For curious minds and
lifelong learners
We’re here for those hungry for innovation and inspiration. For the citizens and dreamers of our world. We’re here to make knowledge accessible outside of the traditional classroom and transform our city’s popular culture. We’re Raising the Bar.
Our story
We are aspiring students, doctors, economists, writers, and artists. Although we're all different, we share a passion for constant innovation and change. We want to always be learning. We want to constantly be inspired, inside and outside of the classroom.
Raising the Bar began in 2014 with an ambition to show the citizens of New York City that you can learn something new in unconventional places, like your local bar. We invited 50 leading professors and researchers from Columbia University and New York University to host talks in the city's best bars and share their knowledge with the public.
Professors left their traditional lecture halls and stepped into local bars – for one night, New York City transformed into a campus for over 5,000 participants.
The Raising the Bar movement has already reached hundreds of thousands of people in 10 cities worldwide, but it’s just the beginning of our global initiative.
