How the Designing Education Project Lab Empowers the Next Gen of EdTech Movers & Shapers
AUTHORS
By Erblina Gajraku, Colin Matsinhe
Dear Higher Education,
Didn’t you make me think that it takes a long time to climb the stairs of knowledge, and that I always must be in place to do it?
Didn’t you show me that I must give up many things in order to obtain my academic degree?
Wasn’t it you who made me believe that I always must keep to strict time limits and learn knowledge from books for exams, which quickly disappears?
And now tell me: Why is there a change, what is EdTech, and what does it mean for me?
What is EdTech and Why Do We Use Prototyping?
Under the slogan “prototyping EdTech”, students develop technology-driven solutions in independent projects to contribute to global educational challenges in higher education and the labor market. The starting point are real world education challenges from university and corporate partners.
The prototyping process is supported by mentoring, impulse lectures from experts, as well as expert interviews recorded by the students as a podcast.
The focus is on the transformation of education and questions about how education is taught, perceived, financed or consumed.
In other words, how technology can support learning not only directly, but also indirectly by looking at organizations and institutions, parents and teachers, as well as employees and supervisors.
Who We Are and What Drives us?
Driven by problems from the industry as well as higher education, we empower to build . For this, we see prototyping as a key method to which we add the right tools, the network, the research materials and the mentors, as well as experts.
What Would Innovation be Without Diverse Backgrounds? 
We are an international and diverse team in many regards. We currently study or have been studying at institutions like Stanford University, UNSW in Sydney, Bocconi University, Tel Aviv University and many more. Furthermore, we are fellows of various scholarship programs such as the Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes, the Stiftung der Deutschen Wirtschaft and the Hans-Böckler Stiftung. In addition to this we cover a wide range of fields such as engineering, education, sociology, and entrepreneurship.
Together, we leverage our knowledge and expertise from venture building, research, consulting, and philanthropy to help shape the development of the future of education.
With the help of our global network, we took a first step by launching the Designing Education Project Lab as a unique student-led course starting at TU Berlin.
What Were our Learnings So Far?
- Our team is distributed across various continents, with currently only one person in Berlin. However, the distance has not been a showstopper but a great opportunity for us to think global from day one.
- We participated in some pitch competitions where we were able to convince the jury in the first rounds. From this we learned how important it is to show traction and tangible prototypes.
- Well here we are in now with ambitious talents with a diverse set of study and work experiences ranging from engineering, to design, data, and social sciences, as well as business. We’re also proud to be represented by more than 8 nationalities and 56% female-identifying fellows. In addition, we were accompanied by 10 guest lectures and 10 mentors including Google for Education, the House of Knowledge and Sharpist
- Lastly, we learned how significant it is to stay persistent and continually follow up when reaching out to potential collaborators.
How Will we Grow the Designing Education Project Lab?
With the help of our key partners at the Technical University of Berlin, including. Prof. Dr. Søren Salomo who is leading the chair for Technology & Innovation management, our mentors, and supporters we could make the launch happen!
Throughout the last weeks we engaged with guest lecturers and mentors from Big Tech, venture capital, start-ups and academia in the areas of EdTech, venture development, and prototyping joining us from some of the most innovative tech ecosystems like Silicon Valley, Tel Aviv, or London.
In the near future, we’ll work on further institutionalizing the lab at the Technical University of Berlin to be able to serve more students from all over Berlin and Germany. In the long-term we continue to strengthen our ties with movers and shapers in the most innovative tech ecosystems to increase the quality of our education and empowerment as well as the prototypes students work on.
Applications are closed, please sign-up to our waiting list for the second batch of the lab.
✍️ WAITING LIST
Are you a student, scientist, founder, investor, operator, or educator and want to collaborate? Let’s talk!