• Fundación Telefónica, IE University and South Summit have joined forces to organize and host enlightED, an international conference focused on education, innovation and edtech in which thought leaders and innovators like Sir Ken Robinson, Barbara Oakley, Jonathan Zittrain, Maysa Jalbout and Gerd Leonhard will take part with the aim of fostering debate on education in the digital era.
• enlightED has also created a special competition to award prizes to the 10 best edtech startups in the world. The deadline for entries is August 17.
• Entrance tickets are already available on the event’s official website at enlightED.education.

How is technology transforming education? What opportunities does it bring to improve and enable access to learning? Who are the key players in innovation in education today? What are the main challenges in the world of edtech? How do entrepreneurs see the education sector of the future? Leading thinkers and innovators like Sir Ken Robinson (world expert in education and creativity), scientist Barbara Oakley (expert in neuroscience at Oakland University), Jonathan Zittrain (expert in transformation and technology at Harvard University), Maysa Jalbout (CEO of the Abdulla Al Ghurair Foundation for Education), and Gerd Leonhard (futurist and  humanist) will be examining these issues on October 3, 4 and 5 at the enlightED Conference, organized by Fundación Telefónica, IE University and South Summit, and which will form part of South Summit 2018.

“We feel that education is the optimum tool with which to achieve a fairer and more equitable society, and that technology can serve as a lever in this process,” says José María Álvarez-Pallete, President of Telefónica, co-organizer of enlightED.

“Education is essential in order to meet the demands of the technology and digital revolution in a timely and effective manner, and serves as a cornerstone on which to build a more equal society with greater opportunities. We are proud to co- organize this first edition of enlightED within South Summit alongside Telefónica Foundation and IE University,” explains María Benjumea, founder and CEO of Spain Startup – South Summit.

The transversal and participative nature of the enlightED conference is achieved by means of round tables and workshops in which business leaders, academics, innovators, students and futurists explore new learning and development opportunities in the edtech world, and make proposals that enable any person to play an active role in the digital society.

Santiago Íñiguez de Onzoño, President of IE University, another of the co-organizers of the event, believes that the education sector of the future will be centered on new content and new formats. “Technology will be key in enabling people to meet new challenges in the digital world. enlightED will serve as a platform to examine the challenges involved and seek new responses.”

Other participants in the Conference will include Pierre Dubuc (CEO of OpenClassrooms), Matt Sigelman (CEO of Burning Glass Technologies), César Alierta (Executive President of the Telefónica Foundation), Rosalía Arteaga (Former President of Ecuador), David Calle (Founder of Unicoos), Santiago Íñiguez (Executive President of IE University), and Joseph Aoun (President of Northeastern University in Boston).

enlightED will run parallel to South Summit 2018 at the La Nave exhibition center in Madrid. Participants in both events will thus be able to meet and get involved with the proposals and content of both events. 

enlightED seeks the 10 best edtech startups in the world

enlightED also wants to serve as a window onto the world and a networking space for edtech startups. Hence a special competition has been launched to award prizes to the best 10 edtech startups worldwide, which can be at any stage of development.

Selected startups will be among the finalists of South Summit and will have the opportunity to have their own space at the event, thereby gaining advantages that include enhanced visibility, access to education, and meetings with potential investors or businesses that seek innovation and mentoring.

Entrepreneurs interested in taking part in the competition have until August 17 to register on the southsummit.co website. Finalists will travel to Madrid to present their projects and, in addition to the South Summit competition prizes, will be eligible for the enlightED Awards, which include three special prizes:

• IE University enlightED Prize for the “Best Startup in Higher Education.”
• Fundación Telefónica enlightED Prize for the “Startup with the Biggest Social Impact on Education.”
• Wayra & Telefónica Educación Digital enlightED Prize for the “Best Tech Solution for Learning and Education.”
•  Evaluation criteria for entries include innovative nature, viability, scalability, team profile, and a capacity for attracting investment. The judges’ panel will comprise international investors, entrepreneurs and experts in a range of sectors.
•  The winners will be given access to the IE Rockets Edtech Startup Accelerator, to Wayra’s international entrepreneurs network, and to the entire South Summit investor system, as well as having the opportunity to collaborate with its partners.