Hacking EDplanning 2021

 

Everything digital has penetrated teaching and learning – but it has yet to fully integrate into the field of educational planning and management. IIEP experts see great potential for computer science, geospatial and big data, and other types of technology to offer new solutions in the way education systems function and cater to the specific needs of the communities it serves. That’s why IIEP has teamed up with Latitudes, a tech for good network organization, to host Hacking EDplanning, the first-ever IIEP-UNESCO hackathon. 


When is it?

From 29-31 January  2021, this virtual hackathon will bring together developers and educational planners to create digital projects that could redefine educational planning practices. These innovative ideas – based on countries’ realities – would also offer new ways to support governments with meeting the United Nations’ Sustainable Develop

ment Goal for education (SDG 4). 

Closing event

The hackathon will close with an exciting opportunity – open to all - to see an online presentation of all of the digital tools created during the weekend. 

When: Sunday, 31 January 2021, 4pm UTC (Click here to see your time zone) / Where: Online 

Register to receive the details

 




What are the Hacking EDplanning challenges?

1. Improving the deployment of teachers 
A tool for the allocation of teachers to increase schooling and reduce disparities related to inter- and intra-regional divides, to ensure that every child has the same learning opportunities across a country.

2. Enhancing learning 
A data visualization tool cross-referencing learning outcomes and factors that influence student performance to identify links, and contribute to ensuring that learning assessment data are integrated into the decision-making process and used in the most efficient way. 

3. Applying inspection data 
A spatial heat map – using text data – of topics flagged by school inspection reports to identify patterns to improve the quality of education.

4. Identifying ghost teachers
A tool to reduce the share of ghost teachers and save up to 20% (for some countries) of the education budget for other expenditure items. This work could lead to improved interoperability of certain databases for a better analysis of data.

5. Create new school-age population data at the micro-level 
An interface to generate new population data estimates at the micro level so that it correlates to actual school age groups – when official data is unavailable – to enable educational planners to plan appropriately at the local level.

6. Making information more accessible
A simple and accessible prototype of a mobile application for better knowledge sharing on educational planning even in regions with low levels of connectivity.

 

 

Want to get involved?

1. Tech profiles

If you have skills in data science, data analysis, AI, NLP, dataviz, UX/UI, development (front and/or back), project management, your commitment will be a very precious help for us! Contact us: development(a)iiep.unesco.org

2. Educational experts

Educationnal planners, managers, researchers can tune into the final session of the hackathon to see a presentation of all the projects. Register here.

3. Partners, media

Partners, media, if you want to support the event, please write to development(a)iiep.unesco.org.

 

What is a hackathon?

 

A hackathon is a live event in which software engineers, data scientists, UI/UX designers, project managers, and others collaborate intensively to provide innovative solutions to pre-identified challenges. It is a voluntary activity that usually takes place over a weekend.