"We should focus education, not only towards technology, but also towards values and the humanities"

JOSÉ Mª ÁLVAREZ-PALLETE PRESIDENT OF TELEFÓNICA

What is enlightED?

Every year, since 2018, the Telefónica Foundation, together with IE University and South Summit, has been bringing together the most prominent international experts in education, technology and innovation to reflect on the challenges posed in the field of learning and draw practical conclusions around the great debate on education in the digital age.

In the three previous editions, enlightED has had more than 300 international speakers and more than 50,000 virtual and on-site attendees from 46 countries.

We recognise the best practices in the world in entrepreneurship and educational innovation.

enlightED Awards 2021

During the last day of enlightED, the winners of the enlightED Awards were revealed, recognising the best practices in the world in entrepreneurship and educational innovation. These awards give the participants the opportunity to share with the rest of the educational community the latest projects in education and digital innovation in response to the situation caused by Covid-19.

New for this year’s edition, the categories of best education, innovation and edTech startups will include awards for best educational innovation practices in corporate training, higher education and primary and secondary education. This year, the awards received more than 700 nominations from more than 15 different countries.

All winners were awarded a scholarship to study one of the High Impact Online Programs offered by IE University. In addition, the 10 finalists in the Entrepreneurship category will have access to presentations to major international investors and the media, as well as meetings with large companies and mentoring.  In the Educational Innovation categories there will also be three prizes of 2,000, 1,500 and 1,000 euros, respectively.

| The winners of the enlightED Awards 2021 |

A space for reflection and dialogue open to experts and guests.

Designing enlightED 2021

Designing enlightED, the series of participatory sessions for reflection, questions and joint preparation of the next enlightED Congress, was attended by over 100 experts, reference figures and members of the enlightED community. Three sessions were held, on the 17th of June and the 1st and 8th of July, in both hands-on and virtual format, and the participants reflected on different matters related to education, technology and innovation, the cornerstones of all previous editions of this world congress.

Designing enlightED, the space for reflection and dialogue open to experts and guests, had two moments dedicated to it at each session: firstly, a conversation at the Espacio Fundación Telefónica in Madrid, with four guests at the forefront in their fields opening debates and answering questions, and secondly a Digital Collaboration Laboratory where the participants, organised by teams in different online work rooms, helped design enlightED by voicing their questions and concerns and proposing different lines of action.

Each of the three meetings focused on one of the main conference topics. ‘Beyond Digitalisation in Schools’ reflected onthe main challenge for schools in the twenty-first century and the numerous implications of digitalisation in education. The second meeting, ‘Innovating in Higher Education’, addressed university education and the need to update skills and create an innovation-based university. Finally, the session entitled ‘The Professional Challenge of Continuous Learning’ focused on the need for professionals with specialist digital skills and how companies and the labour market are seeking not only digitalisation but also enhancement of creativity and innovation.All the Designing enlightED sessions can be watched again on the enlightED YouTube channel.

| Re-watch ‘Designing enlightED’ sessions |