About T4 Education

Thoughts from our Founder

“The world in which every child receives their birthright of a good education cannot wait to be built by top-down reform – it must be powered by grassroots change.

With over 1.5 billion learners impacted by school and university closures, global education is emerging from the greatest crisis it has ever faced. But even before the pandemic, the UN was already warning progress was too slow to achieve its Sustainable Development Goal 4 of quality education for all by 2030.

That’s why we founded T4 Education during the pandemic, and brought together a community of 200,000 teachers from over 100 countries, at first to simply help them navigate the ‘new normal’, but then to provide them with tools, events and initiatives to improve education in the wake of COVID, and give teachers and schools the voice they deserve at the top table of decision making.

Only by listening to those at the coalface of education will governments implement the vital reforms needed to close the global learning gap. And only through meaningful dialogue with teachers can tech companies develop the effective tools educators on the front lines need in their classrooms.

It is teachers and schools who will not only equip the next generation to fulfil their full potential, but empower them to tackle the greatest challenges our societies face, from inequality to environmental destruction and rapid technological change. Their voices must be heard.”

Vikas Pota,
Founder and CEO of T4 Education

Our story

Built on our team’s collective experiences in education, our single biggest key achievement is that by creating a digital platform, we have brought together a global community of schools and educators from around the world, who, when faced with school closures due to the pandemic wanted to know how to navigate the ‘new normal’ and seek to advance their agency to improve education for all.

On 30th May 2020, we hosted our first global conference which focused on four areas - leadership, collaboration, wellbeing and technology and we looked at how these areas impacted the future of the teaching profession as a way of helping educators navigate the challenges of the pandemic. So, in abbreviated form, we called this conference ‘T4’. As the purpose resonated greatly with educators around the world, we stuck with the name.

Our mission

T4 is a platform for educators and schools.

Amplifying
teachers' voices

Giving teachers
a platform

Highlighting innovation

Supporting
schools

We want to strengthen the cause of educators and schools by providing them with opportunities to learn, share and network with each other. We believe that by building such a global community, education is better served.

By harnessing the expertise and energy of the wider education ecosystem in support of this cause, we increase our chances of ensuring every learner achieves their potential.

The pandemic has accelerated the use of technology which allows us to build an engaged global online community.

We are building a set of tools that help this global community advance its agenda.

T4 Ambassador Programme launched

3000 ambassadors volunteer to amplify our communications online in under 2 weeks.

The New Normal: Education Post-COVID 19

May 2020

103,000 teachers registered to attend our first global online event.

World Education Week

October 2020

Our first World Education Week focused on the theme 'Learning Today'. Over 111,000 tickets were booked for 100 virtual school events in October 2020.

T4 Alliance membership programme launched

January 2021

First cohort of T4 Country Ambassadors announced

February 2021

Teacher Tech Summit

April 2021

Over 46,000 teachers registered for our first Teacher Tech Summit.

T4 Insights Global Teacher Poll launched

April 2021

We launched T4 Insights (our research activity) with our first online survey, Teaching, Technology & COVID 19. It was available in 17 languages and over 20,000 teachers from 165 countries shared their views.

Turning to Technology report published

September 2021

Following the world’s largest survey of the use of technology by teachers, we published our first report based on the views of over 20,000 teachers.

The World’s Best School Prizes

October 2021

The World’s Best School Prizes launched during the opening plenary session during World Education Week. The $250,000 prize fund will be equally shared amongst the winning five schools in 2022.

World Education Week

October 2021

In 2021, our theme was ‘School Celebration’ and we expanded the programme to include events from partner organisations. Over 81,000 tickets were booked.

Teacher Tech Summit

March 2022

We expanded the event to a 2-day programme partnership with The World Bank and Owl Ventures.

Our supporters

What have we learnt?

Our experiences in bringing together educators and schools during the pandemic have shown us:

The technology gains made around the world have resulted in educators and schools participating in our activities from places where we would have previously said that connectivity and lack of devices prohibit participation.

We can now reach educators around the world at scale. This is one of the winds of change that has swept through the sector as a result of the pandemic.

The pandemic affected all parts of the world, a phenomenon never experienced before, and this challenged the conventional wisdom that all education is hyper-local. We believe that the second wind of change that has swept through the education sector is that we can learn from other contexts.

This openness and receptivity for learning from around the world about what works is a powerful force that we seek to promote.

We know that peer to peer learning is a game-changer, and our experiences underscore this known fact. We place educators and schools at the heart of all discussions connected to education, and by doing so promote their experiences, knowledge and expertise in reforming education for all.

What our supporters say

“What’s exciting about World Education Week is the idea of schools around the world sharing their expertise with their peers. After a turbulent period in global education, this is a great way of building back better.”

Andreas Schleicher
Director for Education & Skills at the OECD

“We have to promote the positive things that are happening in education so we can learn what’s working in schools all around the world, which is why the World’s Best School Prizes are a really good idea.”

Maiu Sandu
President of Moldova

“The sheer scale of educators around the globe combining to share expertise, excellence and wisdom in accelerating learning is hugely impressive. If all educators learn from the best educators of their countries and of the world we would make immense progress in ensuring inclusive, equitable and quality education for all. I welcome all to participate in World Education Week.”

Jaime Saavedra
Global Director for Education at the World Bank

“There are so many schools that can share their experiences with others, and I’m excited about the opportunity that these Prizes provide to them.”

Rebecca Winthrop
Co-Director of the Centre for Universal Education at the Brookings Institution, and a Member of our Review Committee

Join our Community

We believe in the strength of community and the network effects that come from bringing change-makers together. Please join our communities to advance our collective missions to improve the quality of education for learners everywhere.

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Thoughts from our Founder

Our story