Melbourne EdTech Summit 2021 ran from 17 to 20 August 2021, focusing on the theme Amplifying Education Innovation.
Melbourne EdTech Summit 2021 was bigger and better than ever. We are so excited by how many people tuned in, wanting to hear about the future of education technology from leading thinkers. We had 82 speakers, 10,361 views across all event hosting platforms, and 1,677 registrations directly for the Summit. An incredible outcome!
The Summit invited visionaries and innovators to discuss Amplifying Education Innovation. Thank you to all the Melbourne EdTech Summit speakers for taking the time to discuss their bold ideas and key insights.
We wanted to make sure we tackled topics across the education spectrum, to ensure our conversations were relevant to all. The first two days of the summit were on K-12 and EdTech Entrepreneurship, and the final two days were on Higher Education, Workforce, and Skills.
Below are some of the important points from our keynote sessions linked to the conference themes:
The Future of Student Assessment
- Progress approach: Establish where individuals are in the learning experience, realise their needs, and think about appropriate stretch challenges – “what do we need to do next to support this student?”
- Fundamental purpose of assessment: Understand the point at which the student has reached in their learning. Understand, not judge.
Moodle, an Australian EdTech Success Story
- There is not a one-size-fits-all ideal model for establishing and running an EdTech organisation — could be a non-profit or for-profit.
- Everyone has a right to the privilege of education. Education is the fundamental part of achieving the global Sustainable Development Goals.
- If you’re an organisation who has a sustainable model, who is listening to educators and involving developers, you’re doing the right thing.
Students Demanding Innovation: EdTech Enabling New Business Models
- Online learning caters to diversity — by way of accessibility, sometimes lower cost, and allowing people with other commitments to participate.
- Working closely with industry as well as community is where the future of higher education is heading to provide relevant courses and curriculums.
- There is a shift towards a close consultation with employers and industry to develop the content for programs.
The War for Talent: EdTech Enabling Industry Growth
- Students could benefit from relevant and tailored career advice, to support learners into the post-secondary school phase.
- Careers are more dynamic and ever-changing than they have ever been. Therefore, we need to prepare students by fostering a lifelong learning mindset.
- Careers begin with great vocations.
Pitch Competition
Exciting, innovative EdTech startups participated in a live pitch competition, with just four making it to the final. The judges were a panel of investors with specific experience investing in promising education technology solutions. Congratulations to Flohh, the winner!
Well done to all the companies who participated — your presentations were snappy, interesting and encapsulated your solutions well.
Thank you to our partners
The Summit was made possible by our incredible partners. Our Principal Partners were Global Victoria and Wonde, and our Summit Partners were AWS EdStart, Curio, and OpenLearning. Each of these organisations are committed to the growth of the Australian EdTech sector, and recognise the greater social impact of education innovation for our world.
A big, final thanks to the team behind the scenes at EduGrowth who put this program together. It was an incredible opportunity for us to share our enthusiasm for the sector.
The Melbourne EdTech Summit 2021 was held from 17 to 20 August 2021 online through Balloon and the EduTECH 2021 conference.