HEA COVID-19 Challenge Call

In early June UNHCR teamed up with the EdTech Hub, mEducation Alliance, Global Innovation Exchange (GIE) and ECW to open a specific Refugee Sub-window to the recent EdTech call — in order to respond to the learning emergency caused by COVID-19 school closures.

We had over 80 applicants, of which 16 were selected to make live solution pitches.

12 teams were selected to join our Rapid Response COVID-19 Cohort and participate in the HEA’s first Virtual Bootcamp. These incredible teams include:

• Amal Alliance: Caregiving Podcast
• Education for Humanity at Arizona State University: SolarSPELL
• Hello World: Hub Heroes
• Jusoor: Refugee Education COVID Response Programme
• Mbarara University of Science and Technology: Teaching Robots
• Mosaik: Open Dogme Toolkit
• M-Shule
• Sina Loketa: Community Networking Initiative
• Tekkatho Foundation: MyLibrary Want to Learn
• Ustad Mobile
• War Child Holland: Can’t Wait to Learn Programme
• Youth Education & Sports (YES): SEL COVID-19 Response

The intensive week-long bootcamp ran from July 13th-17th and focused on strengthening the solutions for utility in different refugee-hosting environments. Through-out the week different sessions were organized to assist teams to begin thinking about scaling and business development plans, identifying assumptions, communicating impact, and testing and prototyping within a COVID-19 context.

Learn more about the bootcamp through the team’s reflect blogs here:

• Amal Alliance: Our Journey Through Reimagining Learning
• M-Shule: Interview with Amos: M-Shule’s journey within the HEA Cohort

More blogs coming soon so stay tuned!

What’s Next….

All teams now have an opportunity to adjust their proposal based on learnings from the Bootcamp. Based on these revised proposals, 3 solutions will be selected for additional financing (up to 60,000 USD) to assist with scaling up their programme, and extending access in refugee-hosting contexts.

The three interventions will also receive further mentorship support from the HEA mentors and partners, in the form of a one-week sprint conducted by IDEO.org to help refine their scale-up.

Further, one other team might be selected to benefit from the EdTech Hub Sandbox support.

We believe that there is no limit to what great ideas and talented entrepreneurs can do in partnership with educators and education systems in response to this problem.