The 2022 Bett UK event was visited by a Brazilian delegation of more than 100 people involved in education—the largest Brazilian delegation ever recorded by the event’s organizers. These teachers, administrators, and businesspeople returned home with a wealth of new insights, contacts, and even prospects for new business ventures. 

For Fabia Antunes, academic director at Colégio Lourenço Castanho, participating in events is an important part of educators’ professional development. “I’m from the academic field, but learning about innovations and exchanging experiences at events like this is also part of professional development,” she said at the end of her first visit to Bett UK. 

In addition to the opportunity to explore the fair itself, Fabia praised the organization of visits to British educational institutions. “At the Open University, I was able to meet researchers working on open-access content—and I’m already going to use some of their questionnaires on digital fluency. After the visit to King’s College, I shared information about the STEM Education Hub with my team, and they’re already checking it out and looking at the research,” she said. STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. 

The STEM Education Hub is an initiative led by Arthur Galamba, a native of Pernambuco who serves as a director at King’s College and was one of the speakers at Bett Brasil, which aims to bring together educators from both countries who work with the STEM approach. “It’s so that we can learn from them and from us—and vice versa. Educators in Brazil have a lot to teach the rest of the world—and a lot to learn. “This exchange is important, but it shouldn’t involve simply copying and pasting,” he said after sharing experiences with part of the group of Brazilians in London.

Marcelo Martins, IT coordinator at Colégio Pentágono, believes that attending Bett UK was an opportunity to see the latest innovations firsthand, in order to keep his institution at the forefront of the educational use of technology. “The trip was definitely well worth it. The visits to schools were very informative, and at the trade show, I saw interesting innovations, such as projectors that transform school environments into interactive spaces,” he said. 

Representatives from the Ministry of Education (MEC) were also in London to learn about and share information on Brazilian initiatives. Victor Godoy Veiga, who currently serves as Minister of Education, described the itinerary in the United Kingdom as very “enriching.” “These are meetings and visits that offer new perspectives,” he said.  

According to Veiga, technology plays a supporting role in schools, with the potential to provide information that enables teachers to apply best pedagogical practices to their students. “The fair serves as a vital link, bringing together companies and governments so that we can learn about these innovations. This allows us to evaluate them in light of our needs and challenges and adapt whatever works best.” 

 

 

 

Business

Even Brazilian representatives from companies in the education sector viewed the visit to the international trade show positively. Michel Godoi, CEO of Reeducation, praised the opportunity to engage in meaningful networking within the delegation itself. “Just as we learn from the exhibitors and speakers, we learn from the people here. They’re education experts, many with a lifetime of experience,” he remarked, having also attended Bett UK for the first time in 2022. 

Danielle Andrada, director of Eduinfo, is already a “veteran” when it comes to attending the event, but she makes a point of returning every time. “It’s a breath of fresh air,” she said, noting that she took the opportunity to network and is currently in negotiations to bring British brands to Brazil. Danielle points out that this year’s clear trend is fun. “I saw environments with lots of interaction, games, and e-sports. Technology combined with fun will make learning easier for this new generation,” she said. 

Renata Ribeiro, sales director at Alert Informática, took the opportunity to meet in person with some professionals she had previously only communicated with via email and to expand the reach of the services her company offers. “We held several meetings with schools that want to use Minecraft and need to train their teachers. Our meetings were with schools that operate globally, because a tool like this requires training, and that’s an issue worldwide,” she said. 

 

 

 

* This content is brought to you by Red Balloon English School in partnership with Bett Brasil. Registration for the conference and accreditation to visit Bett Brasil 2022 are now open. Additional updates will be shared leading up to the event and announced on the website brasil.bettshow.com and the official social media channels @bettbrasil.