Education entrepreneurs, developers and leaders are invited to the first Cambridge Startup Weekend Education on 23-25 May
The event, organised by Cambridge Judge Business School’s Accelerate Cambridge programme and ELTjam, is designed to bring together professionals who want to turn innovative education technology ideas into successful businesses.
The weekend will kick off with a series of 60-second pitches. The best ideas will be chosen and teams will be formed around them. The teams will then spend the rest of the weekend developing the ideas into business plans and pitches. A team of highly-experienced coaches drawn from the worlds of education, technology and business will be on hand to support the new entrepreneurs. The event has attracted sponsorship from BNY Mellon and Pearson among others.
On the last day, the teams will pitch their concepts to a panel of expert judges. The winning teams will have an opportunity take their businesses to the next level. The panel of judges includes Peter Phillips, CEO of Cambridge University Press, and Jack Lang, founder of the hugely successful Raspberry Pi Foundation.
Laurie Harrison, CEO of ELTjam and one of the organisers said:
The startup weekend is an amazing opportunity to develop a complete business concept in the space of 56 hours. It’s a chance to work with other education professionals, entrepreneurs and developers, and maybe create something brilliant. It promises to be an intense and fun weekend.
Kirsten Campbell-Howes, Director of Learning at Soda and one of the event’s coaches, said:
The best EdTech products have education at their heart, and solve real problems for teachers, students and parents. EdTech entrepreneurs should be reacting to the crises faced by today’s young people: increasing competition and pressure, and lack of opportunities to succeed.
The event will run from 18:30 on Friday, 23 May to 21:00 on Sunday 24 May at Cambridge Judge Business School.