The Open University to Offer 280k to Help Edtech Companies Develop New Products

The Open University (OU) has launched a new online start-up incubator to support businesses that produce educational technology to enhance the learning experience.

The EdTech Foundry will give small to medium sized businesses access to the expertise of academics from the OU’s renowned Institute of Educational Technology, as well as a proportion of a £280,000 funding pot.

Some could receive as much as £50,000 each to help take their business to the next stage. Applications for the EdTech Foundry are open until 1 March 2023.

Projects need to provide technical proof of concept and a business plan that outlines the planned future trajectory for their product. The OU’s EdTech Foundry will be supporting 12 projects in total.

Available fully remote to cater to businesses located anywhere in the world, the programme will provide everything from infrastructure and enterprise support to educational coaching. The EdTech Foundry are looking for start-ups less than 3 years old and established companies with significant new product development.

The OU’s Institute of Educational Technology (IET) is a world-leading research institute, which focuses on progressing the innovation of learning technologies and their application. Since its foundation in 1970, IET has led research on every major innovation in educational technology, including computer-based learning, hybrid learning and teaching, learning with artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots and eXtended Reality.

The OU’s Institute of Education Technology has launched the EdTech Foundry to encourage the use of technology enhanced learning in the mainstream. Academic lead for the EdTech Foundry, Fridolin Wild, Professor in Technology Enhanced Learning at the OU, commented:

“The OU’s IET team are thrilled to be investing our time and expertise to help grassroot businesses grow and make educational technology a more common occurrence in our everyday lives. We’re excited to be working with these teams to craft what will be the future of education.”