In this year’s Virtual South Summit for Education (held online this time around), three projects were chosen as winners out of eight EdTech startups previously announced as finalists. Gamelearn, a game-based learning platform for corporate training, took gold, followed by Zapiens, a knowledge management app, and Symba, an internship management platform for students and recent graduates.
High-profile guests share their vision for digital learning
During the online event, each finalist had three minutes to present their projects, which was followed by questions from the judges’ panel. The questions were generally related to evaluation criteria such as the degree of innovation or the scalability of the business model.
There was also time set aside to talk with two guests whose authority in EdTech is unquestioned: Markus Witte, Founder of the Babbel language learning app, and Sanjay Sarma, Vice President of Open Learning at MIT.
“Just as it would be absurd to believe that going to the gym for f4 or 5 years would guarantee we are in great shape for the rest of our lives, our learning should not end after college either”
The former commented on the peculiarities of language learning and the different motives that drive those taking on the challenge. In fact, Markus compared the experience of learning a new language that of launching a startup: the challenges, expectations, doubts, improvisation, and that nagging sensation of always feeling like you can improve are present in both.
After overcoming some connection problems, Sanjay Sarma outlined some ideas on digital learning and how we should be aware that the learning process doesn’t end when we finish school. “Just like it would be absurd to believe that going to the gym for 4 or 5 years would guarantee we are in great shape for the rest of our lives, our learning should not end after college either,” he argues.
Gamelearn’s winning proposal
Ibrahim Jabary, the CEO and Founder of Gamelearn, took the stage to introduce the company’s project, an e-learning solution that goes beyond standard methods of distance training and is committed to video games as a learning tool. Although the company has been using its methodology for years and has worked with over 2,500 clients to revamp corporate training methods, now they are making way for new possibilities moving forward.
The moment Gamelearn is announced as the winning startup
The Coronavirus health crisis has thrust the integration of online training into the spotlight, not just in educational and academic institutions, but also in the workplace. Expectations in the latter specifically have garnered special attention. To tackle this challenge, Gamelearn has developed an authoring tool, “Editor,” which allows companies to create personalized training video games, quickly and without knowing how to code. Users will be able to turn their training material into fun, engaging video games in a matter of hours, not weeks.
For more information about Editor, check out the Gamelearn website.