Cognassist wins UK semi-final of GESAwards, hosted by EDUCATE Ventures
Cognassist, a digital cognitive assessment platform, is through to the global finals of the 2020 Global EdTech Start-ups Awards (GESAwards) after beating nine other high-flying EdTech companies in the UK semi-finals, organised and hosted by EDUCATE Ventures.
The online event saw each company give a three-minute presentation to judges after being short-listed to pitch for the prestigious prize. The runners-up were Enroly and Little Bridge.
The companies had to demonstrate, among other criteria, what challenge they were addressing, provide an innovative pedagogical approach and produce a sustainable business model.
They were judged by Anissa Moeini, Business Strategist and EdTech Doctoral Researcher, EDUCATE Ventures; Samantha Raven, Education Strategy and Venture Fundraising, PwC; Nick Kind, Strategy Consultant & Education Specialist, Tyton Partners and Paul Nicholls, EdTech Lead UK, Amazon Web Services.
Cognassist was founded by Chris Quickfall four years ago following a diagnosis of dyslexia in adulthood. The experience of going through cognitive tests gave him the idea of developing a tool that was quick and inexpensive, to enable people with learning challenges to access education more effectively.
He said after the semi-final: “Our cloud-based platform identifies neurodiversity in under 30 minutes, provides personalised learner journeys which increases learner success, and delivers applied neuroscience training to enable providers to drive real change.
“Over the past year a lot of hard work has gone into growing and developing the company, so this is a recognition of the achievements of our team and we were absolutely thrilled to have been announced as the winners.
“Winning the semi-final will help to solidify where we are as team, giving us the confidence to go out there and discuss and raise awareness of neurodiversity.”
The other seven companies who competed in the GESAwards semi-final were blutick, Emile, Firetech, LearnCube, Mathigon, Musemio and Perlego.
Professor Rose Luckin, director of EDUCATE Ventures gave a keynote address on the power of intelligence, both human and artificial, and why it will transform education.
She said: “I am thrilled that Educate Ventures hosted the GESAwards semi-finals for a second year and thrilled to see the high quality of all the pitches — and the participation of EDUCATE Alumni, Little Bridge, Mathigon and Musemio.
“These awards are vital for the EdTech Ecosystem and a wonderful way to connect companies across the globe.”
Ms Moeini said the judges found it difficult to choose between the contenders. “It was an honour to judge the GESA semi-finals this year and very exciting to see the standard of entries raised year on year- especially as it pertains to research activities showing evidence of product impact.
“All entrants addressed a real need in the education market and showed passion of meeting their purpose. Needless to say, it was tough to arrive at a winner.”
During the event, which was organised by Rowland Wells, EDUCATE Ventures’ Community and Events Manager, participants heard about the eight-month long research project carried out by the company into the role of technology during the school lockdown resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic.
Dr Carmel Kent, EDUCATE’s Head of Educational Data Science, gave a presentation of some of the methodology and findings of the study, which will be published in full in December.
