Only a few weeks ago, London Tech Week concluded with booming applause, attracting 45,000 visitors and becoming the biggest and hottest tech event of the year. Hot on its heels came London EdTech Week 2024 – celebrating the capital’s dynamic and innovative education technology scene.
First started in 2017, London EdTech Week attracts more than 2,000 attendees from around the world and features over 30 events, highlighting the best of educational technology. From conferences and networking events to meet-ups, exclusive dinners, start-up summits, and awards ceremonies, the event is designed to foster collaboration and innovation in the education technology sector.
We collected three key highlights from this year’s event.
Celebrating the best of AI in Education
Unsurprisingly, this topic would be the pinnacle of the event, highlighting the mighty influence AI has been having in the education industry. Participants enjoyed compelling presentations on the latest AI advancements and their classroom applications, kicking off with Goodnotes’ session on “Teaching and Learning with AI,” where Lord Jim Knight shared insightful perspectives.
The dialogue extended with HolonIQ’s roundtable, which examined AI’s transformative effect on education outcomes and its pivotal role in steering the future of European EdTech, setting a comparative analysis with other global regions. The event also explored the intersection of educational neuroscience and AI, focusing on using AI to develop strategies that enhance student resilience and empowerment by providing personalised insights for both academic and personal development.
Nurturing the start-up community
The event not only featured insights from the EdTech moguls but also spotlighted some prominent and innovative start-ups, giving inspiring entrepreneurs and founders the stage to build connections and create funding opportunities. For example, the Global Startup Mini Summit, a lively event conducted by UCL EdTech Labs alongside MindCET and SEK Labs, sparked in-depth discussions on critical topics fuelling EdTech innovation.
Additionally, Ufi Ventures’ networking event centred on investing in the future of workforce development, attracting investors and founders passionate about revolutionising adult learning at work. Finally, techUK hosted a brilliant discussion on ‘Movers, Makers & Market Shakers’, bringing together diverse and innovative European start-ups to discuss funding, build long-lasting relationships and plan for growth.
Putting trainers on for the EdTech community
Collaboration in any industry is key to achieving success, and London EdTech Week further reiterated this message by hosting an incredible ‘London Run Club’! On Tuesday, EdTech experts put on their running trainers and joined HolonIQ for a networking run/jog/walk along the river. The session allowed early and late stage start-ups to match up with investors and start off on the right foot while exercising. We thought it was a brilliant idea – much better than the usual coffee mornings we see so much at other events!
Overall, London EdTech Week was a huge success, yet again highlighting technology’s capacity to fundamentally change and improve teaching and learning across the world. The EdTech sector is growing rapidly at 13.2% per year, with nearly 1,700 companies in the industry contributing £6.2bn to the UK’s economy. The educational future is bright, and we can’t wait to see how AI will further enhance it.
