Future Learning Design Podcast

Abdul Matheen Yousuf is Executive Director of Project You, and an award winning social entrepreneur with a focus on youth issues and education. He has a bachelors in Aeronautical Engineering and a LLM in International Business Leadership. He cofounded Project You with Hend Al Rais in 2017 and has led the development of auxiliary learning systems to bridge the gap in learning that youth face today. With support from Expo Live during the first cycle of its University Innovation Programme (UIP), Project You is a collaborative platform to facilitate self-discovery, capacity building of skill and talent and mentorship and guidance to align each individual's skill to achieve the best to their ability. They do this through a robust program involving schools, national and international strategic organizations, passionate psychologists and industry leaders to uncover and harness the best in youth potential. Social Links LinkedIn: @AbdulMatheenYousuf Twitter: @abdlmateen; @projectyoux

Jennifer Groff, PhD is an educational engineer, designer, and researcher, whose work focuses on redesigning learning environments and systems. Currently, she is the Innovation Fellow at WISE (Qatar Foundation), where she is leading the development of their Global Innovation Hub--a platform helping schools transform for our modern world. Previously, she was the Chief Learning Officer for Lumiar Education, a network of innovative, redesigned schools. She has spent much of her career doing leading-edge work at the MIT on new learning pedagogies and game-based assessments, and recently earned her PhD from the MIT Media Lab. Previously, she was the co-founder of the Center for Curriculum Redesign, an international NGO dedicated to redesigning the general curricula for the 21st century.  Previously, she was the Vice President of Learning & Program Development for the Learning Games Network—a non-profit spin-off from the MIT Education Arcade, where she led the national Playful Learning initiative. She also served as the technology expert on the OECD Innovative Learning Environments project, and was a Fulbright Scholar to the UK, at Futurelab Education in Bristol, United Kingdom. A former K-12 educator, Jennifer was named one of 12 Microsoft Innovative Teacher Leaders in 2005, one of the Top 100 Influencers in Ed Tech (2017-18) by Ed Tech Digest. Social Links Twitter: @jsgroff Linked: @jennifersgroff Website: http://learningfutures.global

Dr. James Mannion is an education researcher and consultant who worked as a Science teacher for 12 years, and spent 8 years in school leadership roles. James has an MA in Person-Centred Education from the University of Sussex, and a PhD in Learning to Learn from the University of Cambridge. James’s doctoral thesis is an evaluation of Learning Skills, a whole-school approach to teaching and learning that led to significant gains in subject learning, with accelerated gains among students from disadvantaged backgrounds. James works part-time as a Bespoke Programmes Leader at the London Centre for Leadership in Learning at the University College London Institute of Education. In this role, he works with teachers and schools throughout the UK to promote research-informed approaches to professional development and school improvement. James is a passionate advocate of practitioner inquiry as a basis for professional development, and he regularly presents at educational conferences on this subject. He is also a member of Oracy Cambridge, a study centre and think tank dedicated to promoting effective speaking and listening skills in schools and the wider society.  James runs research-informed training and consultancy through Rethinking Education with Kate McAllister. In 2020, James co-authored Fear Is The Mind Killer: Why Learning to Learn deserves lesson time - and how to make it work for your pupils with Kate McAllister.   Social Links Twitter: @RethinkingJames LinkedIn: @james-mannion Email: james@rethinking-ed.org

Ed Fidoe, co-founder of the London Interdisciplinary School, discusses interdisciplinary learning and LIS's approach to education. They explore the value of diverse skills, unlocking collective intelligence, the concept of a polymath, and the challenges of achieving interdisciplinary learning.

Prof. Sugata Mitra is Professor Emeritus at NIIT University, India. He retired in 2019 as Professor of Educational Technology and Principal Research Investigator in the School of Education, Communication and Language Sciences at Newcastle University, UK. In 2012, he was Visiting Professor for the MIT Medialab in Massachusetts, US. In 1999, Sugata began the now world-renowned ‘Hole in the Wall (HIW)’ experiment, when a computer was embedded within a wall in an Indian slum at Kalkaji, Delhi and children were allowed to freely use it. The experiment aimed at proving that kids could be taught computers very easily without any formal training. Sugata termed this as Minimally Invasive Education (MIE). The experiment has since been repeated in many places around the world. Sugata is the recipient of many awards from India, the UK, USA and many other countries in the world and has conducted research that has pushed the boundaries of many disciplines including electrical engineering, medicine and computer science. He has a PhD in Physics and is credited with more than 25 inventions in the area of cognitive science and educational technology. He was conferred the prestigious Dewang Mehta Award from the Government of India for Innovation in Information Technology in 2003. Amongst many other awards, he was also awarded the 1 million dollar TED Prize in 2013. In 2006, Sugata invented Self-Organized Learning Environments (SOLEs), now in use throughout the world. In 2009, he created the Granny Cloud, of teachers who interact with children over the Internet. Since the 1970s, Professor Mitra’s publications and work has resulted in training and development of perhaps a million young Indians, amongst them some of the poorest children in the world. Sugata published hundreds of ground-breaking academic papers, and in 2019 pulled many of his ideas together into his book, The School in the Cloud: The Emerging Future of Education. Social Links Twitter: @sugatam Web: www.cevesm.com

