Explore the Annual Impact Report, insights from Dr. Mara Woody, Riipen news, student opportunities, and recent platform updates.

Career readiness is no longer a one-time experience.

Riipen’s 2025 Annual Impact Report explores how institutions, employers, and partners are building a more scalable, multi-stage approach to career-connected learning.

From early exploration to professional entry, the future of experiential learning is taking shape across real projects, real skills, and real employer engagement.

From internships to a continuum of career growth.

For years, career readiness has relied heavily on a single, high-stakes internship. That model was never built to reach every learner.

The report introduces a more sustained approach in which learners build experience through multiple real-world projects over time, supported by institutions, employers, and partners working together.

A clearer path from

learning to work.

In 2025, Riipen helped expand access to real-world learning experiences while supporting employers with meaningful project work, stronger talent connections, and measurable impact.

See the shift shaping career-connected learning.

Shaping futures: Work-based learning news & insights.

Exploring the latest stories, trends, and ideas

shaping the future of experiential learning.

Five Colorado colleges and universities are joining a new three-year pilot designed to bring more real-world, industry-sponsored projects into the classroom. Led by the Colorado Department of Higher Education, the CO-WIL Pilot will support institutions in expanding access to hands-on learning experiences that connect students with growing industries and career-aligned opportunities, with Riipen providing the work-integrated learning platform behind the initiative.

Read the press release.

In a recent StartEd CEO Spotlight conversation, Riipen Co-Founder and CEO Dana Stephenson joins Alan Todd to explore one of the biggest challenges in the school-to-work transition: how can students gain experience when so many opportunities already require it? The discussion looks at AI, entry-level work, and why scalable, employer-connected projects may be key to helping more learners build evidence of their skills.

Listen to the episode.

Build on your Riipen experience with Wavemakers.

A free career-building program that helps students complement Riipen projects with professional skills and real-world experience.

Journeys in motion.

A special edition featuring insights from Dr. Mara Woody on the systems, partnerships, and approaches shaping student success.

As workforce needs evolve, higher education has an opportunity to help learners apply what they know earlier and more often. Mara explores how experiential learning and education-industry partnerships can help students build the confidence, connections, and durable skills needed beyond the classroom.

Read about building tomorrow’s workforce.

Many learners are navigating systems that were not designed around their realities. Drawing on lived experience, Mara reflects on the barriers to experiential learning and what it takes to design more responsive pathways to student success.

Read about designing more responsive systems.

Systems change takes more than individual programs. Mara explores how institutions, workforce partners, and communities can align around shared goals to build more connected, scalable pathways from education to opportunity.

Read about alignment and community.

Build a career-connected campus at scale.

A seamless progression of experiential learning across the student journey, enabling career-connected learning at scale.

Enhancing your experience:
Platform updates.

Discover some of our latest improvements and enhancements designed to help you get the most out of Riipen.

Reach the right people with segmented announcements.

Experience admins can now send announcements to specific learners, teams, or employers instead of broadcasting updates to everyone at once. With new audience selection options across the Teams Tracker, Members tab, and Projects tab, it is easier to share timely information with the people who need it most.

Tag teammates directly in submission comments.

Employers can now tag colleagues in milestone and final submission comments by typing @ followed by their name. Tagged users receive both an in-app notification and an email, making it easier to bring the right teammate into a deliverable review without leaving the platform.

Share Riipen achievements on LinkedIn with more context.

When learners share Riipen feedback, achievements, or certificates on LinkedIn, their posts now include personalized copy with details such as the project name, company name, feedback quotes, and the skills demonstrated. This makes it easier for students to showcase their real-world experience with more specific, meaningful context.

318K+

work-based learning experiences

53K+

vetted network of employers

760+

 postsecondary institutions

20.9M+

hours of applied learning