Welcome to the latest edition of Ufi's Community Newsletter.

This week's newsletter includes:

📣 Insights from Belfast as part of our VocTech Challenge programme;

🚀 NCFE's Assessment Innovation Fund open for applications;

💡 Thought provoking articles and reports; and more...

VocTech Challenge:
Place-based collaboration in Belfast

As part of the VocTech Challenge: Skills for an economy in transition, Ufi and Learning and Work Institute (L&W) are working with local stakeholders across the UK to identify the key local barriers to adult participation in learning.

Together with L&W and key stakeholders in Belfast, we identified the current challenges and opportunities for adult learning in the city. Read the full article to explore the barriers and what can be done to improve participation in learning. 

Funding: NCFE's Assessment Innovation Fund is open for applications 

Are you looking for funding to bring your assessment design ideas to life? You might be eligible to apply for Window 6 of the Assessment Innovation Fund.

Ufi and NCFE are jointly supporting the fund which focuses on assessment within vocational education, encouraging the development of learner-centric and adaptable assessment solutions. Two organisations will be awarded up to £150,000 funding each for large-scale impact projects lasting between 18 and 24 months.

Use NCFE's Eligibility Checker to find out if the Assessment Innovation Fund could be right for your idea or project. Applications close on 12th March 2024.

Insight: Digital project links self-leadership with student engagement

Our strategic partners at NCFE have found that learner's understanding their own strengths and weaknesses directly affects their engagement in studies.

The result came from one of NCFE's Assessment Innovation Fund pilots, WILD Learning at Nottingham College, co-funded by Ufi. The project set out to create scientifically credible data around three key meta-skills to inform the design and delivery of learning experiences. 

Dean Blewitt, Senior Investments and Innovations Manager at NCFE, said:

"This project is an example of how our Assessment Innovation Fund, in collaboration with Ufi VocTech Trust, promotes innovation in education through new approaches to assessment and creative uses of technology to improve learning experiences.”

Next week: 
Ufi-supported organisations at Annual Apprenticeship Conference

Ufi-supported organisations and partners are involved in next week's Annual Apprenticeship Conference.

The 10^th Annual Apprenticeship Conference will take place on Monday 26 and Tuesday 27 February at Birmingham’s International Convention Centre. Our strategic partners NCFE and the Association of Employment and Learning Providers (AELP) are partners of the conference. 

Ufi-supported organisation CENTURY will be exhibiting at the conference. CENTURY use artificial intelligence to recommend courses and provide tailored learning resources to learners. You can find out more about their project with Ufi here.

Ufi Ventures portfolio company Metaverse Learning will be running a session on 'Building capacity and improving quality through the Metaverse' at 11:30am on the first day of the conference. Metaverse Learning use virtual reality and augmented reality to produce immersive online training experiences.

Upcoming event: 
TeacherMatic host Spring Term Community Webinar

Ufi-supported TeacherMatic are running a Spring Term Community Webinar giving educators the chance to be part of a movement setting new standards in learning. 

TeacherMatic is an AI platform designed by educators to help teacher's reduce their workload and improve their productivity. The free webinar will include presentations from providers showing best practice in the use of TeacherMatic and an open discussion on how the platform can be improved. 

If you're an educator or interested in how digital technology is being used in education, register for the event below. 

Read: How can employers make the most of student placements?

Ufi Ventures portfolio company, MyPocketSkill, have shared their knowledge on why paid opportunities can unlock valuable employer-relevant skills in a recent blog. 

MyPocketSkill is a digital platform helping to support young people to earn money, establish savings goals and become more employable and financially capable. In the blog, Matthew Harker, CEO and Co-Founder of MyPocketSkill, shares his company's insights from over 120,000 students and employers. He said:

"We find that even modest amounts of money are great motivators for both employers and students."

In case you missed:
New research on Functional Skills Qualifications and their place in vocational training

Our strategic partners the Association of Education and Learning Providers (AELP) have release a report on Functional Skills Qualifications (FSQs) and their place in vocational training.  

The report explores the perspectives of training providers and colleges on the challenges of content and costs of FSQs.

News: Ufi-supported organisations make EdTech top 50 list 

Four Ufi-supported organisations have made BusinessCloud's EdTech 50 ranking for 2024, celebrating the UK's most innovative education tech creators. 

Ufi Ventures portfolio companies AutonoMe, Metaverse Learning and FlashAcademy, as well as Ufi-supported organisation CENTURY, all made the EdTech list. Follow the link below to find out how each organisation is innovating in the EdTech sector.

Latest: 
Insights on implementing AI in education

Ufi Ventures portfolio company, Metaverse Learning, have written an insightful blog on implementing Artificial Intelligence (AI) in education. 

Metaverse Learning use virtual reality, virtual environments and augmented reality to produce engaging and immersive online training experiences that bring learning to life. In their blog, the company explain the benefits of integrating AI in Education, including examples of current applications and the challenges that need to be addressed. 

Keep in touch!

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