Education Revolution: Tim Vieira Of Brave Generation Academy On Innovative Approaches That Are Transforming Education
An interview with Eden Gold
I think what I did wish I was more aware of, was that everyone wants you to become a normal, traditional school. If I’d been a little more attentive to that, maybe I would have made a few different decisions. I think we would have stayed further away from that and been a little bit more understanding that everyone wants to feel comfortable, and feeling comfortable in this case means going back towards that traditional model.
The landscape of education is undergoing a profound transformation, propelled by technological advancements, pedagogical innovations, and a deepened understanding of learning diversities. Traditional classrooms are evolving, and new modes of teaching and learning are emerging to better prepare students for the complexities of the modern world. This series will take a look at the groundbreaking work being done across the globe to redefine education. As a part of this interview series, we had the pleasure to interview Tim Vieira.
Tim Vieira is the CEO and Founder of the revolutionary Brave Generation Academy, a hybrid school offering globally recognized curriculums. Born in South Africa to Portuguese parents, he has previously been involved in various entrepreneurial exploits, including time as a judge on Shark Tank Portugal. He has recently announced his candidacy for the 2026 Portuguese presidential race.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you share the “backstory” behind what brought you to this particular career path?
The truth is that I wanted to get involved with education for a very long time. The problem was, how? I think many of us know that there are some serious issues in education, and there is clearly a change needed. But at the same time, we don’t know what to do, we don’t know what the solution would be, and how we could contribute. So it was only when I started looking at a solution for my own children that I really started looking at all of the moving parts to see that it could actually be done in a simple, scalable, relevant, and personalized way. And once I started testing it out and saw that it was successful, I think that’s what drove me 100% into education. And I was no longer one of those that just said, “education is important” or “education is the future” — I actually started to believe it. I started becoming a person that was making it happen.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
You know there’s been numerous stories along the way now with education, but I must say that the most interesting part of the journey so far for me is when I walk into our BGA Hubs and I look at the Learners we have there. And I wonder, if we didn’t have a BGA, where would they be? BGA is probably one of the only places that looks at you as an individual and works toward giving you a personalized and relevant education system. We seek to help our Learners follow their passions, find their purpose, and at the same time, provide them with the academics they need to succeed.
So that’s really been amazing to be able to put Learners first and watch how that has unfolded. And they’re happier! And because they’re happier, their parents are happier. So, instead of us looking after the parents, we’ve taken this unconventional approach and given them much less attention, instead focusing entirely on the Learner. So I think the positive results of that and what we’ve achieved for each of our Learners has been the most interesting on our route.
Can you briefly share with our readers why you are an authority in the education field?
I wouldn’t say that I’m an authority in education. I would like to say that I’m more of a changemaker in education. And again, this has really been because we’ve been listening to the experts in education — the Learners. We’ve been listening to what they want, and we’ve been giving them what they want. We’ve been able to be flexible enough to meet their demands, and by doing so, we’ve seen the results. These results come in the form of improved academics, but it’s also clear to see how happy they are, and how much more purposeful they are in living their lives.
And I think that’s been the thing, maybe we needed people that weren’t in education and weren’t authorities in education to make this happen. That’s one of the many reasons why I’m super excited by the team we’ve built around Brave Generation Academy. They’ve come from all walks of life, and many of them have reflected on their own educational journeys to look at what could have been different and what should have been different. And that’s been such an important part of the process in making BGA a relevant solution for today’s world in education.
Can you identify some areas of the US education system that are going really great?
One thing I realized while setting up Brave Generation Academy, especially now that we’re in 12 countries, is that there are no utopias when it comes to education. There is no country that can say that they are leading the way or that they have no issues in education. There are, however, always a few bright areas within these countries. I think in the US, for example, it is an option for some states to give out education vouchers to parents so that they are able to choose their educational solutions. I think many times we tell Learners and parents that they can choose their own education, but then it’s not really viable, because without something like the voucher system there is no way to make it a reality.
I also believe that the ecosystem of new ideas in the US is growing and will continue to do so, making things very interesting for the future. I think a lot of people are now working on new solutions using tech and AI for example, discovering ways to really customize and build education that is more personalized to the individual. This is particularly important for those currently at a disadvantage within the traditional system. I also think it’s likely that companies will start getting involved in education, helping educators with the curriculums they need in order to employ people that will be successful within modern enterprises. So a lot is going on in the US, and I think we just need to be open to it and embrace these differences, as that’s when the good things will happen.
Can you identify the key areas of the US education system that should be prioritized for improvement? Can you explain why those are so critical?
I believe that the US educational system would greatly benefit from fostering happier and more content Learners. When we look at the numbers, we can quickly determine that over 40% of US Learners aren’t happy and are grappling with issues like anxiety or other mental health concerns. It can’t be that the US Learners are so much different than other international Learners, so it must come down to the system.
