"I have a background working as a clinical medical physicist in South Africa; I worked in radiation oncology and nuclear medicine. I then worked in global consultancies in the UK primarily focused on data analytics, business intelligence, data science and operational improvement. I have worked with large multinational companies, local governments, and small startups.

My role at The Really Great Teacher Company is multi-faceted – I’m in charge of technology and data, but I am also involved in various internal operations such as overseeing our global payroll processes.

"I was working in London at the time for a global oil company. I knew Rob, one of the founders, and he was telling me about The Really Great Teacher Company and how it was growing. I was looking for something a bit more fast paced, a bit more like a start-up that I could get involved in. It sounded like a fascinating opportunity where I could take the reins on something and lead the data and technology function within the company. It was a no-brainer for me so I left my job at the time and joined the firm.

In terms of education, I’ve always been involved with education in some form or another when I was working for consultancies, I’ve worked with local governments, as well as some public sector work, so it was quite aligned with my values. I’ve really enjoyed jobs that have had some social impact. So it was a no-brainer for me to join the firm."

"Data analytics, data strategy, business intelligence and operational process improvement."

"Ultimately, our objective is to use software and data to support each team member to be more efficient and effective at their job so that we can reach our company goals. This can take the form of small, ad-hoc automations that reduce administrative tasks, to large, complex software systems.

An example of this is our internal Teacher Hub, which provides our teachers with a view of their class schedule, the ability to check-in for classes and receive their pay information. It also supports the management team with bulk class scheduling, data reports, and payroll management.

• Redundancy and reliability: No teacher, student (or company!) wants a live class to be interrupted due to a system failure. If the application fails, what contingencies do you have in place? Online lessons are generally quite brief (30 minutes to one hour) so any time lost can significantly impact the ability to deliver a successful class.

• Availability and speed: How will your system handle live class video and an interactive whiteboard coming from poor internet connections, for example.

• Simplicity: Teachers and students need a platform to be as user-friendly as possible. The focus is on the personal interaction and the lesson, the system is just an enabler and shouldn’t be a distraction."

"The level of support varies for each client as each may be at a different stage of their technology journey. Some clients may have their own internal platforms while others use 3rd party software.

Day-to-day our operation teams support teachers with any technical issues in live classes to ensure that there is no disruption to the lessons for students.

"ChatGPT is certainly the buzzword at the moment. GPT or Large Language Models (LLM's) can lead to significant time savings for teachers and schools when it comes to content generation, but it’s also just as important to know their limitations. Don’t trust everything they output!

There has also been a focus on using data in adaptive learning platforms to generate bespoke content, better understand individual student learning styles, strengths and weaknesses, and how students can be supported to improve learning outcomes. Algorithms can be used to detect early warning signs and teachers can proactively engage with students to ensure success."

"I think they work together, I don’t think it would replace teachers fully. I think that nothing can really replace that human interaction, the empathy that we have, the creativity. But they can certainly support and free up time for teachers from administrative tasks, so that they can focus on the student."

"The flexibility to just crack on and solve problems. We move quickly. It’s great to be able to brainstorm ideas, come up with solutions, and implement rapidly. Technology is always changing, and it’s important to foster a creative, collaborative environment where people feel empowered to challenge how things are done and always look for ways to improve."