co-founded Montara Capital Partners, which is a real estate private equity fund, and was previously a law partner at Virtual Law Partners, and serves on the various educational boards in Silicon Valley.

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