As a founder of an EdTech Startup conferences are a sweet spot: the place to be. Even if you are an introvert. Does it make sense to leave the safety of your office and your screen to talk about your work? Especially when nobody might care because you’re a small player and “learning how to learn” is still a niche topic? Is it worth pushing your introverted founder self into the very extroverted world of industry leaders and research experts? I wanted to find out, so I tried an experiment:
Covember
Instead of Movember (men growing moustaches for cancer awareness), I did a Covember, squeezing three education conferences into the month of November: Oxford (LICE: The London International Conference on Education) at the beginning, followed by Tokyo (ACE: The Asian Conference on Education) and Valletta (IoE – Inspire, Foster, Educate: Global Research in Education). At all three conferences, I was a speaker, talking about learning skills in the age of artificial intelligence.
So… was it worth it?
Yes. It was worth all the work, all the preparation, and all the travel. Meeting people with similar ideas is deeply inspiring. Meeting people with very different ideas is even more so. There is something incredibly valuable about questioning your own assumptions and discussing the topics that matter most to you.
Ever thought about the digital learning behaviour and approach of adolescents? Rik van Eljik has. Thanks so much for the inspiring conversation over lunch. And Devika Nagpal; without you and your experiences with Functional curriculum the discussion about integration wouldn’t have been the same. And I’m still thinking daily about Stefano Oliverio’s provocative opening speech in Malta, asking: What value does learning have in a society when thinking is becoming irrelevant? A philosophical talk that not only sparked discussions, but also gave me some philosophically infused sleepless nights.
So here’s my point:
If you are a startup founder or a researcher with groundbreaking ideas, step out of the solitude of the FRHW (Founder–Research–Hamster Wheel). Take your introverted self out into the world and share your insights and experience. Covember might be a good way to start. Learning is never a monologue and neither is progress. Keep being brave, curious founders!
