Edtech

New software launched this month will be able to offer the ability to translate – in real time – 35 languages into a computerised voice similar to Apple’s Siri, or 78 languages to sub-titles. It offers the potential to transform ideas around online learning, real-time learning and global event participation.

Veduca, a Brazilian education tech company, has launched the world’s first open online MBA in Engineering and Innovation. Content will be delivered in Portugese through video classes from Brazil’s leading engineering schools while also offering a certificate programme for those who wish to pay.

Crowd learning and gaming are the latest e-learning trends to make an impact in the burgeoning MOOC culture that is gaining attention in the education industry. These predicted shifts in teaching and learning are set to change education in the next two to five years, according to a report from the OU.

Professional networking site LinkedIn has launched a new platform for universities that will bridge the gap between prospective students and graduate success stories. Through University Pages, students can see and search an institution's alumni network based on nationality and job sector.

Pearson recently partnered with investment fund Rethink Education to lead an $8.5m investment in Voxy, an English language learning platform with 2.5 million users. The global giant is pro-actively repositioning itself to be embedded in digital delivery and posted solid half-year results.

Non-profit, online institution the University of the People will team up with Microsoft's 4Afrika Initiative to offer 1,000 scholarships to students across Africa. The news follows recent research from eLearning Africa that shows HE stakeholders believe mobile technologies are a dominant "change driver".

A London-based English language school has redesigned its central London school with a focus on communication and digital innovation, confident its extensive facelift will result in more satisfied customers and ensure it is future-proofing its offer to its modern clientele of mostly young adults.

Kaplan International Colleges (KIC) has boosted blended learning at all 23 of its North American schools through a partnership with Carnegie Speech. It will offer Carnegie's NativeAccent, an online programme that helps students improve their speaking and listening, and complements face-to-face lessons.

The online education platform WizIQ is to launch a language learning Massive Open Online Course—a sign of a growing trend for MOOCs to be used in the language space. The US firm is offering a 4-week teacher-training course free online.

Global pathway provider Navitas has teamed up with AMES, a provider of training and employment support to refugees, to deliver virtual English language lessons for migrants and refugees across Australia. The project will replicate face-to-face lessons for those unable to attend classes in person.

Education New Zealand is piloting an e-learning training programme for approved education agents ahead of an expected rollout this summer. The course will give New Zealand Specialist Agents greater flexibility in how they train, and ENZ better data.

The world's most recognised form of student identification, the International Student Identity Card (ISIC), is to launch a new "virtual identity card", which allows users to search for student concessions online wherever they are in the world.

EducationUSA – the government body tasked with promoting US education abroad – has launched a new mobile app allowing international students who want to study in the US to access information about the opportunities available to them.

The online language learning market is booming as students seek more flexible modes of learning, claims uSpeak, a rising star in the space. However, it says that the trend does not threaten traditional language schools, which are already incorporating e-learning into their offerings.

A US-based mobile software developer ModoLabs has launched a new service enabling universities to customise and create their own student recruitment applications for smartphones and tablets. Mobile Admissions was inspired by research that more than 60% of prospective college students are first introduced to a university through a mobile device.