The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will join the management team of the EdTech Center, the world's largest educational technology research project. The EdTech hub is managed by the UK Department for International Development. Announced in June, the initiative will see UK funds channeled towards improving the use of educational technologies in developing countries. The project will span an eight-year period and launch later in 2020. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will join existing funders such as the World Bank, the University of Cambridge and the Overseas Development Institute.
Global collaboration
The news was announced by Chris Skidmore, UK Minister of State for Universities, Science, Research and Innovation, during the keynote address at BETT 2020 in London. Skidmore, also a Conservative MP for Kingswood, spoke to BETT to discuss the government's plans to forge closer ties with international partners across sectors, in light of the imminent exit from the UK market. ; EU. "Brexit represents an opportunity: a new era of global collaboration," Skidmore said. “Above all, technology is capable of breaking down barriers. It unites us all no matter where we come from. The UK looks forward to collaborating internationally to help students in some of the world's most marginalized countries access a world-class education. " The UK government is also developing a new test bed for assistive technologies, with the aim of helping students with disabilities and those with additional needs. The aim is to allow students with disabilities to access the curriculum in ways never before possible."The future looks bright for the UK and for the EdTech industry as a whole," said the Conservative MP, completing his speech.