BETT 2024:

Cambridge highlighted the importance of learners as agents of change on climate and sustainability at education technology summit BETT 2024 this week in London, UK.

Celebrating the achievements and ideas of innovative students

On Wednesday 24 January, Cambridge’s Climate Director Christine Özden returned to BETT as a judge for the Design4SDGs Design Challenge. The competition, open to all UK students aged 9-14, was created to promote big thinking and innovative ideas on a large scale, providing solutions for the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The competition aims to drive grassroots innovation in schools by encouraging students to find solutions using four key skills: critical thinking, collaboration, creativity, and communication. The six target SDGs that students could base their solutions on are SDG3 – Good Health & Well-being; SDG4 – Quality Education; SDG5 – Gender Equality; SDG11 – Sustainable Cities & Communities; SDG12 – Responsible Consumption & Production; and SDG13 – Climate Action.

There were 12 finalists, and they came from all over England. There were two finalists in each SDG category.

The winning student teams were:

• SDG 3 - Top Girls - Old Hall School
• SDG 4 - Team Digital Character - Denbigh High School
• SDG 5 - Level Up - Cheam Common Junior Academy
• SDG 11 - Cheam Fielders and Potters - Cheam Fields Primary Academy
• SDG 12 - Fastidious Food Waste Fighters - St Lawrence College (Junior School)
• SDG 13 - Better Breathers - Cheam Common Junior Academy

Christine was impressed by the quality of the final entries, and by their potential to be scaled from schools into communities.

“The ideas presented by students today are a powerful indication of how many young, innovative people are engaged and keen to build a more sustainable and brighter world – and that they have amazing talent, ambition and capability to create positive change on a large scale.

“It is a privilege and a joy to judge this competition. Watching students present their ideas is enriching and inspiring – and the competition is also so aligned to Cambridge's values and efforts to contribute meaningfully to sustainability initiatives and climate action.”

Designing sustainable and scalable education innovations with Cambridge

On Thursday 25 January, Jane Mann, Managing Director for Cambridge Partnership for Education, led a Global Futures Stage panel discussion on how local leaders are designing education innovations with Cambridge. In conversation with Jane, were Dr Ramit Debnath, University of Cambridge Assistant Professor and co-author of the new Cambridge Climate Quest programme in India, and Roche Mogorosi, an HP Cambridge Partnership for Education EdTech Fellow, as well as being Chief Director of Schools Technology Support Services in South Africa’s Gauteng Department of Education.

The HP Cambridge Partnership for Education EdTech Fellowship was also a finalist in the BETT Transformational Impact Awards 2024.

The panel members explored two locally-led projects: the Cambridge Climate Quest in India and Combatting Learning Challenges in South Africa.

Jane Mann, Roche Mogorosi, and Dr Ramit Debnath

Managing Director for Cambridge Partnerships for Education, Jane Mann

Locally-led education initiatives

three young learners wearing school uniforms smiling at camera

Cambridge Climate Quest

The Cambridge Climate Quest is a programme created in partnership by Cambridge University Press & Assessment and Cambridge Zero, to support young learners in India to develop their climate awareness and to become proactively engaged in climate and sustainability initiatives.

The programme also seeks to instill a deep sense of responsibility in learners and an interest and appreciation in the climate that extends beyond the classroom.

Set to launch in February 2024, the programme aims initially to reach 50,000 learners across 500 schools.

Combatting Learning Challenges

This initiative seeks to improve practical studies experiences and outcomes in South African schools and has been developed as part of the HP Cambridge Partnership for Education EdTech Fellowship. By addressing teaching and infrastructure barriers, the initiative aims to reduce student failure and drop-out rates.

A pilot is currently underway in five South African schools, with the intention of expanding to 60 schools. It involves welding and spray-painting simulation devices to provide students with better equipment for their studies.

“Quality education is crucial in efforts to keep students engaged and to combat climate change,” noted Jane.

“Locally-led education initiatives can play a critical role in inspiring students and enabling them to participate in climate action, in informed and purposeful ways. This is why, as part of the work we do at Cambridge, we seek to support climate education at a grassroots level as well as on a global scale.

“Initiatives like those being rolled out in India and South Africa have the potential to make lasting and positive change. Better infrastructure supports better learning. And being informed and proactive can also help people of all ages to feel more empowered in their lives, in our climate-impacted world.

“Our initiatives presented today, and others like them, offer meaningful paths to creating better futures.”

Improving teacher engagement and retention

Jane Mann also spoke at BETT on Tuesday 23 January in an HP Cambridge-sponsored roundtable of education leaders about global teacher retention.

At the event, Jane emphasised that studies across the world show that ‘teacher quality’ is the single most important school variable when influencing student achievement.

Teachers not only have a major impact on learners’ academic attainment, but they also have a significant impact on children’s personal development and their future lives.

A University of Cambridge study found children who receive words of encouragement from a teacher are significantly more likely to continue their education beyond the age of 16 than those who do not – and this is especially true for children from families with limited education.

A challenge facing the education sector is that there is a shortage of people entering the teaching profession. Yet Jane also noted a further challenge: of those who do enter the teaching profession, many do not have adequate initial teaching qualifications, and often encounter limited in-service professional development.

“High quality teaching and learning is only possible with quality teacher education combined with continuous professional development,” said Jane.

“When teachers take responsibility for their growth and professional development and are well supported by the school leadership team, who are in turn enabled, empowered and supported by their Ministries of Education, improvement in classroom practice is much more likely.

“There are four aspects of teaching where support would make a substantial difference in improving retention within the profession. These are: education reform that involves teachers in policy development and change; developing school leaders as leaders and not just educators; supporting teachers and school leaders to drive their own professional growth; and more accessible professional development programmes.”

A White Paper based on the BETT roundtable and panel discussion will be distributed to key government entities, NGOs, charities, and Ministries of Education worldwide.