AI 17

 

$1m or your money back

Compare and contrast the UK’s recent 20% tax on private education with the approach of US billionaire Joe Liemandt. His new Founders School in New York, with fees of $150k/£113.25k p.a., promises parents their money back if their offspring haven’t hit $1m/£760k in profit by graduation after four years minimum and $600k in fees. Founders […]

2 months ago Education More
 

The meow of a toothless tiger

Edtech is under attack from every direction but sadly some of the criticism does not go far enough. Similarly, some of the bodies I normally have little regard for are doing some good work. Such is the case with the UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) and England’s Department for Education (DfE). I have previously written […]

2 months ago Education More
 

Over the Boundary (and Out?)

Growing up in country Australia, backyard cricket wasn’t just a thing, it was everything. This version of cricket had its own anthem (Greg Champion’s I Made a Hundred in the Backyard at Mum’s) and a strict universal code. The most important rule was ‘six and out’: hit the ball over the fence, into the neighbour’s […]

3 months ago Education More
 

The odds always favour the bookies

Most edtech companies either fail or deliver poor returns. Despite the intellectual sophistication involved, investing, especially at early stage  is just gambling: monetised risk assessment. Gambling, contrary to popular belief, is an everyday activity. Should you cross the road now? Drive or fly? All calculated risks. Corporate investors choose between listed and unlisted instruments. Everyone […]

5 months ago 1 Education More
 

AI and Edtech investing

For a year now the impact of AI has been moving more directly into the economy. As with all tech adoption, it has been uneven, with the focus on big companies cutting headcount, e.g. Amazon 14,000, Afterpay/Square 40% and UPS 20,000. While AI has been touted in edtech for many years, from an investor’s perspective […]

6 months ago Education More
 

They call it hardware because its bloody hard

When I first started using computers every day, I was working in the 50-story HQ of one of Australia’s big four banks. Hardware failed so often that each floor had a storeroom full of spare machines, and IT staff spent their days swapping out cereal-box-sized computers and flickering screens. Software and networks were prehistoric, and […]

1 year ago Education More
 

When will tutoring businesses turn a profit? 

UK tutoring business MyTutor was recently taken over by, or in investor parlance, ‘made an exit to’, a mob called IXL. As an Australian kid who grew up eating IXL tinned fruit (like many working mothers, mine did not have the time or energy for ‘inspired cooking’) this headline kickstarted my dopamine reward system.  But […]

1 year ago 1 Education More
 

Why AI will replace a lot of teachers

Cue heads exploding in education circles…. Let me explain why this is a mathematical certainty and why salaries and pensions are the major factor. Many readers will know that I have long obsessed about the England and Wales Teachers’ Pension Scheme (TPS). In the 1990s I worked in funds management for two major Australian banks […]

1 year ago Education More
 

Why do HE and schools invest in plagiarism detection software?

The answer is fairly simple; to safeguard academic integrity, ensure fair assessments, and maintain trust in qualifications. A recent example comes from France, where GCS Sesan is procuring AI-powered similarity detection software for ComUE Université Lyon Saint-Étienne. The solution will serve 18 institutions, 19 bodies, and over 87,000 learners, covering SaaS rental, deployment, support, and […]

1 year ago Education More
 

Edtech AI? BETT(er) proceed with caution

I went to BETT 2025 not as press or media (they wouldn’t accredit me due to their new 1970-style policies) but that didn’t stop me looking for stories. What I didn’t expect was to find a big story, but one that’s almost impossible to definitively prove without huge legal (more about that later). From Bridget […]

1 year ago Education More