Sheffield-based online educational publishing house Twinkl Education Publishing is set to launch a new edtech startup accelerator to bring together and provide support to emerging educational technology companies.
The accelerator, named TwinklHive, will be based at the company’s second office in Sheffield at the Hallamshire Business Park on Napier Street.
TwinklHive will provide educational technology-based startups or companies with a customizable investment opportunity, with options to have residency in the accelerator, a cash injection and a mentorship. The accelerator will also give a range of services to pick and choose from, including resource production, marketing website and application development and partnership consultancy. It is reportedly said that up to 80 team members will be able to take up residency in the new space.
Excited with the latest development of the company, Jonathan Seaton, Co-Founder and CEO of Twinkl, reportedly said,
“Sheffield is really making waves to become the edtech center of the UK. We count ourselves lucky to be based in the city and we are proud to be part of this movement. Entrepreneurs everywhere are having innovative technological ideas that could help millions of teachers. Through TwinklHive, we want to support and nurture them and make sure that we are getting the right technology into classrooms so that we can empower educators and expand their teaching capabilities.”
“Our team has specialized knowledge in augmented reality, international expansion, partnerships and a whole host of other areas, which we are eager to share with local startups. We are also excited to learn from them, as we believe that this shared experience will be invaluable.”
Twinkl was founded in 2010 by husband and wife Jonathan Seaton and Susie Seaton. Interestingly, the idea to set up the company came when Susie was working as an early-years teacher and was frustrated with the resources available to educators at the time. The couple reportedly worked evenings and weekends, when they first started the company, to make resources from scratch and published them online from a spare bedroom after work. Well, the business has grown exponentially since then and now the company has over 500 employees, with over 625,000 teaching and learning resources available on its site.
Meanwhile, TwinklHive is reportedly said to be officially launched in October. This is a golden opportunity for those edtech enthusiasts who have innovative solutions to transform the current education system and take the next generation learners forward.
