Agile
We offer the support needed to begin your software development process, guiding start-up teams in technology-enhanced learning towards the release of a minimum viable product, an MVP.
About the IET EdTech Foundry
The EdTech Foundry is an online startup and spinout incubator, open to projects from across the Four Nations of the UK, and globally, who use technology-enhanced learning and educational technology to advance learning and teaching.
Newly established in 2022, the EdTech Foundry is taking the next step in progressing technology-enhanced learning in the mainstream. Open to EdTech projects ready to scale up their activities, the Foundry is a digitally accessible hub providing an attractive package of infrastructure, support, and coaching, to take projects from the proof of concept or pilot stage to scaled success and automation. As well as digital resources, OU campus facilities can be made available as needed for projects that would like to use our leading technology, such as the Performance Augmentation Lab with Motion Capture Suit, and the IET User Experience (UX) Lab.
The EdTech Foundry offers an inclusive technological gateway. As an infrastructure package with services supported by a framework of pacing events (including calls for participation, selection, software development DevOps support, pitching, demo days and investor e-pitches), the opportunity to scale-up projects with complete online access levels the playing field on your terms.
If you want to find out more about the services available within the Foundry, visit the links below.
Business Models
In the Foundry, we support the cohort’s project teams in designing and developing a minimum viable product (MVP) or even a minimum value product. This requires considerable business thinking and development. Most notably, this involves building up the expertise in the start-ups to understand intellectual property and associated licensing models, including Open Source.
Knowledge Exchange
As a part of your project's journey through our Ed Tech Ignite pathway, regular reviews will be organised to idea, mock-up, demo, and pitch your way to disseminating output at-scale.
Why are we establishing the EdTech Foundry?
The track record of The Open University (OU) in digital teaching and learning is one of a kind. Our contribution to Educational Technology (EdTech) has shaped the way people do remote learning, globally. We are the UK's largest university, with more than 168,000 students per year and more than 264 million people reached worldwide through our BBC co-productions.
The Institute of Educational Technology (IET) is the world-leading research institute of the OU, focused on innovation in learning technologies and their application. Since its foundation in the 1970s, IET has lead research and development on every major innovation in educational technology over the past 50 years, including learning with artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots, microcredential short courses, eXtended Reality, assessment and essay scoring. IET is also a longstanding advocate of open education, supporting advancements in Open Source, Open Content, Open Data, and Open Innovation.
The OU is unique in the world. The Covid-19 pandemic has again confirmed our reputation as innovators of digital education, globally. With our new EdTech Foundry, we seek to establish a new OU incubator service, dedicated to Educational Technologies – to scale out those worthy candidates for the benefit of society and business.
Stay updated with IET on our website and twitter for more information on how to apply to join the EdTech Foundry.
