mSchools Lab

Collaboration

mSchools Lab is an open innovation program promoted by Fundació Barcelona Mobile World Capital Foundation through its program Digital Future Society and mSchools. Its goal is to foster collaboration between educational centres and the EdTech industry to respond to the educational communities’ real needs through technology’s transformative, safe and healthy use. 

Through public-private partnerships, we advance the identification, piloting and impact evaluation of digital solutions with the potential to contribute to improving and digitally transforming education. 

We want to catalyze the collaboration of all stakeholders with the possibility to contribute from different perspectives to digitally transform and positively impact equitable and inclusive learning.

Promoters

mSchools Lab is an initiative promoted by Mobile World Capital Barcelona, through its programs Digital Future Society and mSchools.

In December 2023 we launched the first call to identify innovative digital solutions at national and international levels to answer the challenge:

How can technology contribute to motivation, personalised learning approaches, and academic success?

In recent years, society has changed profoundly and rapidly, and this has not necessarily shown in the practices and content of educational institutions.

In 2022, with 13.9%, Spain topped the early school dropout rates in the European Union, which went hand in hand with poor academic performance. Experts partly attribute this failure to the Spanish education system’s absence of flexibility and excessive rigidity. Within schools, learning paths tend to be uniform to comply with a single curriculum for all and do not respond to diverse and personal contexts, interests or objectives.

Educational success and learning are correlated, among other factors, with motivation. Motivation increases, for example, through personalised learning approaches or if learnings are meaningful and provide personal value to the learner, contributing to their self-knowledge, a better understanding of their reality and the active construction of a future with scenarios that involve them and enhance their capabilities.

Evaluation process

The first evaluation round to identify innovative digital solutions contributing to motivation, personalization of learning, and academic success concluded with 16 semi-finalists. Based on additional information about the future pilot’s implementation in schools, six finalists were selected to present their initiative at the Pitch Day at the end of March. 

An external jury of representatives from Academia, Public Administration, the EdTech Industry and Educational Centers selected both winning proposals, “Annie Advisor” and “Troba la insignia per al teu futur”, which will be adapted and piloted within the 2024-25 school year in public and charter schools in Catalonia.

Piloting in Catalonian Schools

Once the two winning proposals are selected, work sessions will be held with the educational centers to plan the scope of the projects and ensure a successful implementation for both parties.

The pilots will be carried out in public and charter schools in Catalonia during the 24-25 school year, specifically with 3rd and 4th Compulsory Secondary Education students, for 6 to 9 months.

Beyond both pilot’s impact evaluation, we will share with the entire educational community the learnings and conclusions of the process that may be of interest.

Stay up to date and join the mSchools Lab community

If you want more information about the mSchools Lab call, wish to follow the process closely, or are interested in participating in the pilot in educational centers, register your interest in this form.

If you have any questions, you can contact us at  lab@mschools.com.