Welcome
to Spark
SparkEducation is an education services company focused on helping colleges, universities, and workforce organizations build what comes next in learning. Drawing on deep experience across upskilling, reskilling, online program management, tutoring, and international student recruitment, SparkEducation supports institutions from first idea through sustainable scale.​
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Grounded in the “Four A’s” — Access, Affordability, Achievement, and Acceleration — SparkEducation works as an extension of institutional teams to improve learner opportunity and institutional resilience. With experience in markets across Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, Mexico, Germany, Vietnam, India and more, the firm brings a pragmatic, globally informed perspective to local challenges.
Support By Spark
SparkEducation supports higher education and education technology organizations with strategy, operations, and fractional executive leadership across the full program lifecycle. Services can be configured as short-term projects or ongoing support, depending on institutional needs.
1
Strategy, Models & Growth
SparkEducation helps institutions stress test and refine new program and product ideas, with a focus on feasibility, differentiation, and impact. The team designs innovative models and partnership structures for credit, non-credit, and workforce offerings, and defines clear ideal customer profiles to support product–market fit across new and existing portfolios. SparkEducation also develops practical partner and learner acquisition strategies and tactics across priority geographies so institutions can drive sustainable enrollment and revenue growth.
2
Operations, Teams & Revenue Enablement
SparkEducation sets up and optimizes revenue operations, processes, and workflows so strategy can be executed consistently and at scale. The firm supports organizational (re)design, team development, and performance management, ensuring that structures, roles, and incentives align with institutional goals. When needed, SparkEducation provides fractional executive leadership to guide strategy and execution during periods of change, launch, restructuring, or accelerated growth
3
Insights, Capital & Learning Design
SparkEducation delivers competitive and sector intelligence, as well as policy and government relations impact analysis, to help leaders make informed, timely decisions. The team supports fundraising and M&A readiness and helps institutions elevate their visibility through thought leadership and sector engagement. SparkEducation also offers learning experience and curriculum design services that align with learner needs and institutional priorities, ensuring programs are both academically sound and market responsive
Colin Lumsden
Founder, SparkEducation
For more than 30 years, I have worked at the intersection of education, learning and development, and education technology, guided by a personal commitment to the “Four A’s”: Access, Affordability, Achievement, and Acceleration. Over my career, I have helped improve the journeys and outcomes of more than 100,000 learners worldwide.​
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I have co-founded Canadian divisions for two leading education technology organizations, held a leadership role at one of Canada’s top universities, supported private equity fundraising, and managed M&A integrations and organizational restructurings. I have also scaled operations from pre-revenue through to business units exceeding $100M ARR, with executive responsibility across marketing, business development, partnerships, and learning design.​
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My experience spans higher education, workforce development, online
program management, tutoring, and international student recruitment, with work in Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, Mexico, Germany, Vietnam, India, and additional global markets. Today, I lead SparkEducation’s work with institutional and sector partners, bringing a calm, practical approach to complex challenges and ambitious growth goals.
