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The theme of this year’s Education Innovation Summit is the “American” Dream that’s now a “global aspiration.” Speakers and attendees will explore education as a catalyst that makes social mobility and prosperity possible.

Collaborations like ASU + GSV are crucial in this effort.  ASU or Arizona State University has blazed a trail in higher education with the early adoption of new technologies and services for its students, including online programs, an innovation center, and data-driven experiments. GSV or GSV Advisors helps education entrepreneurs connect with investors in a mission to “reimagine what education is.” GSV stands for Global Silicon Valley, the idea that Silicon Valley is no longer a mere place but a state of mind that’s gone viral – and has redefined entrepreneurism and business as a result.

More than 2,000 leaders from a variety of fields are expected to gather here: educators in K-12 and higher education; education association executives; publishers; philanthropists; journalists; government; business, and technology leaders; innovators; and design thinkers.

 Their organizations run the gamut and include: the US Department of Education, the World Bank, graduate schools of education of the University of Pennsylvania and Harvard, The College Board, Education Week, Scholastic Inc., the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, public school systems, charter schools, Mindful Schools, IDEO, iNACOL (International Association for K-12 Online Learning), IBM, Microsoft, Google, and Apple.

The annual summit is known to many as “Davos in the Desert” because it convenes thought-leaders innovating in the education space similar to the way that Davos, the World Economic Forum, brings together political and business leaders at an annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, to discuss pressing economic issues and spur change.

This year summit keynoters are former Gov. Jeb Bush (R) of Florida; Earvin "Magic" Johnson, global social entrepreneur and retired NBA star legend; and Reed Hastings, Netflix cofounder and CEO.

 Other prominent speakers in the public affairs and education innovation spheres include:

• Michael Horn, coauthor of Disrupting Class: How Disruptive Innovation Will Change the Way the World Learns and cofounder and executive director of the Clayton Christensen Institute;

• Tom Vander Ark, author of Getting Smart: How Digital Learning is Changing the World and CEO of Getting Smart, an education advocacy firm;

• Former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor; and

• U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker.

This setting will be full of cross-pollination, and I look forward to chronicling it.

While the summit is underway, follow me on Twitter @ajp112, and follow all of the summit happenings @asugsvsummit. To keep up with the running conversation, use the summit hashtag #EDInnovation.

To learn more, visit http://edinnovation.gsvadvisors.com