HP Cambridge Partnership for Education EdTech Fellowship

KEY INFORMATION

BACKGROUND

Educational technology has the potential to significantly improve the effectiveness, sustainability, and equity of education worldwide, including in low- and middle-income countries. But to achieve these benefits while avoiding its risks and potential pitfalls, strong leadership is required in leading the incorporation of EdTech into education systems.

To this end, Cambridge University Press & Assessment’s Partnership for Education (CPE), with funding from industry partner Hewlett Packard, undertook to develop a proof-of-concept executive education fellowship. The blended course comprises learning delivered online and face-to-face in Cambridge. Once tested, this model can then be scaled to train multiple cohorts of fellows, creating a global network of EdTech policy leaders.

CONTRIBUTION

CPE contracted OpenDevEd for the development and delivery of the executive education fellowship course. The course is aimed at senior civil servants, government advisors, and NGO and private sector education leaders who are responsible for EdTech transformation in their countries, with a curriculum focused on three key elements:

• EdTech – Answering key questions around connectivity, devices etc. from the perspective of senior policymakers and actors. 
• Design thinking – Supporting a design thinking sprint, introducing delegates to the wider design cycle.
• Leadership – Understanding and developing skills to mobilise stakeholders across government silos and civil society.

The course centres on a blended model, comprising seven months of remote learning through a customised learning platform, coupled with a four-day in-person residential component delivered in Cambridge for a cohort of participants from sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East. Additionally, a three-month online-only model, with a synchronous online academy session, was developed for the participation of a wider cadre of EdTech policy stakeholders and public policy students.

OpenDevEd are responsible for the following activities:

• Designing a blended learning model for the fellowship course, tailored to delegates’ national contexts and niche organisational roles
• Developing course curriculum and learning materials, including developing an online learning platform suitable for in-person and asynchronous learning experiences
• Identifying, contracting, and preparing expert tutors and moderators for delivering the course and providing tailored support to delegates as they progress through their studies, including through dedicated WhatsApp communities to deliver effective remote and peer learning
• Developing a scalable assessment, collating performance data, and contributing to a project evaluation plan and report, including a publication on the use of WhatsApp in executive education
• Liaising with CPE partners Cambridge Advanced Online and the Digital Education Futures Initiative to coordinate programme delivery and ensure alignment with overall programme objectives

RESOURCES

Outputs from this programme are also available in our evidence library, see https://docs.opendeved.net/lib/?featured=U4AZLY6U.