EDUCATE programme welcomes UK and international delegates to the London Festival of Learning

The London Festival of Learning will comprise the annual conferences of the International Conference of the Learning Sciences (ICLS), Learning@Scale and Artificial Intelligence in Education (AIED), attracting 1,200 delegates and academics from around the world and presenting more than 500 research publications.

The Festival is hosted by the pioneering EDUCATE programme, which is based at the IOE. The programme supports SMEs, start-ups and entrepreneurs seeking to design and develop their own evidence-based EdTech.

Rose Luckin, Professor of Learner Centred Design at the UCL Knowledge Lab and the Director of EDUCATE, said: "We are delighted to be hosting this prestigious event, during which we will welcome members of the Department for Education's EdTech team. It is important that we maintain a dialogue with policy-makers about the future direction of EdTech and keep them informed of the many advances taking place constantly in its development.

"The Festival will bring together some of the brightest and most influential brains in artificial intelligence and other advanced technologies to present their work, to network and to share ideas.  This collaboration and cooperation is absolutely crucial to the future success of technology development.

"During the festival the EDUCATE programme will hold a three-day Showcase of its pioneering work with innovators and technologists, offering a chance for visitors to see some of the excellent work they have produced, and which could be used in schools."

The EDUCATE Showcase will include the inaugural 'EdWards' ceremony, recognising the achievements of the cohorts that have completed the EDUCATE programme successfully, and a practitioner track during which school teachers will have a chance to find out about, and discuss, the latest innovations in EdTech and to input ideas into its future development.

The 'EdWards' will be presented by Lord David Puttnam, the award-winning film producer and Lord Jim Knight, the former Schools Minister.

Lord Puttnam said: "The significant impact of artificial intelligence and technology is already evident in education and in industry more widely. The 'EdWards' are a fitting celebration of the some of the best entrepreneurship in EdTech currently taking place in the UK and I am delighted to play a part in the recognition of such innovation."

Lord Knight said: "For years I've been an advocate of the potential of technology to enhance teaching and learning. Too often I've been disappointed by results, which is why I am such a fan of EDUCATE. By linking academic research with product innovation, we are most likely to realise the potential and extend the reach of great teaching to more children."

Among the keynote speakers at the London Festival of Learning will be: Gever Tulley, Founder of Brightworks and Tinkering School; Tom Mitchell, founder of the world's first Machine Learning Department at Carnegie Mellon University, Nichole Pinkard, founder of Digital Youth Network and the social learning platform L3 and Professor Simon Buckingham-Schum, director of the Connected Intelligence Centre at Australia's University of Technology in Sydney.

Media contact

Dorothy Lepkowska, EDUCATE
d.lepkowska@ucl.ac.uk
+44 (0)7798 614256

Links

• Festival of Learning
• EDUCATE
• UCL Knowledge Lab
• Department of Culture, Communication and Media
• View Professor Rose Luckin's research profile