Disruptive Innovation: Nature’s Scitable Replaces Life Sciences Textbooks

In October 2008, Nature Publishing Group's new Education Division quietly launched the Beta of a revolutionary idea: Replace expensive textbooks with a free collaborative learning space for science. Scitable.com went live in January, 2009 and has quickly become a magnet for serious students of genetics (the first field that Nature is addressing).

Now, in the Fall of 2009, Scitable.com is alive and well. Students and faculty from all over the world are actively using Scitable's resources to teach and learn about genetics.

What can you do on Scitable?

• Explore a topic room in subjects like evolutionary genetics, gene inheritance and transmission, genes and disease, genomics, and several others.

• Follow a Learning Path on topics like the human genome project, cancer, or types of genetic diseases.

• Join or create a public or private class or study group.

• Read well-written short articles that introduce concepts in enough depth to get you oriented.

• Read the most important research on each topic.

• "Ask the Experts" at Nature Education just about any question you have about genetics or about the material you're reading.

• Design a course using any of the free materials.

  

I interviewed, Vikram Savkar, the Publishing Director at Nature Education,who led the innovation team at Nature to create and launch Scitable. I learned how he and his team approached and carried out an intrapreneurial project designed to revolutionize the textbook publishing industry. I also learned a lot about how to develop a next gen Web-based product.

I look forward to following this project and to bringing you background and updates as Nature's burgeoning Education group throws down its gauntlet at the science textbook publishing industry and introduces a new customer-friendlier business model.