Changes across all sectors are occurring faster than ever before. And the future of work, in particular, is changing in ways we have never experienced before. These changes, along with the rise of artificial intelligence and the new economy, will require students to acquire new skills—ones that differ from those traditionally taught in schools.

In 2020, 85 million job openings worldwide will remain unfilled. The reason? A shortage of workers with the skills and competencies required to perform these new roles. This data, compiled by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in collaboration with the McKinsey Global Institute, confirms this ongoing transformation around the world.

The most important tool in this struggle for (re)positioning in the job market is education. By choosing “Does today’s education prepare us for the future?” as its main theme, Bett Educar 2020 puts the transformation of education today and in the future into perspective.

It’s no wonder that expectations for the 2020 event are even more promising. Growth in recent years has placed Bett Educar among the world’s leading events; it is already the most comprehensive event in Latin America in the fields of education, technology, and innovation.

The balance between business and knowledge positions Bett Educar as one of the leading venues for discussions relevant to the sector and a showcase for national and international trends.

In recent years, growth has been substantial, bringing together a conference and trade show in a 32,000-square-meter space, with more than 80% of the area occupied and a 53% increase in the number of exhibitors. In 2019, there were over 30,000 visitors and 6,000 conference attendees, coming from all over Brazil and 23 other countries—an audience only slightly smaller than that of the UK’s Bett Show, the world’s leading education and technology event and part of the portfolio of the Hyve Group, one of the world’s leading organizers of events considered industry benchmarks.

This year, the event will feature more than 270 companies and 30 startups in the education sector showcasing innovations in products, services, and technologies designed to enhance the student experience in the classroom.

“Attending the Bett Show UK showed us just how eager the education sector is for innovation to make the educational process more efficient. We took part in very interesting discussions about how the private sector and public authorities can work even more closely together to make the necessary changes possible. We realized that there are many ongoing projects in other countries that could be implemented in Brazil. Many of the exhibitors at the Bett Show also expressed interest in participating in Bett Brasil,” said Claudia Valério, director of Bett Educar.

Business

Last year, Bett organized a Business Matchmaking event between exhibitors and the procurement departments of the country’s leading educational institutions, with a focus on educational technology. Twenty-one exhibitors participated in 136 meetings with 34 potential buyers, resulting in approximately R$ 5 million in business deals closed during the event, in that space alone.

"Bett Educar is a very important trade show because the entire education market is represented there. It’s an opportunity for people to learn about our products and services and for us to get to know our customers better and understand their needs," said Thaísa Borges, a marketing analyst at MCassab.

Knowledge

It’s easy to get bombarded with so much exciting and innovative technology and convince yourself that everyone else is doing amazing things while you’re falling behind. Maybe so. But anyone planning to make a significant investment needs something that’s genuinely useful.

Therefore, the first step is to reflect on your educational institution’s goals and challenges and develop a strategy for attending the event. It is no exaggeration to say that education is in the midst of a workload crisis. Although technology has proven to be a facilitator, in some areas there is a risk that it could become an obstacle if it is not carefully considered, structured, and utilized.

It’s worth creating a “checklist” for purchasing new technology tools and considering how a new solution will make life easier in schools—whether it integrates with other systems or will require a significant amount of configuration and data entry. Or even how the staff will learn to use it and whether high-quality training is included.

The trade show is an immersion into the world of the latest innovations in education. But another valuable part of the event is the Bett Educar Congress lectures, which also serve to help shift your mindset, in addition to providing opportunities for collaboration. On top of that, the event is an excellent opportunity for networking.

Both at the fair and at the Bett Educar Conference, every space provides an opportunity for exchanging information, meeting with experts, and “teaching and learning” among all participants, with a constant exchange of knowledge.