Send us a Text Message.

Welcome to the IEFG Brains in Gear Series. Today, we'll hear three perspectives on the question, "What should philanthropy do to support edtech in low- and middle-income countries?". We have three speakers who will share their thoughts and ideas on the role of philanthropy in the future of edtech.

Elyas Felfoul is the Director of WISE, Qatar Foundation, and leads the strategic development and operational management of the WISE Summit's Platform while also leading the growth of the PRIZE and EdTech Accelerator Programs. Leveraging his diverse background in both public and private sectors, Elyas brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to WISE. Prior to his current role, he served as a political advisor to a Vice-Prime Minister in Quebec, Canada. Subsequently, Elyas worked at a Toronto-based firm specializing in M&A.

Angela Haydel DeBarger, serves as Program Officer in Education at the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. Her portfolio addresses open education with the aim of democratizing knowledge, creating inclusive and engaging experiences for learners, and advancing racial equity in education systems. Previously, Angela served as senior program officer for Lucas Education Research at the George Lucas Educational Foundation, where she led elementary and middle school project-based learning initiatives.

Salvador Paiz, Chairperson at Funsepa, spearheads "Guatemala Moving Forward," a strategy to boost economic growth, and is deeply involved in improving education through organizations like Empresarios por la Educación and the Inter American Dialogue. For 20 years, Funsepa has worked tirelessly to leverage technology as a development tool.

Here are some resources from the conversation:

• Learn more about Funcepa's work here.
• Learn more about PHET here
• Learn more about Learning Equality here
• Learn more about Web Aflia here
• Learn more about Learning Equality and Kolibri here

Subscribe to the podcast so you never miss an episode! And don't forget to rate and recommend this podcast to your colleagues.

You can follow the IEFG on LinkedIn here. https://www.linkedin.com/company/international-education-funders-group-iefg

Send us a Text Message.

Welcome to the IEFG Brains in Gear Series. In this conversation, our hosts and guests will demystify how we measure the impact of EdTech. They will discuss the need and methods used to ensure we're collecting the right kind of evidence to ascertain that a particular EdTech has its intended effect on students' learning.

The hosts for this episode are:

• John Soleanicov, the Co-Lead of the Learning Schools Portfolio at the Jacobs Foundation. He is a Romanian-born, U.S.-raised professional with more than 15 years of global experience in financial services, management consulting, and education.
• Suraj Shah is the Lead for Strategic Partnerships for the Mastercard Foundation Centre for Innovative Teaching and Learning. He is responsible for collaborations between the Mastercard Foundation and the various Governments/Ministries of Education in Africa and Strategic Partnerships with education stakeholders. His primary focus is aligning with governments across Africa to bridge education challenges with innovative EdTech solutions.

Joining them will be

• Ciku Mbugua, Innovation Manager at Brink, works on one of Brink’s programmes, Edtech Hub, across two teams: In the innovation team to support teams to iteratively test and grow promising EdTech interventions using the sandbox tool, and in the engagement team as the country lead in Kenya. As country lead, Ciku specifically supports government, development partners and EdTech entrepreneurs with evidence and technical assistance to accelerate technology integration in education.
• Loïc Watine, Chief Research & Policy Officer at Innovation for Poverty Action, is responsible for leading our overall strategy to ensure that our research is relevant to and used by decision-makers and to equip them to use data and evidence to improve the lives of people living in poverty. He provides strategic guidance and leadership to a team of senior leaders overseeing IPA’s Sector programs, Policy team, and Right-Fit-Evidence unit, who together form the Research & Policy global team and work closely with our Country Office teams.

Here are some resources if you would like to learn more about evidence measurement in edtech:

• Here's a link to the EdTech Hub website and evidence library.
• Learn more about LEVANTE here.
• Learn more about m-Lugha here.

Here is a resource bank of events, resources, and collaboratives to learn more about EdTech. You can add more resources and comment on the current list to enrich it further.

This podcast was brought to you by the International Education Funders Group, curated and edited by Anjali Nambiar, with post-production by Sarah Miles. You can learn more about the IEFG at www.iefg.org.

Subscribe to the podcast so you never miss an episode! And don't forget to rate and recommend this podcast to your colleagues.

You can follow the IEFG on LinkedIn here. https://www.linkedin.com/company/international-education-funders-group-iefg

Send us a Text Message.

Welcome to the IEFG Brains in Gear series. Can EdTech be the force for bridging learning inequities, or will it exacerbate them even further? Hear the perspectives of our hosts and their guests as they discuss this and consider possible roadmaps to navigate this divide.

