In the evolving landscape of education, the 9th annual EdTech Forum was hosted in November 2024 by the Hoffmann Institute at INSEAD. The two-day forum served as a critical platform to discuss the intersection of Educational Technology (EdTech) and Sustainability.
Adrian Johnson, Adjunct Professor at INSEAD and the Programme Director of the INSEAD Summer School, noted the forum brought together faculty members and learning design specialists from over 50 different academic institutions, as well as a number of EdTech entrepreneurs, to work with INSEAD professors and VR specialists on finding solutions to the sustainability challenge. He opened the forum by explaining how EdTech has been normalised thanks to the global pandemic, which put online learning on the map for many institutions. However, as institutions increasingly adopt online learning, integrating generative AI (GenAI) in a sustainable way into educational offerings remains a frontier yet to be fully embraced.
The Dean of INSEAD Francisco Veloso, followed Johnson with opening remarks. He spoke to the power of collective behaviour by stating that integration is not just about individual effort but a collective movement towards engaging students, sharing knowledge, and encouraging them to develop innovative solutions. He emphasised the need to embed and integrate sustainability into the curriculum and include novel technologies to help solve this pressing issue.
Defining EdTech and Sustainability
The forum opened with the panel ‘Defining EdTech and Sustainability’. To set the scene, the panellists were asked by moderator and conference organiser, Alastair Giffin to share their definitions of edtech and their definitions of sustainability.
INSEAD’s Professor Ithai Stern stated that simply put EdTech is any technology designed to enhance teaching and learning. He raised the point that edtech doesn’t just have to include digital tech with software and hardware. He gave the example of King’s College London using boardgames to gamify and better explain economic inequality. Following on from Stern was Professor Peter Zemsky who reframed the question, asking instead ‘What should good edtech be about?’ ‘What is the aim of Edtech?’ and ‘What is objective of using Edtech?’.
He emphasised, much like Stern, that the aim of edtech is to make learning more effective and the question but how do you measure more effective learning? Does this mean faster learning, deeper learning, or cheaper learning? He noted it's important to keep this in mind as getting value out of tech is hard and getting value out of tech in the education sector is even harder. He emphasised that the true value of edtech lies in making learning more effective, efficient, and accessible. Despite its potential, the education sector is traditionally slow to adopt new technologies, though the fit with GenAI currently appears promising.
The panellists were then asked to expand on the ‘what’ edtech for Sustainability means to them. Panellists highlighted the dual-edged nature of technology in sustainability. While edtech can combat misinformation and enhance accountability, it also poses environmental challenges due to its energy demands.
Business Schools' Role in Sustainability and EdTech
The following panel brought together faculty and staff at leading business schools across the global. The panel highlighted the opportunities and challenges in engaging stakeholders to ensure that sustainability is embedded into the core of everything their school does.
Kim Wilkinson from the Hoffmann Institute at INSEAD explained the 4-pillar strategy that his institute has been using to integrate sustainability into everything the school does. He noted that it is a case of doing the basics wells and creating a solid sustainability foundation across the school.
Charmain Allen of Cambridge Judge Business School and Kathy Harvey of Saïd Business School, University of Oxford both expressed how being a business school part of a university they benefit from wider research capabilities and a wider reach through incubators and other initiatives. Allen noted that being in this unique position the business school can be a bridge between the corporate and academic worlds. However, it is not without challenges. Harvey explained it be hard to connect the business school to the university. To solve this problem, Saïd Business School developed a community of interested staff, faculty and associates to look at new products, programmes and ways of working related to bringing sustainability into the classroom. This resulted in a climate bootcamp at beginning of the year where they invited the rest of university into the business school so students could listen to arguments and research across university.
Harvey found at the end of this bootcamps there were two camps of students: those already walking the talk and those interested in everything except sustainability. Julia Marsh from London Business School echoed this experience.
Business schools must engage in funding, events, and networking to drive conversations around edtech and sustainability. The recruitment of PhDs focused on sustainability research and the cross-collaboration between faculties are crucial for embedding sustainability principles into business education. Educators are the engines driving this transformation, ensuring that students retain and apply their learning beyond the classroom.
Participants then gathered in small groups to discuss the first sessions, followed by a networking cocktail and dinner.
