
Expertise on-demand
The EDUCATE Ventures Research webinars started life as a way to get expertise and understanding to where it's needed most, keeping those in the Golden Triangle who build the EdTech, and those who use the EdTech, informed, and joining them up with the people who research whether the technology works or not. Our first webinar series was on AI Readiness, and the second on Education Reform. Several of the EVR Team have also lent their expertise to other organisations' talks and we have created a library with several sections below for you to view.
Webinars
The Case for
AI in Education

Here you can find recordings of webinars making the case for the use of AI, and the understanding of data, in education, be it for online learning, home learning, in the classroom, in universities, or further education. The team at EVR regularly contributes to conferences, and panels, so check back regularly for new additions to the library.
The Education Reform Series

Inspired by a joint statement issued to the UK Govt., this series took place in the first half of 2021, examining the possibilities of education reform, chaired by Lord Jim Knight, and featured a rotating cast of experts from across the educational ecosystem.
Further Viewing
Join EDUCATE's Chief Education Advisor, Karine George, on this short Pearson video about balancing dynamic learning with education designed to 'pass the test'. Recorded in January 2018.
"Everybody is worried about time, resources, technology going wrong... parents want education to be the way they remember it. It's only 'good' if it happens in the style they recall."
AI & Education: The Need for a System Change
Join Associate Professor and Chief Research Advisor Mutlu Cukurova on the stage for one of the Applied Machine Learning Days events in February 2020.
"Sometimes there is this notion that AI is a panacea for all the global challenges we're facing in education... we must remember these challenges are driven by fundamental social, cultural and political considerations"
EdTech: from the Classroom to the Living Room
Join the Head of Data Science and AI, Dr Carmel Kent, as she contributes (in English, at 37:33) to Advantage Austria's webinar on the findings of EdTech use during the Covid-19 pandemic. This session was recorded in November 2020.
"What does learning look like when hit by Covid? What are the challenges for all educational stakeholders and what were the opportunities?"
Covid-19's Effect on Learning in the UK
Head of Data Science and AI, Dr Carmel Kent, spoke to our friends at the EETN about findings from our Shock to the System: Lessons from Covid-19 report. This session was recorded in January 2021.
"It's not only a problem for overseas, it's happening in Europe, that there are 1 or 2 laptops and both parents need to work and there are 3 children in the house who need to learn from home."
Rose delivers a Keynote speech from Global EdTech's Future of EdTech virtual conference. This was recorded in February 2021.
"Our data showed 71% of state school children received one or no online daily lessons from school. 31% of private schools reported offering 4 or more live online lessons a day."
A small presentation at the Westminster Education Forum from Rose, talking about how EdTech has fared during the Covid-19 pandemic. This session was recorded in March 2021.
"There were a lot of ineffective connections between stakeholders in the education ecosystem groups and that compromised the integrity and resilience of the whole system."
Policy Dialogue: Youth employability in a changing world
A series of workshops, kicked off by the University of London Institute in Paris, in which Rose presents on how HEIs can prepare for the future of work. This session was recorded in April 2021.
"We often focus on AI as a problem-solving technique, but actually in the early days of AI it's as much about understanding them as it was about building the solution."
CogX: If EdTech is here to stay, how can it make education fairer?
The Nesta-organised panel held on the first day of CogX 2021, Rose contributes to a discussion on solutions to society's biggest challenges. This session was recorded in June 2021.
"I was a teacher before I ever became interested in AI, and the number of times I would look at the children I was teaching, and think to myself if only I could understand what you're really struggling with I could give you much better help."
CogX: The Future of Work and HR
A second CogX 2021 panel, Rose discusses what skills will be in demand in the future workforce and how we will develop them. This session was recorded in June 2021.
"Humans in the loop are often the problem too... it is always the most disadvantaged, who are the most disadvantaged by these trends. The biggest challenge is persuading decision-makers about what precisely they should focus on."
Better Learning Better Leadership Conference: Technology in Education
Cambridge invited Rose to speak on EdTech in a 4-day conference on leadership, educational partnerships, teacher support, technology and teaching. Recorded July 2021.
"The AI systems that are well designed - and not all are - are very good at doing some parts of the process... so you have bits of the story of how to, say, learn a language, but you don't have the whole story. So there is 'scale', but it's just bits of the puzzle being scaled, not the rich, complete picture."
Futures Forum on Learning: Building Platforms that Improve the More People Use Them
Starting at 23:00, Anissa joins the panel to offer insight into how productive partnerships between researchers and platforms can be formed and how the ecosystem can facilitate this. Recorded late September 2021.
"The three stakeholder groups in the creation of EdTech - users, developers, and impact evaluators - are all operating in silos, and the biggest challenge right now is trying to get them to communicate with one another in a common language."
RewirED: Technology in Education Reform
Anissa joined Cambridge Partnership for Education, and accelerator programme almnus, ZNotes, to discuss the use and implementation of EdTech in education reform. Recorded late September 2021.
"Right now digital competency is limited because there isn't that time for educators to design and really think about how to use EdTech. If policy-makers want to break new ground in this area, there needs to be phased implementation, infrastructure, and time and capacity given over to training."
NYTimes Educate on Climate @ COP26: Preparing students for work in a changing world
Asked to join a panel at the NYT Educate on Climate presentations, Rose spoke on AI, the digital divide and education policy and reform. Recorded at COP26 in early November 2021.
"We need to help young people understand what knowledge actually is. Knowledge is seen as something you're given, rather than something you construct."
EdTech, Entrepreneurs & Evidence Awareness
Excerpted from the UK GESAward semifinals, this roundtable discussion on EdTech, Entrepreneurs & Evidence Awareness, featuring chair: Tom Hooper, and representatives from three EdWarded EDUCATE alumni, Busuu, Tassomai, and Blue Shift Coding.
"Spoiler alert: I think research is absolutely essential for EdTech companies, and I think it is our moral responsibility to be conducting honest research into our products to ensure they are as good as they aspire to be."
How AI can help create digital tools for a more inclusive world after Covid
Organised by European SchoolNet, this 3 hour event contains a plethora of information on digital information, including a presentation and panel discussion with Rose at the 1hr 20min mark. The session was recorded in early December.
"If we use more AI, for example, in our education systems, then we understand more about it. And then we see how the way that AI works means that we are facing a very different kind of career track for our students."
Holistic Approaches to Equitable Learning
Digital Education Futures Initiative Cambridge invited Dr Ekaterina Cooper to this Future of Learning webinar to discuss the importance of research and evidence in the changing EdTech landscape. The session was recorded mid-March 2022.
"Schools were limited with the specific digital solutions they had access to and hence teachers were often restricted to the ability to differentiate the level of depth and complexity for their learners."
Delivering equal and unbiased AI
At the ASU+GSV 2022 summit, Laurie joins a panel of founders and CEOs to discuss AI's potential to both eliminate and reinforce bias and deliver opportunity in education. Thie session was recorded late March 2022.
"To those of you working in the educational data space, I want you to think about how you can contribute to a pool of data that helps us answer what works for students in what context. I envision the data in a kind of compiled educational trust, accessible for the good of all."