Our hosts are

Raman Sidhu is the CEO of the Octava Foundation, where she stewards the foundation’s investment in Education, Technology in Education, and Social Innovation. She has spent more than a decade in venture philanthropy, specializing in supporting and scaling education and employability solutions.

Guilherme Cintra is from Lemann Foundation, where he manages innovative processes and shares knowledge, achieving ambitious and transformative goals. His work focuses on promoting the development of educational solutions in Literacy, Fundamental Education, and Leadership, contributing to the advancement of education at the national level.

With them, we have guests

Seiji Isotani is a Visiting Professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and a Full Professor of Computer Science and Learning Technology at the University of São Paulo, Brazil. He has dedicated his research career to advancing the science concerning how people learn with interactive/intelligent educational technologies and ensuring that every student receives a fulfilling and meaningful educational experience.

Cate Noble is the co-founder of Better Purpose. She brings experience as an education leader, having previously been CEO of the Varkey Foundation and a Director at PwC, as well as senior education-focused roles with not-for-profit, commercial, and government organizations.

Here are some resources for your reference:
Batazia- translation AI
DIKSHA - India's EdTech platform
MIT Solve- Learning challenges

Subscribe to the podcast so you never miss an episode! And don't forget to rate and recommend this podcast to your colleagues.

You can follow the IEFG on LinkedIn here. https://www.linkedin.com/company/international-education-funders-group-iefg

Send us a Text Message.

Setting the bar for good edtech

Welcome to the IEFG Brains in Gear series. Explore the maze of standards for Edtech in this episode. Procurement decisions and quality of the edtech hinges on the standards, but who sets them, and how can they help all the stakeholders who use them. Join us as we unpack this.

Our hosts will be:

• Libby Hills from the Jacobs Foundation is the Co-Lead of the Learning Schools portfolio. The focus of the portfolio is on promoting evidence use in schools and EdTech globally through impact investing and grant-making
• Gouri Gupta from the Central Square Foundation: She leads CSF’s work in the area of Education Technology. She works with a portfolio of EdTech products that take high-quality, contextual solutions to young children from low-income backgrounds to support learning.

They will be joined by:

• Karl Rectanus: The founder and former CEO of Learn Platform, bringing deep insights into the development and evaluation of educational technology platforms.
• Jairaj Bhattacharya: Co-Founder of ConveGenius, sharing his expertise on innovative edtech solutions and their impact on learning outcomes.

Here are some resources if you would like to learn more about standards setting in edtech in Education:

• Know more about EdTech Tulna here
• Learn more about learn platform here
• ISTE-Standards in EdTech
• EdtechHub- EdTech Standards

This podcast was brought to you by the International Education Funders Group, curated and edited by Anjali Nambiar, with post-production by Sarah Miles. You can learn more about the IEFG at www.iefg.org.

Subscribe to the podcast so you never miss an episode! And don't forget to rate and recommend this podcast to your colleagues.

You can follow the IEFG on LinkedIn here. https://www.linkedin.com/company/international-education-funders-group-iefg

Send us a Text Message.

Welcome to the IEFG Brains in Gear series. In today's episode, we take a closer look at AI and its impact on classrooms, especially in low and middle-income geographies.

The conversation will be amongst the following speakers:

• Ana C Rold is an award-winning media executive and entrepreneur. She is the Founder of Diplomatic Courier, the flagship media network and magazine for top diplomats in Washington, DC, New York, Brussels, Geneva, and key capitals around the world. In 2012, Rold founded the global futuristic think tank/do tank, World in 2050.
• Grace Cadiz is the Partnerships (Philanthropy) Manager- Global Education at the Atlassian Foundation known for its commitment to improving education and supporting tech innovations.
• Asyia Kazmi is the Global Education Policy Lead at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, with a focus on effective instructional practices, education advocacy and edtech. She is a global leader in philanthropy with a strong focus on enhancing educational outcomes worldwide.
• Pat Yongpradit is the Chief Academic Officer for Code.org, a non-profit dedicated to promoting computer science education, and lead of TeachAI, a global initiative to guide education leaders in rethinking education in an age of AI.
• Nissi Madu is the Managing Partner from Co-Creation Hub, an expert in leveraging technology to solve social problems and improve educational access across over 20 programs in 7 African countries.

Here are some resources if you would like to learn more about AI in Education:

• Teach AI's policy resources and toolkit
• NORRAG AI and digital inequities summit
• What will the future of education look like in a world with generative AI? | by MIT Open Learning | MIT Open Learning | Dec, 2023 | Medium
• Schmidt Futures-A Look at the Future of Learning Tools with Kumar Garg - Trending in Education
• Chatbot tutors have not arrived and we should wonder if they ever will
• AI in education: where we are and what happens next
• AI as an arrival technology
• EGRA AI(Early Grade Reading Assessment- AI)

Subscribe to the podcast so you never miss an episode! And don't forget to rate and recommend this podcast to your colleagues.

