Oxbridge Bring Major Technology Award Home to Birmingham

Oxbridge, a leading UK distance learning college, struck Gold at the Learning Technologies Awards 2019. The provider won the Gold award for ‘Best Use of Blended Learning: UK Commercial Sector’ against top competition, raising the bar for EdTech firms nationwide while bringing glory home to Birmingham’s booming tech scene. A vibrant hub that’s fast becoming one of the top places in which to do business.

Having won nine major awards in 2019, including wins at the Institute of Directors, the Leadership Awards, and Future Faces of Birmingham, Oxbridge fended off competition from notable multinational businesses, such as L’Oréal, JET2, and Domino’s Pizza Group to win first place at the valued Learning Technologies Awards. The win praises what’s possible in learning today, but also the advancements of Birmingham’s EdTech scene.

Judges were in awe with Oxbridge’s specialist programme Classroom Heroes, designed to get the very best out of teaching assistants. The judges commented, ‘Classroom Heroes is a brilliant blended programme that’s perfectly pitched for the audience and the environment in which they work. The simplicity of the materials, combined with the opportunity to apply and record the practical application of them, demonstrated that every aspect of the course has been well thought out and its effectiveness maximised.’

Matt Jones, founder and MD of Oxbridge, exclaimed: ‘We’re absolutely over the moon to be bringing such a prestigious award back to Birmingham and are honoured to receive such praise against so many great brands.

It just goes to show what’s possible when you have a sturdy support network of likeminded techies around you.

‘There’s a reason Birmingham’s been dubbed the UK’s ‘Silicon Valley’. We’ve 6,000 thriving tech firms with 40,000 people, incubators and accelerators for start-ups, such as Innovation Birmingham Campus and Oxygen accelerator, and we’re more diverse and collaborative than any other city. It’s this inclusivity, cooperation and connectivity that enables Oxbridge to transform how people learn on and offline today. We call it learning without limits.

‘Oxbridge is presently raising educational performance across Birmingham with benchmarks in course design, employing tech practices that simplify content, such as microlearning. These innovations enable students of all learning styles to digest information easier to gain those vital numeracy, literacy, and ICT skills. Along with our unlimited tutor support offering and devout focus on STEM, we’re setting achievable challenges that lead to real-world results and better prepare people to enter the workplace. It all starts from our Birmingham hub.

‘We’re proud to celebrate this award with Birmingham because it’s done so much for us. As the EdTech sector continues to grow, we’ll look for new ways to champion the region and get our learners to where they need to be faster and better trained.’

The Birmingham region has seen exciting growth in the last decade, what with its 20-year Big City Plan, which has moulded a better-connected city, creating thousands of jobs and contributing billions to the economy. The greater investment in tech has enabled Birmingham to expand rapidly to become the largest tech hub outside of London, and many of its tech-based firms are award-winning and revolutionising how we work.

Oxbridge is one business taking advantage of Birmingham’s tech scene, working hard to diminish the skills gap. Matt continues, ‘Technology is underutilised in 2019. There’s so much potential for growth, and Oxbridge is in the best location in the UK to see that happen. What’s key to us is pushing the boundaries and power of e-learning: the doors you’ll open, employers you’ll impress, earning potential, etc. Things people think about.

‘This kind of award win doesn’t happen by accident. We have an incredible team and support network who put hours into making Oxbridge what it is today. And to each and every one of them, I am sincerely thankful.’

The Learning Technologies Awards showcase some of the most recognisable, memorable and life-changing learning worldwide. The event was held at Park Plaza Westminster, London, November 27, 2019.