Participants of Edtech Hackathon 2022 Will Look For Solutions to Migrate Lessons to Metaverse
On 26-27th November, the Edtech Hackathon 2022, which was launched by Vilnius University Business School and is sponsored by the cross-border and cross-currency money transfer and payment company Western Union Processing Lithuania for the second year in a row, will be open for everyone to develop solutions that would encourage Lithuanian schools to remain competitive by using the opportunities presented by the metaverse. To make this event a reality, the Western Union sponsorship fund in Lithuania will grant it financial support of EUR 20,000.
“The pandemic period showed that the schools managed to refocus by moving to remote learning in a matter of days. Now, it’s important to maintain this pace. Sure, there will be challenges, but the trend is clear – the use of technology in education will only grow. This is also a key topic in the Lithuanian education strategy but, unfortunately, only in theory, without any practical plan. This hackathon and the EdTech week, which it is a part of, will be the first attempt to bring the tech visionaries and the education and business decision-makers together to maintain Lithuania’s competitiveness, as the world embraces and adapts learning content for the virtual worlds,” says VU Rector Prof. Rimvydas Petrauskas.
The metaverse is a virtual world or worlds with vastly wider possibilities to communicate, experience, develop business, or learn, as compared with the usual daily life. The metaverse attracts educators for several reasons: through virtual or augmented reality, the virtual world enables gamification of the learning process, narrows the difference between theory and practice, combines the learning of different aspects through a single experience, and allows people to more quickly react and apply the learning content to their changing realities. Also, children and youth are digital natives that are already familiar with the metaverse from such games as Minecraft, Roblox or Fortnite. Therefore, learning in such an environment is much more attractive for them, it happens with little effort.
“It’s no coincidence that the event’s sponsor is Western Union Processing Lithuania for the second year in a row. Responsible business understands that education transformation requires long-term commitment and input from all of us, and adapting such new technologies as the metaverse for education may very well be the turning point,” argues the Director of VU Business School Dr. Birutė Miškinienė.
“Just like last year, we will get involved in the project not only financially. Our colleagues with global experience will become mentors to project participants, we will also contribute to the conference in terms of content. The format of the event is focused on quality, it helps to unlock creativity and discover the best ideas. I am sure that the most successful decisions can only come up in collaboration among businesses, education institutions, and innovators. It’s great to know that the goals of the university, our company and the sponsorship fund align and we can continue our partnership,” says Sergejus Sidorovas, CEO of Western Union Processing Lithuania.
EdTech Hackathon is a part of the series of events during the EdTech week which will begin with the EdTech Conference: Education inside Metaverse on 22nd November. At the conference, presentations will be given by international experts and representatives of startups and tech companies. The event will be broadcast live on the news portal 15min. EdTech Hackathon 2022 will begin on 26th November. The final day (27th November) will also be broadcast live.
Last year, EdTech Hackathon attracted 116 participants from 13 countries, who were solving the challenges of hybrid learning.
EdTech Hackathon 2022 is open for high-school and university students, education and technology enthusiasts, startups, and other communities that promote innovation. The participants will enjoy prizes to stimulate ideas, as well as benefit from new connections and a solid network of mentors. This year’s improvement – the winners of the hackathon will get not only a prize but also long-term support to develop and implement their idea.