You can follow the IEFG on LinkedIn here. https://www.linkedin.com/company/international-education-funders-group-iefg

Send us a Text Message.

Welcome to the IEFG Brains in Gear series. This episode examines potentials and pitfalls of Edtech in the low and middle income contexts. What are some things that Edtech can help with and what are places you need to exercise caution? Listen to the episode and learn about all this.

Our hosts will be:

• Jani Moliis from the JBJ Foundation bringing insights from the BEFIT program in Malawi. Jani oversees JBJ Foundation’s education portfolio. He has over 15 years of experience in improving the effectiveness and impact of organizations delivering value for citizens.
• Janhvi Maheshwari Kanoria, Executive Director of Innovation at the Education Above All Foundation , a global foundation reaching 16 million out-of-school children. Her passion lies in designing solutions that advance quality learning solutions for the world’s most marginalized. In her previous roles in the Ministry of Education and Qatar Foundation, she was responsible for conceiving multiple creative solutions.

They will be joined by:

• Santosh More: Co-founder of Mantra for Change, a mechanical engineer turned education advocate who recognized the role of education in empowering and transforming society. A two-year fellowship with Teach for India gave him exposure to the existing schooling system in India and the gaps in its quality. He is also an influential advisor and mentor to several early-stage social enterprises.
• Dr. Joshua Valeta: Director for Open, Distance, and eLearning at Malawi's Ministry of Education, who oversees the national implementation of eLearning programs and distance education initiatives.

Here are some resources if you would like to learn more about the topics discussed in the episode:

• Learn more about the Building Education Foundations through Innovation and Technology (BEFIT) program in Malawi here.
• Learn more about the Internet Free education Resource Bank (IFERB) program at Education Above All here
• Innovation Development Directorate at the Education Above All Foundation – Website page
• Here is a link to a very brief video by one billion showing the tablet program in action in Malawi.
• The challenges and solutions of technology integration in rural schools: A systematic literature review - ScienceDirect

This podcast was brought to you by the International Education Funders Group, curated and edited by Anjali Nambiar, with post-production by Sarah Miles. You can learn more about the IEFG at

Subscribe to the podcast so you never miss an episode! And don't forget to rate and recommend this podcast to your colleagues.

You can follow the IEFG on LinkedIn here. https://www.linkedin.com/company/international-education-funders-group-iefg

Send us a Text Message.

Welcome to the Brains in Gear or the BIG series! This is a series of podcasts curated by the International Education Funders Groups (IEFG) around varied themes most relevant to the current global landscape in education. This year, the theme is EdTech, which is quite the buzz at the moment, given all the whirlwind of information.

But what Edtech really works and what does not work? What does it even mean when we say "works"? And who is setting the standards on the best EdTech solutions out there and creating the evidence to validate them? What are some context-specific challenges and solutions? Who are the most credible voices in EdTech today? Hear about all this and a lot more in the following weeks.

Whether you are a funder who has questions about EdTech funding or are considering funding EdTech interventions, or you are a practitioner and want to get a peak into the conversations philanthropy is having when deliberating funding decisions or if you are someone interested in engaging in discussions related to EdTech in general to get your Brains in Gear, this podcast is for you! Tune in and join us in these thought-provoking conversations.

Subscribe to the podcast so you never miss an episode! And don't forget to rate and recommend this podcast to your colleagues.

You can follow the IEFG on LinkedIn here. https://www.linkedin.com/company/international-education-funders-group-iefg

Send us a Text Message.

Welcome to the inaugural episode of 97BN, the International Education Funders Group (IEFG) Podcast! 🎙️ Join us as we embark on this exciting journey to explore the world of education philanthropy and the impactful work of our members.

In this first episode, we provide listeners with an introduction to the IEFG and the dedicated team behind its operations. While we're thrilled to share this initial episode with you, we'll be the first to admit—it's our first foray into podcasting, and we're still finding our rhythm! But fear not, dear listeners, as we're committed to learning and growing along the way.

Expect candid and insightful conversations and compelling stories in future episodes as we dive deeper into the diverse landscape of education funding. Together, we'll explore how education philanthropy is shaping the future of learning worldwide.

Join us on this journey of discovery. And remember, just like education itself, we're always evolving and improving.

Thanks for tuning in, and let's make this podcast journey one to remember!

Subscribe to the podcast so you never miss an episode! And don't forget to rate and recommend this podcast to your colleagues.

You can follow the IEFG on LinkedIn here. https://www.linkedin.com/company/international-education-funders-group-iefg