EDUCATE Ventures and Cambridge University Press enter partnership

The education technology accelerator originated by University College London is teaming up with the world-renowned publishing arm of Cambridge University to better understand the challenges and successes of home education during the lockdown.

Education stakeholders around the world – teachers, school leaders, school governors, students, parents, and content developers – are encouraged to complete a short questionnaire and respond to a daily question. Participants will receive findings from the research, which it is hoped will help understand the successes and challenges of this period of rapid innovation.

Professor Rose Luckin, director of EDUCATE Ventures and professor of learner-centred design at UCL Knowledge Lab, said: “I am delighted that we will be working with the Press to collect the all-important data that will help us understand what is happening on a daily basis in education while it is disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. This is vital evidence to help us provide sound advice and support during and beyond the current disruption where technology is playing a large role. It is unlikely that this will be the first - or last -time that schools and families will find themselves in this difficult situation, so our aim is to understand the issues so we can help to plan for the future. This partnership is an extremely important development. Both organisations have a common interest in informing and supporting policy makers, educators and learners, particularly with technology, and we can achieve a great deal more together.”

Jane Mann, Director, Education Reform at the Press, said: “The coronavirus crisis represents the largest peacetime disruption to education in living memory. We can draw parallels with previous crises – SARS, MERS, Ebola – but never before has so many children's education relied on so many new, rapidly implemented, and previously untried interventions. We know that the impact of this period of disruption will be felt for years to come, and that there may be subsequent outbreaks or new epidemics that force mass school closures in the future. That is why Cambridge is proud to collaborate with EDUCATE Ventures on this important research, because the more we know about the impact of the crisis and what works, the better prepared teachers and systems can be for the future.”

For further information contact:

Cambridge University Press

Kagendo Salisbury, Head of Marketing and Communications, Education Reform
Email: [email protected]