Ben Nelson
Chairman and CEO, Minerva Project
and Chancellor, Minerva University, USA
Ben Nelson is founder, chairman, and CEO of Minerva Project and Chancellor of Minerva University. Ben founded Minerva in 2011 with the goal of nurturing critical wisdom for the sake of the world through a systematic and evidence-based approach to learning. Nelson has, since, built Minerva University, ranked as the most innovative university in the world, and has developed a business to share Minerva's unique approach with other like-minded institutions, corporations and governments.
Prior to Minerva, Nelson spent 10 years at Snapfish, where he helped build the company from startup to the world’s largest personal publishing service. Serving as CEO from 2005 through 2010, Nelson began his tenure at Snapfish by leading the company’s sale to Hewlett Packard for $300 million.
Nelson holds a B.S. in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, where he created a blueprint for curricular reform in his first year, the principles from which he drew to frame Minerva.
How Minerva Project helps institutions rethink how they approach education
Higher education is experiencing a crisis in confidence, increasingly accelerated by the advent of generative AI. This is manifested through decreasing student enrolment, the degradation of skills acquired by graduates, and the fiery ideological clashes on campuses. It is a moment for universities to fundamentally transform what skills they teach and how to assess them, thus nurturing real learning, rather than just bestowing credentials.
In this keynote, Ben will highlight
• The root causes of what is broken in higher education
• How learning programs can be transformed from being "atomized" to "integrated and systematic"
• Why learning assessment should focus on the breadth of application
Avanti Sharma
Pre-Teen Technology Specialist
Workshop4Me, Luxembourg
Avanti stands for the Sustainable Development Goals and encourages iGens to play a role in them. Starting with her TEDx about “How an iGen would implement the Sustainable Development Goals”, Avanti has been presenting her ideas on international forums.
Avanti’s contribution has been recognized by Technology Playmaker Awards 2018 hosted by Booking.com, IT Ladies Night 2019, InspiringFifty Belgium 2022, ShEU LEADS (European Commission) 2022, GirlsInTech 2022 WomenInTech 2023.
Avanti was interviewed by Randi Zuckerberg Influencer, CEO & Founder of HUG and former marketing director, Facebook, for her podcast ‘Dot Complicated’ in 2018. Avanti has been featured in Tech Talks podcast by legendary David Savage, Group Technology Evangelist, Nash Squared in 2017. In 2022, Avanti featured in EU Code Week podcast.
In 2023, Avanti won the ‘honorable award’ and 1st place for International Delegates at the Largest Science Exhibition in Portugal for a software Studified™ she developed. Avanti was honored by receiving the ‘Aspiring Teen Award’ at the Women In Tech Europe Awards in October and representing Europe as a finalist for the Women In Tech Global Awards, held at the Sharjah Research Technology and Innovation Center.
Late last year, Avanti delivered the closing keynote at Codemotion Milan on October 25th, 2023, the day after World UN Day, where the UN’s headquarters were illuminated with the goals on the topic of “How the SDGs can learn from the journey of Technology”.
Reinventing STEM Education
In this talk, Avanti delves into the current education system with a focus on STEM, unwrapping learning challenges students face when transitioning from theory on paper to application in the real-world. Whilst comparing multiple education systems, Avanti identifies the differences between subjects causing disinterest and a loss of motivation for students to pursue STEM subjects in the future. From exploring her own experience as a candidate in a science show, to other students’ perspectives on their future, Avanti proposes solutions to obstacles in developing interest in the technology field.
In this keynote, Avanti will discuss
• Connecting theory to application
• Making knowledge relevant
• Grasping engagement through real-world solutions
Professor Mairéad Pratschke
Chair in Digital Education, SALC, Faculty of Humanities
The University of Manchester, United Kingdom
Mairéad is Chair in Digital Education in the School of Arts, Languages and Cultures at the University of Manchester. She holds a Ph.D. in History from McMaster University in Canada and an M.A. in European Studies from K.U. Leuven in Belgium.
