Perez: A Brazilian Innovator In Creative Education Targets Global Impact

Jean Rozier, one of Perez’s partners: building an international creativity school

Jean Rozier

Brazil based Perez Paving a new path in the field of creative education. The company has been interweaving experiential and multidisciplinary learning in its curriculum, offering a new alternative to traditional models. Now, the school is preparing to take an important step in its journey – Internationalization.

Since its inception in the southern city of Porto Alegre in 2008, the platform has trained over 200,000 students through live and online immersion, corporate academies, workshops and lectures. The firm’s method fuses a unique methodology that translates complex concepts into accessible content in fields ranging from leadership to creativity. The learning experience is designed to be light, deep and entertaining at the same time.

“In short, we aim to be navigators in the educational universe, striving to transform traditional learning approaches by deeply integrating them,” says Jean-Philippe Rozier, one of the company’s partners. To make the process of education less intimidating and more enjoyable for the learners.

The roots of Pérez, known in Brazil as Perestroika, can be traced to the advertising background of its partners, which influenced how they presented and distributed their content. “As advertising professionals, there has always been an innate inclination to creatively and attractively package every aspect of our job in order to sell products. We have applied this logic to the realm of education with an unconventional twist “, says Rozier.

Prior to the pandemic, Perestroika opened physical branches in various capital cities of Brazil. With the onset of the health crisis, the methodology was rewritten for an online environment, making courses more accessible and increasing student numbers significantly. The firm’s B2B arm, Sputnik, of which Rozier is a co-founder, continued to grow concurrently, driven by individuals who wanted to bring their personal learning experiences into the corporate environment.

As part of its internationalization strategy, Pérez is analyzing key players in the educational sector in Brazil and globally. According to Rozier, the research will help the company identify opportunities and decide where to focus its initial efforts.

Geographically, the process will likely focus on English-speaking markets such as the United States, United Kingdom, Ireland and Australia, followed by markets in Latin America. In addition, the plan is to engage with global brands that are already part of the B2B portfolio, such as Oracle, Google and Meta, and understand their pain points with respect to workforce skill development.

cultural ideas

From a consumer perspective, localized versions of courses that have proven successful in Brazil will be offered to international customers. However, linguistic adjustments would have to be made. One initial offering is Chora PPT, which means “Cry, PPT” in Brazilian Portuguese and trains students to create engaging presentations. The course has been recorded in English under the name Bite Me. “This is our MVP [for the international market], The curriculum is ready, the content works, and we know it’s good,” Rozier says.

A primary consideration in expansion planning is the cultural difference between Brazil and other markets. Having moved to Portugal seven years ago, Rozier observed that Europeans were not accustomed to paying for education in the formats proposed by Pérez, and this realization influenced the firm’s strategy. “We’re starting to see a change in attitude in that regard,” argues the entrepreneur.

While planning for international expansion, the School for Creatives is also innovating its curriculum formats to adapt to the changes brought about by the pandemic. The goal is to recreate in-person experiences in a new, meaningful way. Rozier explains, “I don’t want to go back to work [in-person] Courses the way we used to do it. Not because I think they were bad, but because I think the world has changed, and we need a different format to meet the new needs.”

For a more immersive personal experience, Perez is looking into integrating rituals into his courses. “Rituals help with long-term memory retention as well as creating a mental program of what happened, which aids in learning,” says Rozier. According to the entrepreneur, the platform will also aim to offer an immersive experience in an environment beyond the classroom, where learners can disconnect and focus solely on the educational content and post-course follow-ups. Can

Looking ahead, Perez envisages substantial change and growth in the coming year with more insights and learnings from its internationalization process. As the firm turns the page and moves into the global educational landscape, Rozier expects the company to change significantly in a year. “We will be a transformed organisation, with our international framework and structure already defined and going beyond our national bubble,” he concluded.