I believe the current approach of overly emphasizing academics and subjecting Learners to competitive and potentially unsafe environments, prone to issues like bullying and safety threats such as shootings, isn’t a good solution for these kids. I really do believe that we need to come up with new ideas, new solutions that turn schooling into something enjoyable, helping Learners to understand that going to school is a benefit to them and not a punishment. I think that’s where we’ll have to start focusing on the US as a whole in education, on how to make that happen.
Please tell us all about the innovative educational approaches that you are using. What is the specific problem that you aim to solve, and how have you addressed it?
I believe that what we’re doing at BGA is allowing Learners to take control of their future and write their own path to where they want to go. BGA allows Learners to really get a head start on accountability and responsibility, and we do this by utilizing the best of online and the best of offline. We have these Hubs, with mixed ages, mixed talents, and mixed curriculums, and we make it look like the real world sooner rather than later. That’s the big benefit, that our Learners start understanding that they fit into the world, and that they don’t have to fear it anymore. And I think that’s been the most innovative thing that we’ve done, is just embrace the world and bring it into the classroom, instead of keeping our Learners in a bubble and making it harder to adapt down the line. We keep it very simple.
Our system also really offers the opportunity for Learners to unite with each other, instead of dividing them. There’s not much fluff in the way we do our schooling, as we encourage Learners to concentrate on their academics, on finding their passion, and we let them do more and more of what they really love. Throughout this process, they are accompanied by their Learning Coaches and our Course Managers, who help them stay motivated and inspired to continue forward and do their best. So I think it’s just been common sense, simplicity, and then being able to just care about these Learners as individuals, making them feel that they’re not just a number.
In what ways do you think your approach might shape the future of education? What evidence supports this?
Our model will shape education from the age of 11 and up, because it’s tailor-made for the Learner. It’s focused around them, and it uses them as the expert. Everything we do, we do for the Learner and we continually ask them what they need so we know how to move forward. That’s why we’re starting to get results.
The evidence is that we’ve got happier, more engaged, and flourishing Learners. We’ve got Learners that have managed to get into great universities, and we have others that are already following their path and growing. In terms of what we’ve noticed, there’s been a huge increase in mental wellness, there’s no bullying — simple things that make a big difference to our Learners.
How do you measure the impact of your innovative educational practices on students’ learning and well-being?
You know we haven’t done this in a scientific way, we’ve really done it in a human way. We’ve looked at Learners who have joined us, and within two to three months Learners just start smiling more, come to school more often, start becoming more involved with others, and start to find the things that they like. They start to feel empowered. And I think that’s just the big thing, that once they understand that they can embrace the future instead of fearing it, because they’re prepared for it, everything changes. And this impact is revealed to us as we move one step at a time in the right direction. We start to hear from their parents about how much they’ve changed and how much happier they are. We start to understand that they’re waking up earlier, doing more, giving back to their communities. Much of the time they weren’t giving anything back to their community, and I think it’s difficult to be a happy person if you don’t feel like you’re part of a community. So all of those little things add up, like doing apprenticeships and internships in companies, working on social causes in their community, and feeling empowered that they are doing the right thing and that they’re in control of their life. That’s where we’ve really observed a sizeable change.
If we look at academics, we’ve had Learners moving into top universities around the world. If that was how they viewed success, and that was their objective, then we helped them to get there. We’ve also made sure that we have curriculum options that meet not only international qualifications, but also meet the needs of each individual kid. We offer the British International Curriculum, the American Curriculum, and our Unique Pathway (UP) program that allows our Learners to fast-track their university degree through us. They’ve all got advantages, and they’re all tailor-made for the Learner.
What challenges have you faced in implementing your educational innovations, and how have you overcome them?
In education, it’s a highly regulated and expectant industry. For us it was really difficult to understand that focusing on the Learner and doing what’s best for the Learner was often not as easy as we would have thought. Sometimes it’s difficult because of legislation, such as government rules and laws, but other times it’s due to parental expectations or societal expectations. Many people only see one route when doing education, and it’s something that’s been entrenched in us for hundreds of years. So the challenge really is, how do we change that mindset? How do we get the government to be more efficient, more open-minded, and a lot more dynamic in a world that has changed? How do we push them to once more put education in front of society instead of lagging behind it, as it’s been doing for so long?
The challenges, however, are likely a blessing in disguise, as they’ve made us think and come up with solutions that overcome these barriers. We’ve probably come up with even better solutions for our Learners than we would have otherwise if they were easy to implement. So, you know, even now coming up with our various programs like UP, UPx, the Brave Sports Academy, and BGA Remote, they’ve all been created to overcome some sort of barrier. And I think that’s the big thing, we’ve used the challenges and the difficulties to improve the educational model for the Learners that we have. It’s one of those things where the difficulties have helped us to come up with better solutions.
Keeping in mind the “Law of Unintended Consequences” can you see any potential drawbacks of this innovation that people should think more deeply about?
