Inside the Global EdTech Prize: Impact, Scale, and Educator Voices with Vikas Pota of T4 Education

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Vikas Pota is an entrepreneur and investor in education and digital businesses that seek to address some of the sector's intractable challenges and to advance education quality and opportunity. He is the founder of T4 Education, the Global EdTech Prize and the World's Best School Prizes. He is the Executive Chairman of the Education Leaders Forum, where he convenes the CEOs and leaders of many of the world’s biggest and most influential education businesses to advance their growth. Vikas is also the Founder of Inicio Partners, an executive search firm dedicated to helping education institutions, technology companies, and social impact organisations find their best leadership talent. He has previously led the rebrand of a major education business, built a corporate venture capital fund, and run a philanthropic foundation.

💡 5 Things You’ll Learn in This Episode:

Why storytelling—not policy—is the key to transforming education.
How the Global EdTech Prize centers educators in judging impact.
The ripple effect of education prizes on national policies.
What makes edtech truly scalable and impactful.
A thoughtful take on AI’s role in education and society.

✨ Episode Highlights:

[00:01:21] Vikas Pota’s vision for global education reform
[00:02:34] Launching the educator-judged Global EdTech Prize
[00:04:36] How prizes drive innovation and influence policy
[00:07:32] Elevating teacher status through the Global Teacher Prize
[00:09:07] “Policy no longer moves the needle”—Obama’s leadership lesson
[00:12:08] Who should apply for the prize—and why it matters
[00:16:33] AI in education: Asking what we should do, not just what we can

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Chapters

1. Inside the Global EdTech Prize: Impact, Scale, and Educator Voices with Vikas Pota of T4 Education (00:00:00)

2. Vikas Pota’s vision for global education reform (00:01:54)

3. Launching the educator-judged Global EdTech Prize (00:03:07)

4. How prizes drive innovation and influence policy (00:05:09)

5. Elevating teacher status through the Global Teacher Prize (00:08:05)

6. “Policy no longer moves the needle”—Obama’s leadership lesson (00:09:40)

7. Who should apply for the prize—and why it matters (00:13:23)

8. AI in education: Asking what we should do, not just what we can (00:17:48)

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