This week, School Stream is going to take a look inside the world of education entrepreneurs in Australia. It’s a massive business globally, with reports of edtech funding in the US already reaching US$1 billion in the first half of 2019. Let’s look at the achievements of some Australian dynamos working at the intersection of education and entrepreneurship.
We’re here to support schools. Keep reading for our round-up of Australian Education Entrepreneurs or click here to explore how School Stream can support your school staff.
Entrepreneurs and Edupreneurs
Education entrepreneurs or, as they are often called, edupreneurs, are generally mission-driven, future-focussed entrepreneurs who are passionate about education. They can be found creating edtech tools, giving speeches and TED talks, running conferences, hosting podcasts, and generally seeking out ways to prepare students for the future. Although there can be something of a stigma around teachers or businesses seeking to monetise education practices, most edupreneurs are united by a desire to make things better for students, rather than the promise of a big payday.
Successful Australian Entrepreneurs in Education
Australia has more than its fair share of entrepreneurs who are making a big impact in the education sector. Say hello to some of the movers and shakers who are making waves, and prepare to be more than a little bit impressed with their long list of achievements.
1. Sarah Cordiner is an education professional who specialises in online courses, the design and development of e-learning and face to face curriculum, VET program design, and other eLearning solutions. Although her focus is assisting government and business, education is the foundation of everything she does. With books, podcasts, a healthy blog and Twitter following, she is passionate about learning.
2. Tim Power describes himself as a Founder, Education Thought-Leader, Entrepreneur and Innovator. He is perhaps best known as the founder of online learning company 3P Learning, who are responsible for Reading Eggs, Mathletics and other programs undoubtedly used by your students at some stage. He is also the founder of the World Education Games and World Maths Day and is currently working on another education start-up.
3. Lina Ashar is a Melbourne-educated, Mumbai-based, education entrepreneur. She is the founder of Kangaroo Kids Preschool and Billabong High International School, with a reach of over 80 campuses across India and internationally. In common with everyone on this list, Lina describes herself as “passionate about education”.
4. Shane Hill is a former teacher and now incredibly successful eLearning pioneer. He is probably most well known as the co-creator and founder of Mathletics, Spellodrome, World Maths Day, Skoolbo, da Vinci Decathlon and now Think Curiously and Storyathon. He is motivated by creating environments to support the joys of teaching and preparing students for the hyper-rapidly changing world they are entering.
5. Dave Faulkner is a former school principal and is passionate about ensuring every student has an education worth having. He co-authored Edupreneur: Unleashing Teacher-Led Innovation in Schools and Dream Team: A Practical Playbook to Help Innovative Educators Change Schools with Aaron Tait. He is also the co-founder of Education Changemakers. The organisation has a global reach in supporting K-12 teachers and school leaders to innovate practical solutions and describe themselves as “existing to unleash teacher-led innovation”.
6. Aaron Tait is the co-founder and Director of Innovation at the Education Changemakers and is the Co-Founder of not-for-profit organisation YGAP, who support young entrepreneurs across Africa, Asia and the Pacific. He co-authored Edupreneur: Unleashing Teacher-Led Innovation in Schools and Dream Team: A Practical Playbook to Help Innovative Educators Change Schools with Dave Faulkner and, alongside him, is considered a rising star of the educational entrepreneur sector.
We hope you’ve enjoyed our list of Australian education entrepreneurs to watch, and we’d love to hear about anyone you think we’ve missed.
