This year the challenge is rooted in a big topic - the technological disruption of education. 2012 saw the meteoric rise of the MOOC (Massive Open Online Courses). Platforms like EdX, Coursera and Udacity mean you can get an Ivy League education anywhere in the world, for free. Self-motivated learning sites like Memrise and Khan Academy are challenging the actual value of a four year degree.

As Cameron said in this year's brief: "I'm not normally a big fan of jumping on bandwagons, but in this case, I think the trend may be even bigger than it appears."

Here's why:

• The basic model of the education system hasn't changed in decades - from the application process to the final piece of paper. How many industries can you think of that look and operate the same way they did 30 years ago?

• The real-world value of the four year degree is declining. Today's qualifications have a shorter and shorter shelf-life, and it has become increasingly important to continue your education, essentially forever.
• At the same time, the cost of that degree has increased dramatically. The current level of outstanding student debt in the United States is over 1 trillion dollars. Get your head around that one.

The bottom line? The education industry is charging far too much for a product that is of questionable, and declining, value. Can we create a product or service that tackles some small part of this problem?

And can we do it in four days..?

We're going to give it a go. Join us for the ride at the 4D2L blog.