Business School wins global education awards for online learning and hologram

L-R: Nai Li, Andrew Parry, Jamina Ward, Gavin Symonds and Angela Moreno at the QS Reimagine Education Conference

Imperial College Business School has won four prestigious industry awards at the QS Reimagine Education conference.

The Business School scooped the Gold Award for Business Education for its Future of Management Education Alliance (FOME) project, at an evening reception held at the Queen Elizabeth II Centre in London, attended by industry figures working to transform the future of education. The FOME Alliance also won a Silver Award in the E-Learning category, which is awarded to projects that use innovative new technology to enhance electronic learning.

The FOME Alliance is a global collaboration between eight leading international business schools who have launched a digital learning platform to create a more flexible learning experience for students. The aim of the partnership is to create a more globally accessible study experience through a shared online learning platform, combining faculty expertise with cutting-edge technology.

Imperial received four out of the 16 awards presented at the conference from 1,518 submissions from universities, businesses, non-profits and other education providers from around the world.

HOLOGRAM SUCCESS

The Business School’s hologram project won the Gold Award for the Virtual/Augmented Reality 2020 Award category which recognises projects that “harness emerging technologies to improve teaching delivery, enhance employability outcomes and leverage quality learning.”

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In November 2018, Imperial became the first university in the world to deliver a live lecture to students using hologram technology at a special event featuring a number of guest speakers from Los Angeles, New York and London. The hologram, which was developed by Imperial’s pioneering Edtech Lab with Toronto based hologram company AHRT Media, is designed to enable academics and guest speakers to present to students in real time, via a hologram link, without requiring them to be in person at Imperial’s campus.

The technology will make it possible for the Business School to host lectures in multiple classes and locations simultaneously, as well as discussion panels and round-table events with a mixture of both in-person and virtual speakers present.

"It’s wonderful for the School to be recognised as a global leader in teaching innovation as we seek to grow our digital profile in business education." Professor Francisco Veloso Dean, Imperial College Business School

Imperial’s Global Online MBA programme was also recognised with a Bronze Award for Best Distributed Program for Nurturing 21^st Century Skills.

Professor Francisco Veloso, Dean of Imperial College Business School said: “Congratulations to Leila Guerra, David Lefevre and the Edtech Lab for this remarkable achievement. It’s wonderful for the School to be recognised as a global leader in teaching innovation as we seek to grow our digital profile in business education. These awards reflect the important work we’re doing to put students at the centre of our teaching strategy by creating inspiring and flexible learning experiences that lead to positive outcomes.”

THE FUTURE OF EDUCATION 

The QS Reimagine Education conference and Awards is a global education conference and competition open to all those who are transforming education.

Joël McConnell, Executive Director of Marketing, Recruitment and Admissions at the Business School, said “The annual conference and awards ceremony is usually hosted in the US by QS and the Wharton School, and this was the first year the event was hosted in London. The event was a great opportunity to showcase Imperial’s leadership in the edtech space and how we’re using innovative approaches to deliver a more impactful student experience."

The conference brings together higher education industry experts, edtech entrepreneurs, investors and innovation leaders from major corporations, who have the common objective of pioneering the future of teaching, learning and skills development. 

The competition awards innovative education initiatives that enhance student learning outcomes and employability, offering $50,000 in funding to the overall winners.

This year Imperial College Business School was chosen as a ‘Visionary Partner’ to host the first day of the conference at Imperial’s campus on Sunday 8 December.