BETT

Bett

Bett Logo
Status Active
Genre Education Show
Frequency Annually
Venue ExCeL London
Location(s) London
Country United Kingdom
Inaugurated 1985 (1985), as the British Educational Training and Technology Show
Most recent 25-28 January 2017
Next event 24-27 January 2018
Sponsor Microsoft, TES_(magazine)
Website
http://www.bettshow.com

Bett or The Bett Show (formerly known as the British Educational Training and Technology Show) is an annual trade show in the United Kingdom marketing information technology in education. Founded in 1985, it expanded to the National and Grand Halls at the Olympia exhibition centre in London, England, with a move to the ExCeL London in London's Docklands in 2013, its current venue. Bett celebrated its 30th anniversary at the 2014 show, which attracted 35,044 visitors from 113 countries.[1]

The show was first held in January 1985 as the “Hi Technology and Computers in Education Exhibition” at the Barbican Centre, central London, in association with the British Educational Suppliers Association. As the use of technology in education increased, so did the show, and had outgrown the Barbican by 1993, when the move to Olympia was made.[2]

The show has also expanded from being a purely technology show, and whilst it has played host to companies ranging from multinationals Microsoft, Google and Apple Inc. to small single-product firms, it has also created themed zones for exhibitors, such as those specialising in SEN provision. Introduced in 2015, the "Bett Futures" feature aimed at selecting and promoting 30 educational technology start-ups, selected by a panel of expert educators.[3]

A large number of seminars from well-known providers are held at Bett, which offer training (Continuing Professional Development) opportunities for education professionals.[4] The then Education Secretary Michael Gove gave keynote speeches at the 2012 and 2014 events.[5] In 2015 the then Education Secretary Nicky Morgan gave her first opening keynote for the show.[6]

Criticised in the past for perhaps marginalising teachers due to the increasing business nature of the show,[7] the organisers (Ascential Events[8]) have introduced a number of teacher friendly events such as TeachMeet and edtech start-up initiative Bett Futures, to turn this around.[9]

In preparation for Bett 2017, Sir Ken Robinson was announced as the first keynote, back from popular demand for his last appearance in 2015. [10]

Exhibitors

A full and updated list is available at the Bett exhibitor list website.

Awards

The Bett Awards are an annual celebration for the highest levels of achievement by companies that exhibit at the Bett show and supply Information and Communications Technology (ICT) for education.[11]

Keynote speakers

A full list of speakers for the upcoming event can be found on the website. Speakers in the past have included:

References

  1. ↑ http://www.bettshow.com/Content/Reach-the-education-market-Exhibit-at-Bett
  2. ↑ "History of BETT". EMAP. Retrieved 2009-09-03.
  3. ↑ http://www.bettshow.com/Content/Bett-Futures-2015
  4. ↑ "BETT 2009 Seminar Programme". eLearning Industry Association of Victoria. Retrieved 2009-09-03.
  5. ↑ "Michael Gove speaks about computing and education technology". Department for Education. Retrieved 19 May 2014.
  6. ↑ http://www.bettshow.com/Content/Rt-Hon-Nicky-Morgan
  7. ↑ Davitt, John (2008-03-18). "Are teachers getting a fair deal?". The Guardian. Guardian Media Group. Retrieved 2009-09-03.
  8. ↑ "Our Brands". www.ascential.com. Retrieved 2017-05-22.
  9. ↑ Usher, Ian (2009-02-02). "TeachMeet09Bett". TeachMeet. Retrieved 2009-09-03.
  10. ↑ "WelcomeBack". Retrieved 2016-07-21.
  11. ↑ "Bett Awards". Bett. Retrieved 24 August 2013.
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