Bett Show is one of the world’s leading events in the education sector.
More than 35 years stand behind this great event, originally designed for teachers and educators. It was conceived as their meeting point, a place to share and discover the best educational practices.
If you have been to a big trade fair like IFEMA in Madrid, imagine its 12 halls filled to the brim with everything you can think of in the education sector. The best from every country, the latest hardware for schools, universities and educational institutions, the latest educational software, from apps for learning through play to facial recognition software for detecting reading problems.
All this and much more, because there are several fairs within this big fair. One hall is dedicated to Higher Education, sponsored by AWS. Another adjoining hall hosts Learnit, a parallel event with more than 100 world-class speakers telling you about the latest trends.
BETT Show is divided into two large areas: the North hall and the South hall.
On its right-hand side, the North hall brings together all the international pavilions: Japan, Korea, the Emirates, the Netherlands, Hungary, France, Germany, Estonia and many more. In the central area are the software solutions, dominated by two huge stands from Microsoft and Dell, plus smaller ones from Canva, Smart and ODILO. But my favourite area, where I spent all 3 days, was BETT Futures, in light blue. More than 40 startups were gathered there, along with a stage for pitches and talks on the Edtech sector.
Like any good networker, I recommend using the days beforehand to plan your goals for an event, which companies you want to visit and get to know, and which people you would like to talk to.
I did my homework, and two weeks before I had already set up meetings at the fair itself with several entrepreneurs, investors and key players in the entrepreneurial ecosystem.
As a founder of the European Edtech Alliance, I was invited to be a judge on the Shark Tank, and my friends from Tel Aviv at the GESAwards also invited me on the first day to be a judge assessing startups.
Having fun as a judge on the Bett Futures Shark Tank
On the first day there was also a speed networking session run by Edtech Female Founders, which I didn’t miss.
The people at Edpuzzle invited me to their after-fair beers on the first day, and afterwards I went on to dinner with AWS Edtart along with about twenty other education startups, including Genially. So the first day was super intense and well spent.
On the second day, after meeting 3 investors and getting to know several startups and big companies, at the end of the day we were invited to a VIP event hosted by the Hungarian pavilion at the Novotel in Canary Wharf, so I was able to enjoy a few glasses of champagne and a luxury cocktail with the best views of London.
I spent the third day getting to know the most interesting educational hardware and software in the South hall. The fair was quieter and you could spend time at each stand watching demos. But the coolest thing is an initiative that encourages UK schoolchildren to visit all the stands and choose their favourites. It’s called Kids Judges Bett, and the final is held in The Arena, an impressive stage where there were also events on the previous days.
For this fair, and for most of them really, the best thing is to download the app and mark in your agenda all the talks you want to hear live. And, as I was saying, make contact with the people you find interesting.
In the days afterwards my LinkedIn was on fire with all the contacts I had made during those three days, so now it’s time to go through all the business cards and take action.
Happy Networking!
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