Shaping the Future of Education Through Dialogue
DEFI is a global R&D hub at Hughes Hall, University of Cambridge, dedicated to pioneering future education models enabled by emerging technologies.
Through thought leadership, we help educators and decision-makers navigate the challenges of rapid technological change.
Upcoming Events
More information on upcoming events
Monday 8 June, 17:30– 19:00
Faculty of Education, Donald McIntyre Building
Find out more here
Monday 8 June, 17:30– 19:00, Faculty of Education, Donald McIntyre Building
Find out more here
DEFI News
See our recent LinkedIn posts here
The Art and The Science of Futures Thinking: Foundations and Frameworks
DEFI’s first online Futures course is live and available for sign-ups.
‘The Art and the Science of Futures Thinking: Foundations and Frameworks‘ is a 6-week course designed for self paced study and will equip participants with concepts, methods and tools in foresight and strategy to tackle complex challenges and drive meaningful change.
The instructors are DEFI Managing Director, Kevin Martin and Futures Lead, Fawaz Abu Sitta. If you can’t come to our in person event on 15th May, this could be the option for you.
To find out more about this course, click below.
Find out more here
Nomination for the 2025 BETT awards
While we didn’t win this time, we’re thrilled that our sister project, the Yeltic/TIST mobile education app, developed by Yeltic, the Digital Education Futures Initiative (DEFI), Cambridge, and The International Small Group and Tree Planting Program (TIST), has been recognized for its ground-breaking impact in educational technology.
To find out more about what makes the app transformational, click below.
What makes the app transformational?
It redefines learning access for under-served adult learners in rural communities across East Africa and Southern India by:
Bridging the education gap
Providing quality, accessible education tailored for rural communities in the Global South.
Offline functionality
Designed for regions with limited internet access, it works seamlessly offline.
Multi-language support
Available in Swahili, English, and Tamil to break down language barriers.
Localized AI-powered content
Utilises AI to adjust video narration for local accents and language nuances.
Low-power optimization
Operates on low-power devices, ideal for areas with limited electricity.
Scalable BYOD model
Uses the widespread access to mobile phones, making it both sustainable and scalable.
Currently deployed across Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, and India within TIST’s network of 250,000 farmers, this app is a powerful step towards poverty alleviation and sustainable development. It’s a testament to what’s possible when creative thinking and technology meet a real-world need.
Read more about our transformational app here.
What makes the app transformational?
It redefines learning access for under-served adult learners in rural communities across East Africa and Southern India by:
Bridging the education gap |
Providing quality, accessible education tailored for rural communities in the Global South. |
Offline functionality |
Designed for regions with limited internet access, it works seamlessly offline. |
Multi-language support |
Available in Swahili, English, and Tamil to break down language barriers. |
Localized AI-powered content |
Utilises AI to adjust video narration for local accents and language nuances. |
Low-power optimization |
Operates on low-power devices, ideal for areas with limited electricity. |
Scalable BYOD model |
Uses the widespread access to mobile phones, making it both sustainable and scalable. |
Currently deployed across Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, and India within TIST’s network of 250,000 farmers, this app is a powerful step towards poverty alleviation and sustainable development. It’s a testament to what’s possible when creative thinking and technology meet a real-world need.
Partners of DEFI
We collaborate with colleagues from across Cambridge and partner externally with sector-leading organisations, including:
Latest from the DEFI blog
AI Governance for Tomorrow: A Pitch to the Minister for the Future
Our blog writer today is Dr Kevin Martin, DEFI Director and tech entrepreneur. Here he reflects on a recent speaking engagement at Nesta, the UK’s Innovation Agency for Social Good, which fired his...
Cambridge Guide to Educational Design-Based Research (EDBR)
This blog is written by Dr Shengpeng Shi, a DEFI post-graduate researcher and co-author of DEFI latest publication the Cambridge Guide to Educational Design-Based Research...
18 months of living with LLMs – what are we learning?
Our blog is written by Dr Imogen Casebourne who is DEFI's Innovation Lab lead. She has an MSc in Artificial Intelligence (1995), for which she developed an AI program that wrote short stories...
From the DEFI Innovation Lab
The DEFI Future Skills Report
Discover the nine categories of Future Skills that today’s learners need for tomorrow’s workplace. Plus, free access to the journal article in Irish Educational Studies.
