Here, our editor Victoria Galligan speaks to the Learnit team to find out the background behind the new-for-2019 show and what educators can expect to see…
How did the team come together?
The Learnit team consists of Anil Aggarwal, an American tech-entrepreneur and investor, and Katy Fryatt, a Cambridge University graduate and a millennial parent. They met whilst developing the world’s most important events for fintech and retail innovation: Money20/20 and Shoptalk.
Learnit aims to be “world-changing” – how does it hope to do this?
Learnit is doing two really important things. Firstly, it’s uniting the entire global learning community – from government and educator leaders to startups, investors, tech companies and heads of talent and training within employers. We’re talking about learning, not just education.
Secondly, we’re leading an intellectual conversation about the current and future state of learning. Our 100+ speakers will talk about how we can revolutionise education, and ultimately change the world. All speakers are chosen on merit, not ‘pay-to play’ and range from Andreas Schleicher at the OECD, to the Ministry of Education in Afghanistan, to the Head Master of Eton and to Euan Blair, who’s set out to build an outstanding alternative to university. 
Learnit itself is a venture-backed startup with $1million in funding. We’re building Learnit very differently to any other event.
What makes Learnit stand out from other events?
Learnit is bringing together the right people in an environment that is conducive to accelerated change. To do that we’ve focused on developing a groundbreaking agenda and thoughtfully curated networking program that will bring senior-level decision makers to learn and build the partnerships needed to make meaningful progress. We offer educator and government leaders free tickets and up to £750 for their travel.
What are the main issues within education which you feel need changing the most?
Education has remained largely unchanged for decades, and is now disconnecting from the real world in increasingly material ways. Children of every age go to school, are taught a government-prescribed curriculum, are tested and retested and then enter The Real World. And while The Real World has changed, and continues to change exponentially, education hasn’t. Making learning relevant is one of the greatest challenges facing education today.
We’re changing the conversation. The speaker line up is unparalleled. Learnit’s 2019 agenda focuses on important, timely themes including Equality & Access to Education, The Future of Work, Educating Generation Alpha, The Business of Education, Learning Spaces in 2025, Impactful & Scalable Learning Innovations and Artificial Intelligence in Education.
