UAE: Meet winners of Global EdTech Prize at World Schools Summit in Abu Dhabi

Imagine Worldwide’s tablet-based foundational learning programme in Africa has clinched the top honour in the non-profits category at the inaugural Global EdTech Prize announced at the World Schools Summit in Abu Dhabi.

Brisk Teaching from the US won in the start-ups category, while Matific from Australia secured the prize among the majors. The awards, founded this year by T4 Education with the support of Owl Ventures, honour innovators tackling the most pressing challenges in education.

Imagine Worldwide aims to address the literacy and numeracy crisis affecting millions of children across Sub-Saharan Africa by delivering child-directed, tablet-based learning that is accessible, scalable and affordable. The organisation works in close partnership with governments, philanthropists, and local communities, and is currently collaborating with the governments of Malawi, Sierra Leone and Tanzania to roll out its learning system nationwide.

Designed for challenging environments, the solution operates without internet connectivity, grid power or the need for highly skilled teachers. Each child learns independently on solar-powered tablets loaded with adaptive software that includes culturally relevant literacy and numeracy curricula in the national language of instruction. Beginners, even those who have never used technology, are guided through lessons by a teacher avatar, building skills from basic concepts to reading and maths fluency.

Each tablet is shared by about five students daily, with sessions aligned to national curricula and supplementing teacher-led instruction. Nine randomised controlled trials across multiple countries and contexts have demonstrated significant gains: at least 50 per cent more children reach reading benchmarks, and 70 per cent achieve expected maths levels within just 13 months.

Brisk Teaching is an AI-powered platform that streamlines instructional and administrative tasks for educators. It helps teachers create differentiated lesson plans, generate aligned feedback, translate or level texts and produce interactive student-facing activities. With more than 30 educator-designed features, including Brisk Boost for real-time engagement monitoring, the tool frees teachers from repetitive tasks and enhances personalised learning.

Australia’s Matific is a digital maths platform offering thousands of interactive, curriculum-aligned activities for students from Foundation to Year 9. Its game-based episodes strengthen conceptual understanding and maths fluency, supporting classroom, hybrid and remote learning. With real-time analytics and parent dashboards, Matific helps educators personalise instruction and bridge learning between school and home.

The Global EdTech Prize shortlist featured the top 10 finalists in each category, who were invited to showcase their innovations at the World Schools Summit – hosted by T4 Education, Aldar Education and the Emirates Foundation, and supported by CIFF, Google, Microsoft and HP. An expert panel of investors, policymakers and technology leaders selected the final three contenders per category. These finalists then presented to educators at the summit, who voted by secret ballot to determine the winners announced live on stage.