The unintended drawback of now having technology that can help us create bespoke education is that it could become too tech-focused and remove the human element. And I think that’s something we must never allow. The human side plays a very important role in terms of the future, as I believe to be successful, you ultimately just have to be a better human. So, I don’t think we can ever get rid of the human “teacher,” the human motivator, or the human coach due to technology. I think technology is there to play a role, to allow these human Learning Coaches to have more time to give to their Learners. But we must be aware that technology cannot replace that human side, because it’s not going to be about how we answer questions but how we ask them. It’s going to be about how we stay creative, how we work in teams, how we interact with different types of people, and the only way to get good at this is by spending time with humans.
So, I think that the risk is replacing humans with technology in education, and it’s one that we mustn’t fall into.
What are your “5 Things I Wish I Knew When I First Started”?
I don’t think I’m going to be too hard on myself for this one, because I didn’t come from an educational background, and I was expecting to learn a lot and to find out a lot of the answers along the way. So I was never that focused on what didn’t know and what I wish I knew.
I think what I did wish I was more aware of, was that everyone wants you to become a normal, traditional school. If I’d been a little more attentive to that, maybe I would have made a few different decisions. I think we would have stayed further away from that and been a little bit more understanding that everyone wants to feel comfortable, and feeling comfortable in this case means going back towards that traditional model.
I found this out quite early, though I didn’t know it going in, but I found out I needed to listen to the Learners, not the parents. I think this initially sounded quite arrogant to the parents when they didn’t get the time they wanted with me. But I really believed that listening to the Learners was more important than listening to the parents. Because they were the professionals, they were the ones I was looking after, and they were the ones that knew what they needed. So slowly, the parents started understanding this process, and now they support it.
I think there’s always that side of it that if maybe I had known it would be more difficult legislative-wise I would have done something differently. But maybe if I had known that I wouldn’t have done it. I might not be where I am today, and BGA might not have existed, and we would have had a whole bunch of Learners that wouldn’t have had a solution that was made for them. So I think not knowing sometimes is a good thing, because it makes you brave, and it helps you to get into things that maybe if you knew all the risks, and you knew all the difficulties, you wouldn’t get into.
So there isn’t much that I would say that I wish I’d known or that I wish I was aware of. I’m just very, very happy that myself and my team really started learning quickly what education’s all about, and how to change or make an impact in it. I often say, there was no BGA Book for Dummies. We were going to make mistakes, and if we learned from them, and if we did what was best for the Learner — instead of what was best for Tim, or for BGA, or the parents, or the state — then we would be on the right page. And that’s exactly what we did.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
Really, I’m quite a practical person, so I always want to tackle one problem at a time. When people present all these challenges and tasks we must address, it’s okay because I never feel overwhelmed. I tick them off one at a time. And I think the quote that really captures this mindset is from the movie The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, where they say, “Everything will be alright in the end, so if it is not alright, it is not the end.” That’s how I see life. There will be challenges and obstacles to overcome. But if you haven’t overcome them yet, it’s just part of the journey and the process. You will get there, you will overcome them, and everything will be okay in the end.
We are blessed that some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US, with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them 😊
The good news, and perhaps the challenging news, is that we built BGA without investors, private equities, or funding. We’ve done this because we understood that in education, many decisions are driven by the bottom line. Often, the question asked is, “How do we increase profits?” And that’s not what we wanted with Brave Generation Academy. It’s taken a lot of commitment, faith, and a lot of blood, sweat, tears, and sleepless nights to get to the point we’ve got to. But we got there by being self-funded, growing organically, and just doing what’s right.
Through our self-funded model, we’ve been able to provide scholarships to 35% of our learners, establish schools in refugee camps in northeast Kenya, facilitate learning experiences for female learners from Afghanistan via WhatsApp, and support learners in Gaza through our platform — all free of charge. This is all thanks to our dedication to doing what is right for our Learners.
For anyone who would like to know more about this, and would like to maybe contribute, and not think about the bottom line but think about this as a sustainable model that can be expanded and grown across more countries and to more Learners, I would love to have breakfast and I would love to connect. It’s all about sharing mindsets. Anyone who has the same mindset as us, I would love to spend time with them, grow, listen, and see how to make it work. So that’s what we’re looking for.
How can our readers further follow your work online?
Our work is available at our website and on our social media @bravegenerationacademy on Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn. I also frequently post on my personal LinkedIn about our ever-growing Hub network and all the new things we’re constantly coming up with, so I’m happy to connect with people there. I encourage you to check it out because we’re always growing and finding new ways to innovate education.
Thank you so much for these insights! This was so inspiring!
About The Interviewer: Eden Gold, is a youth speaker, keynote speaker, founder of the online program Life After High School, and host of the Real Life Adulting Podcast. Being America’s rising force for positive change, Eden is a catalyst for change in shaping the future of education. With a lifelong mission of impacting the lives of 1 billion young adults, Eden serves as a practical guide, aiding young adults in honing their self-confidence, challenging societal conventions, and crafting a strategic roadmap towards the fulfilling lives they envision.
Do you need a dynamic speaker, or want to learn more about Eden’s programs? Click here: https://bit.ly/EdenGold
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