HIGHLIGHTS REVEALED AS BETT SHOW EXCITEMENT BUILDS

Countdown is on to The Bett Show, 22-25 January, London ExCeL

London, 20/01/2020: The Bett Show 2020 has six key themes of Innovation, Wellbeing, Empowering Teaching & Learning, Future Tech & Trends, Skills and Inclusion (Social Mobility and SEND) and the programme has been designed to provide thought-provoking, engaging discussion around each of these areas. With just two days to go until the doors open to Bett 2020, the world’s biggest gathering of education, at 10am on Wednesday 22 January, we take a look at some of the speakers, awards, events and exhibitors that will make this year’s show bigger and better than ever before.

Speaking Up

The speaker programme at Bett 2020 has something for everyone with over 380 speakers across four days and a significant increase year-on-year in educator speakers. Leading the charge in the Arena is the UK’s best known experimental physicist, Professor Brian Cox OBE, who will deliver his keynote speech on Exploring the Universe at 4.30pm on 22 January. Big brands will also take to the Arena stage with keynotes on ‘Hybrid Intelligences: Amplifying Human Potential’ from Microsoft (1.25pm Wednesday 22 January) and the ‘Importance of Creativity’ from Apple (2.50pm Wednesday 22 January).

Further noteworthy sessions include: ‘Educating workforce of the future’ led by Made by Dyslexia; ‘The Learning Amplifier: an immersive journey with mixed reality technology’ from Discovery Education; ‘Digital tools to give children a voice’ from Dot Com Digital; and ‘Expanding the nature of school: rethinking teaching and learning in a non-linear way’ with Beaver County Day School. To review the full speaker programme visit https://www.bettshow.com/bett-seminar-programme-2020  

The welcome return of a comprehensive programme of international and UK Teach Meets and regular meet-ups in the Staff Room will offer further networking opportunities to attendees.

Exhibitor Highlights

With over 40,000 square feet of floor space within Bett there is an eye-catching exhibit at every turn.  Worldwide Partner Microsoft will be hosting a range of activities on their campus as well as showcasing their joint venture with jp.ik –  their Community Learning Centre. In addition, Lego Education will be celebrating their 40th anniversary in education with their very own on-stand museum!

Bett’s Aspiration Partner, KidZania, will bring interactivity to the show.  KidZania believe in ‘Learning by Doing’ and will bring this to life with an aspiration trail, designed to introduce immersive and experiential learning to educators. Dr Ger Graus, OBE, Global Director of Education for KidZania will take to the stage to discuss the need to connect teaching with ‘Learning by Doing’ at 12.30pm on 23 January.

Much anticipated exhibits from Google, SMART, Promethean, Spotify, HP, BBC Learning, Sparx and AWS (Amazon Web Services) will see crowds gather at their stands. With start-up village Bett Futures showcasing some of the most innovative up-and-coming start-ups.

Bett supports Mind

It’s not all learning and observing for teachers attending Bett this year. Teachers will be taking part in EduFootyAid – a charity football tournament in partnership with Mind UK kicking off at 11am on Saturday 25 January. One of Bett’s major themes for 2020 is Wellbeing. With increasing workload on teachers and social pressures on pupils, ensuring the wellbeing and mental health of both students and staff across schools in the UK is central to providing positive learning environments where teachers and learners alike are able to flourish.  By working with Mind UK, EduFootyAid will shine a light on the work they do in this area, and give teachers the chance to get active too.

Recognising achievements in EdTech

The four day show will see two sets of awards recognising the best in EdTech. 

The Bett Awards, in association with BESA, are a celebration of inspiring creativity and innovation that can be found throughout technology for education. The awards are an integral part of Bett each year and the winners will be announced at a ceremony on Wednesday 22 January. With 20 awards recognising everything from innovation to collaborations with schools to devices, the shortlist features established players and breakthrough brands, ensuring an exciting evening of presentations.

The Global EdTech Startup Awards (GESAwards), are designed to identify, showcase and recognise the world’s most promising EdTech startups of the year. After sifting through 3,000 entries, a panel of judges will watch pitches from fifteen finalists at Bett at 5:15pm on Thursday 23 January. Many of the finalists will be exhibiting in the Bett Futures area of the Bett Show that showcases small tech start-ups with big ideas.

These are just a few of the highlights of Bett 2020, the world’s biggest gathering of education professionals and businesses.  For full details of the show visit www.bettshow.com

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