Lord Puttnam is the chair of the Atticus Education, an online education company based in Ireland. After a successful career in the film industry, he turned efforts to public policy.
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Education is no longer a matter reserved for public authorities or free from real life constraints. The world is spending more on education than ever before. Education is the answer to parents’ desire to guarantee a future job for their children and to companies’ needs for more innovation and better skilled employees.
The Open Education Challenge is the first fully European incubator for education startups. Launched in partnership with the European Commission, it is an invitation to all education practitioners and all innovators passionate about education to push forward their ideas and their dreams, create a startup and contribute to changing education.
The Open Education Challenge coorganizes the Global EdTech Startup Awards led by the israelí edtech incubator Mindcet, and a network of edtech incubators from around the world that aims to recognise the world’s most promising EdTech startups with the potential to offer groundbreaking learning solutions.
In its first edition (2014-2015), the Open Education Challenge received more than 600 applicants from 74 countries interested in joining our incubator. An international jury chaired by Lord Puttnam and Xavier Prats-Monné director general of Education and Culture at the European Commission selected the startups that experienced a 14 weeks immersion in four European cities: Helsinki, Paris, Berlin and London.
After the final conference that took place in Brussels under the patronage of the European Commission, the startups met the investors that committed more than 2,5 M. euros to their development.
Many lessons were learned; among them first the shared conviction that all European countries, despite or thanks to their cultural diversity, face the same educative challenges; second that European innovators and entrepreneurs are able to understand the common trends and bring tailor made solutions; third that innovation in education must fully engage teachers and learners and open up to new actors located at the periphery of the education systems; fourth that investors contribute to the creation of a socially responsible marketplace on the one hand driven by customers’ expectations and on the other hand conditioned by social inclusion challenges.
Investors with you from day one
We have created the Open Education Investment Club with renowned investors and venture capitalists, to support your startup as soon as it enters the Incubator.
Club Members are determined to help finance the development of innovative companies in education. They contribute to the financing of the whole incubation process.
You will have continuous access to them until the Investors Day at the end of the 12-week incubation period. Our investors are ready to work closely with you on all business-related matters.
By accepting the terms and conditions of the Open Education Challenge, you will give the investors an option to invest in your startup for the second stage of development, at an agreed value. This option is a guarantee for the investors to be able to maintain the relationship with you and your team. It gives you privileged access to potential funding once the incubation period is over.
The Open Education Challenge opens up a continuous call for proposal during the year 2016-2017. The startups that will be selected will experience during 14 weeks a unique immersion in European educative realities. Instead of proposing a traditional incubation process located in a single place, the startups will embark in an ambitious tour of European capitals to get acquainted with different realities, meet education practitioners and experts from all fields and all cultures.
No. Everyone is welcome. We encourage applications from teachers, students, practitioners or anyone with a passion for education and entrepreneurship and an idea that may transform teaching, learning and training.
Yes. However, to enter the Incubator and get access to the Investment Club members, you must register your mother company in an EU country.
Yes. The application form must be submitted in English, and by applying to the Open Education Challenge, you accept its terms and conditions.
Yes. We accept applications from all over the world and not only from the EU. All selected applicants will have to commit to participate full time in the incubation process that will take place in the EU. The startups have to be (or will have to be) registered in the European Union.
All applications remain the property of the applicants. It is up to you to take the necessary measures if you feel that your idea requires specific protection. Please be aware that we will evaluate hundreds of submissions, many of which may include similar ideas. We will not sign any non-disclosure agreements during the submission process.
You will receive up to €20,000 upon joining the Incubator in return for small stakes in your company (6% on average). This seed funding will cover your costs during the Incubation period, including, for instance, the development of a prototype, testing costs, and travel and accommodation expenses.
It is the following: “If selected for Incubation, I will grant an option to the Open Education Investment Club members to acquire 20% of the startup’s capital at an agreed value depending on the stage of development, as described in the terms and conditions.”
You may. In your application, please indicate the name of the funders and the sum awarded. You should also make sure that this is compatible with our terms and conditions.
You may still apply (see above). However, we would not recommend participating in two accelerators/incubators at the same time.
The Open Education Challenge is developed in partnership with the European Commission. It is part of Startup Europe. There is no financial contribution from the European Commission.
Consult the terms and conditions on this site.
We bring you the best of Europe. Our European Commission partnership guarantees your projects will get all the attention and the visibility they deserve in all EU countries. Our Incubator partners offer you direct support from renowned knowledge centres for education, technology and entrepreneurship.
Lord Puttnam is the chair of the Atticus Education, an online education company based in Ireland. After a successful career in the film industry, he turned efforts to public policy.
Xavier is responsible for EU policies and programmes for mobility and cooperation in education and training, including the new Erasmus+ Programme.
Pierre-Antoine is in charge of overall strategy at P.A.U. Education. He is a specialist in innovative learning and social development with a background in economics and publishing.
Edouard heads a private equity firm, Armat Group. Previously, he worked in the aeronautics field, holding senior positions with companies such as Matra, Eurocopter and Airbus.
Teemu is a professor at Aalto University. He has over a decade of R&D experience in the field web-based learning and has co-founded two companies.
Jacqueline is a professor at ESCP Europe and Scientific Director of the school’s Chair of Entrepreneurship. She also founded and chaired Business Angels Schweiz.
Hannes is the co-founder of iversity, a Berlin-based startup that makes high quality university-level courses openly available to anyone on the internet.
René is the Founder and Chairman of Ricol Lasteyrie, a company that offers independent financial expertise and risk management. He recently left the post of General Commissioner for Public Investment.
Avi is the CEO of MindCET, which brings together educational and startup culture. He has worked extensively on technology-supported learning, such as “Kotar,” a digital textbook platform.
Magdalene is a Professor at the IESE Business School Operations Management Department. She is an internationally recognized expert and researcher in health management and policy. She has worked with the European Commission, the World Bank, and various universities worldwide.
Olivier is the co-founder of the Institute of Action Research for Education (IRAE, in French), which supports innovators in education through strategic advice, action research, and pilot projects. Prior, he was the Executive Director of the World Innovation Summit for Education.
Laurent is part of a joint venture of the Rothschild Investment Trust and the Edmond de Rothschild Group, where he set up an investment club in 2012. His career includes positions at Morgan Stanley and Credit Suisse. He also co-founded an independent financial boutique and a members-only art trading platform.
François is the Investment Director in charge of Private Equity of Helios Capital. He previously spent several years at the executive level of small high-tech companies, and over a decade in management consulting with Ernst & Young.
