A prize bundle worth more than half a million pounds will be on offer when some of the country’s most promising edtech enterprises compete head-to-head later this month.
The annual UCL EDUCATE Demo Day will see eight entrepreneurs given five minutes to pitch their high tech plans in front of investors, educators, policy makers and potential customers.
An audience vote will decide the winner at the November 29 event, at London’s City Hall.
“Edtech is the fastest growing sector in the technology industry,” said Professor Rose Luckin, director of UCL EDUCATE, “with the global market reaching more than $250 billion by 2020.
“But this is only part of the story. Behind these numbers lie huge benefits for learners and educators, giving us, for the first time ever, the potential to educate the entire population of the world. It also gives us the possibility of meeting some of the existing challenges facing schools in the UK and beyond, such as teacher shortages and workload, as well as meeting the differing learning needs of students.
“Demo Day is, therefore, about celebrating all of these opportunities, of highlighting some of the excellent edtech that has already been developed, and looking ahead to technological advances in the pipeline. It is a very exciting time.”
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Collectively, the companies will pitch ideas utilising virtual and augmented reality, artificial intelligence, speech intelligence, and the internet of things. They are:
Since its 2017 foundation, UCL EDUCATE has partnered more than 250 start-ups and innovators, working in areas including STEM, language learning platforms, health and wellbeing, and early years development.