During UNESCO Mobile Learning Week, Intel Launches New Education Platform

Photo Courtesy of Intel and UNESCO.

During UNESCO’s Mobile Learning Week, while leaders across the globe rallied around the use of technology to improve education, GBC-Education member Intel announced the launch of an exciting new tool they are spearheading in partnership with UNESCO to support education policymaking. The ICT in Education Policy Platform will work to transform education systems at the country level through inclusive collaboration and diverse resources that support the creation of innovative, government-led policies.

“For a systematic transformation of countries’ education system, it requires first and foremost innovative policies led and assessed by government leaders,” wrote Rosalind Hudnell, Vice President of Corporate Affairs at Intel, President of the Intel Foundation, and GBC-Education Advisory Board member, in a recent blog. “That’s why I am excited about our joint launch of the ICT in Education Policy Platform to support governments and education decision makers in their planning and reform implementation by providing access to interactive tools, templates, a comprehensive library of key policy and research documents, and a communications platform for policy makers.”

According to UNESCO, some 130 million primary school students cannot read basic sentences or solve simple arithmetic problems, let alone hold more advanced skills that can help them secure employment in today’s economy. By teaming up, the Intel and UNESCO alliance helps policymakers address these challenges and knowledge gaps for stakeholders in both the private and public sector. Businesses like GBC-Education members, which actively seek public-private partnerships, will find the online platform’s convening power and informative policymaking resources especially helpful. Through partnerships that combine a company’s core assets with the scale and reach of governments, some of the most creative and impactful solutions for education are made possible. By leveraging the platform’s resources, businesses can improve how they communicate with policymakers while simultaneously learning more about how their innovations may address a government’s specific needs.

“Our approach is holistic and collaborative. We are collaborating with governments, multilateral organizations like UNESCO, civil society, public-private alliances, academics, and educators to power student achievement,” explained Hudnell.

Together, Intel’s Education Transformation Policy Tool and UNESCO’s ICT in Education Toolkit teach users about the policy development process and offer a range of tools to facilitate and improve the process itself. Resources, including GBC-Education’s policy brief on a financing mechanism for education and emergencies, support ICT in education policymaking through master plans, case studies, research reports, policy briefs, country reports, and evaluations of existing initiatives. Ultimately, the goal is to utilize a broad range of resources to design improved regional and national-level ICT in Education policies.

The site is still being developed, but the alpha version can be found at www.ictedupolicy.org.