Zoe Stanton is an entrepreneurial, creative and collaborative leader with more than 15 years experience working in design and social change and a passion for addressing the most important and complex issues. Zoe has had leadership roles creating and scaling new ways to bring about change, transform organisations and design better services for positive social impact.  In 2005, Zoe co-founded Uscreates, a strategic design agency specialising in applying design to social challenges, in health, well-being and education. As Managing Director Zoe led teams through significant transformation across sectors with notable clients including NHS England, Homes England, Macmillan and Nesta. Uscreates was acquired by FutureGov in 2018 bringing together the two company’s shared ambition to design public services and transform organisations for the 21st Century.  At FutureGov, Zoe's role as Experience Director focused on amplifying the positive impact of the organization and facilitating reflection and iteration on what the experience of working with FutureGov should be.  Zoe studied Design at Goldsmiths College and loves working with young talent to help them develop and grow.  Social Links  LinkedIn: @ZoeStanton  Twitter: @StantonZoe

Rose Luckin is Professor of Learner Centred Design at the UCL Knowledge Lab in London. Her research involves the design and evaluation of educational technology using theories from the learning sciences and techniques from Artificial Intelligence (AI). Rose is the Director of EDUCATE, a London hub for educational technology startups, researchers and educators to work together on the development of evidence-informed Educational Technology, and author of Machine Learning and Human Intelligence: the future of education in the 21st century (2018). Rose was named on the Seldon List 2017 as one of the 20 most influential people in Education. She is Specialist Adviser to the UK House of Commons Education Select Committee and Co-founder of the Institute for Ethical AI in Education. She also holds roles as UFI charity trustee, a governor and trustee of St Paul's school in London and a governor of the Self-Managed Learning College in Brighton.  Rose has taught in the state secondary, Further Education and Higher Education sectors, and she was previously Pro-Vice Chancellor for Teaching and Learning at the University of Sussex. Social Links LinkedIn: @rose-luckin Twitter: @Knowldgillusion

Considered one of the founding fathers of Project Based Learning, Thom Markham is an educator by trade, a positive psychologist by training, and a global entrepreneur dedicated to expanding educator mindsets in service to a positive future. In 2015, Thom founded PBL Global, a world-wide partner-based organization offering online courses and onsite professional learning for a transformative strengths-focused model of project based learning that integrates high quality project design, student centered growth, and social emotional wellbeing. Thom has worked with over 400 schools and 6000 teachers in 20 countries. His previous best-selling books include Project Based Learning Design and Coaching Guide: Expert tools for innovation and inquiry for K-12 educators (2012) and Redefining Smart: Awakening Students’ Power to Reimagine Their World (2015), as well as numerous articles on school transformation.  Social Links Email: thom@pblglobal.com LinkedIn: @thom-markham-phd Twitter: @thommarkham

Sir Anthony Seldon is a leading authority on contemporary British history and education and former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Buckingham. He is author or editor of over 40 books on contemporary history, politics and education and is the author on, and honorary historical advisor to, Downing Street.After gaining an MA in Politics, Philosophy and Economics at Worcester College, Oxford, and a PhD at the London School of Economics, Anthony qualified as a teacher at King's College, London, where he was awarded the top PGCE prize in his year.From 1993 to 2015, Anthony held headships at St Dunstan's College in South London, Brighton College in E. Sussex and Wellington College in Berkshire. In 2015, he left Wellington College to become Vice-Chancellor of the University of Buckingham, a position he held until last year.Sir Anthony is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society and King's College London. He was knighted in the Queen's 2014 Birthday Honours list for services to education and modern political history. He founded the Sunday Times (now Telegraph) Festival of Education and most recently the Festival of Higher Education, and is widely known for introducing and promoting happiness, well-being and mindfulness across education.Sir Anthony founded, with Professor Lord Peter Hennessy, the Institute of Contemporary British History, and Action for Happiness with Professor Lord Richard Layard and Geoff Mulgan. He is governor of several bodies, including the Royal Shakespeare Company, and is Chair of The Comment Awards.Sir Anthony also co-founded The Institute for Ethical AI in Education with Rose Luckin and Priya Lakhani.Some of Anthony's latest books include: The Fourth Education Revolution Reconsidered: Will artificial intelligence enrich or diminish humanity? with Oladimeji Abidoye and Timothy Metcalf (2020);  Beyond Happiness: How to find lasting meaning and joy in all that you have (2016);  May at 10 (2019) with Raymond Newell;  Cameron at 10: The Verdict (2016) with Peter Snowdon  ...and many others.

Yong Zhao is a Foundation Distinguished Professor in the School of Education at the University of Kansas and a professor in Educational Leadership at the Melbourne Graduate School of Education in Australia. He previously served as the Presidential Chair, Associate Dean, and Director of the Institute for Global and Online Education in the College of Education, University of Oregon, where he was also a Professor in the Department of Educational Measurement, Policy, and Leadership.  Prior to Oregon, Yong Zhao was University Distinguished Professor at the College of Education, Michigan State University, where he also served as the founding director of the Center for Teaching and Technology, and executive director of both the Confucius Institute and the US-China Center for Research on Educational Excellence.  He is an elected member of the National Academy of Education and a fellow of the International Academy of Education. Yong has written many groundbreaking books on education, including:  Teaching Students to Become Self-Determined Learners [co-authored with Michael Wehmeyer] (2020) An Education Crisis Is a Terrible Thing to Waste: How Radical Changes Can Spark Student Excitement and Success [co-authored with Trina E. Emler, Anthony Snethen and Danqing Yin] (2019) What Works May Hurt: Side Effects in Education (2018) Reach for Greatness: Personalizable Education for All Children (2018) Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Dragon? Why China Has the Best (and Worst) Education System in the World (2014) World Class Learners: Educating Creative and Entrepreneurial Students (2012) Social Links LinkedIn: @YongZhao Twitter: @YongZhaoEd