BSME Conference Day 2 Roundup: When Students Speak, Innovation Beckons and Exam Boards Need a Wake-up Call

I had promised to write this deep dive last night, but when I got home, all I wanted to do was curl up on my sofa with a hot water bottle, and that is what I did.

What is it with these low temperatures in the Emirates nowadays?

I love to write, so I wanted to be in a good frame of mind to distill my learnings and thoughts for you, my lovely LinkedIn family, so here goes.

My second day at the BSME Conference in Abu Dhabi's Fairmont hotel kicked off with a thought-provoking panel discussion led by Gillian Hammond , featuring the real experts of education, the students themselves. While I wish I could share every brilliant insight (note to self: I must ask about video permissions next time, as these gems deserve a wider audience), I'll focus on three key takeaways that really struck a chord.

First up, and this might ruffle some traditional feathers, students are absolutely capable of helping reshape our curriculum. We just need to give them the chance, with a bit of guidance from us educators, of course.

These same students might actually hold the solutions to most of what we're scratching our heads about. All we need to do is create the space for them to lead, fail, and lead again.

Lunch was meat-free and yummy. Thanks Nalini Cook and Debra Forsyth and the team and can we just shout out the star of the lunch the Fairmont Apple Crumble was a crowd favourite and guess what Fiona Cottam FCCT it did not contain any custard. ??. One of the lovely things about this event is the ability to bump into great people and have chats. Thanks Kifaya Khan for the banter. Thanks Matthew Burfield for the laughs and Giles Pruett for always his jovial self. K. Andrew Wilson NPQH and so many others who just made my day.

After a yummy lunch, many chats, hellos and giggles, I joined another panel discussion on "Bridging the gap between education and the real world" expertly chaired by Jan Stipek (mental note: I know who to call for chairing panels at future MESLC. Nice one Jan).

The panel, featuring Alex Gray , Simon O'Connor FCCT , and Nat Dickinson , explored work experience opportunities for younger students, but what really caught my attention was the recurring theme about our current exam system's inadequacy in preparing students for the world of work.

Here's the kicker: Simon mentioned that his daughters took GCSEs containing content from when he did GCEs, possibly even from his dad's era.

But let's follow the money - there's no incentive to change this system. The exam boards are making massive profits, so why would they rock the boat?

It was refreshing to then dive into Russell John Cailey 's session on "designing with courage", where he shared brilliant examples from his time with Think Global School about redesigning curriculum for today's learners.

We even got hands-on, designing our own homes, but the real takeaway was this: while there's massive potential for innovation in education, none of it will truly materialise unless university matriculation and examinations undergo radical change.

Let's be honest - the exam boards thinking that moving exams from paper to computer screens counts as innovation? Please.

Shall we start a campaign to defund exam boards? Who is with me?

All in all, it was a fabulous two days at BSME.

Next up is MESLC next week in Dubai, where I'll be running around like a headless chicken, but it promises to be two amazing days. See you all on Feb 5-6 at Al Habtoor Grand Hotel!

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