She began as an online course designer at her alma mater in Canada, and since then her career has straddled the worlds of higher education, education technology, professional and continuing education, and edtech start-ups. Irish-born, she has worked in Canada, the USA, Belgium and Spain, in multiple languages and sectors, as a researcher, designer, lecturer, director and consultant for digital programmes in the arts, humanities, social sciences, sports and business. She is interested in how we can leverage digital pedagogies to support educational innovation using emerging technologies.
Generative intelligence: redefining education for the age of AI
Generative AI is changing the role of the educator, from being the sole source of authority to one of multiple intelligences in our physical and virtual learning environments. AI is now another presence in the learning community, along with students and educators. This has tremendous implications for how, where and what we teach.
In this keynote, Mairéad will discuss the new hybrid model of human + AI – a social, generative, constructivist and human-centred model of education that empowers educators.
In this keynote, Mairéad will discuss
• Use the generative AI ecosystem to design learning experiences
• Design generative learning activities that meet pedagogically sound principles
• Create a hybrid community of inquiry composed of students and AI
Wieneke Maris
Subject Coordinator & Teacher of Geography and Global Issues Network Coordinator
International School of The Hague, The Netherlands
Wieneke is subject coordinator and teacher of geography, and Global Issues Network coordinator at the International School of The Hague. Besides her school work she is active in Teachers for Climate, and co-founder of Teachers for Future International. The question that drives her is how to bring about a sustainable world through education. To this end she traveled through Europe searching for inspiring examples of sustainability education. As a result of this journey, she started a European project with partners in Belgium, Germany, Portugal and Spain to support schools with a whole school integration of sustainability: the Sustainability Accelerator Programme. In 2019 she was awarded Sustainable teacher of the year for her efforts inside and outside the classroom.
Education for sustainability: what does the world need from us?
The world is facing unprecedented crises; e.g. climate change, ecological collapse and increasing inequality, caused by our unsustainable way of life. This poly-crisis threatens our futures. Education has a big role to play in reaching a more sustainable way of living. How do we do this though? And at the same time; how do we teach the truth about the crises our world faces, without leaving our students depressed and anxious? How do we provide our students both with the social-emotional tools to face these, as well as empower them to take action for a better world.
In this keynote Wieneke will share her personal and professional journey to find answers to these questions. She will discuss both practical examples as well as theoretical frameworks that provide the structure and tools to start systemically embedding sustainability into our own educational practice.
In this keynote, Wineke will highlight
• Education’s role in reaching a more sustainable way of living: essential elements and practical examples
• How to empower students to take action
• Questions to consider when wishing to structurally embed sustainability in our education
Clara Lin Hawking
Head of Artificial Intelligence
Globeducate, Spain
Clara Hawking is the Head of Artificial Intelligence for Globeducate, a prestigious global network of K-12 schools. Renowned internationally for her expertise in AI ethics, Clara leads the charge in integrating artificial intelligence into education. She holds advanced degrees in both Computer Science and Applied Ethics, bringing a unique blend of technical acumen and ethical insight to her role. With a profound understanding of educational pedagogy and practical philosophy, Clara bridges the gap between technology and ethics in education. Her career in the educational sector is distinguished by a passionate commitment to the thoughtful and ethical incorporation of AI and educational technologies into learning environments. As a highly sought-after speaker and workshop leader, Clara has shared her insights and sparked meaningful discussions about the transformative potential of AI in education across various global platforms.
The crucial intersection of ethics and AI in education
In the quest to harness the potential of AI, one must not fail to safeguard against its risks. In this keynote, Clara will speak on the ethical dimensions of AI as we journey towards a more just, safe, and forward-thinking educational system. She will explore the implications of the upcoming AI legislation in Europe, emphasising the need for comprehensive and compliant school policies. She will also address the critical issues of privacy and consent, providing guidelines for protecting student data in an AI-enhanced educational landscape. Addressing biases in large language models, Clara will also propose best practices for ethical AI implementation, ensuring equitable and non-discriminatory use.
In this keynote, Clara will highlight
• Creating meaningful school policies that align with AI laws in Europe and support ethical AI use
• Safeguarding student privacy and navigating consent
• The biases inherent in large language models and their implications for education
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