UoB Elevate EdTech AI start up Teachify has been named as Education & Training StartUp of the Year at the Midlands StartUp Awards 2024.
Teachify embarked on its journey to simplify lesson preparation for teachers through AI software in early 2023. Founder Ikum Kandola had a lightbulb moment while teaching in a local secondary school, realising he could streamline lesson planning using AI. Ikum set out to create an easy-to-use and accurate tool for teachers to generate accurate exam board-specific lesson materials in seconds – something that would previously have taken hours to produce. The platform instantaneously generates lesson plans, question sheets, presentations and more using the Teachify Large Language Model.
Supported by the University of Birmingham’s Elevate Business Incubator, Teachify has now supported hundreds of teachers and tutors, cutting down lesson prep time by up to 70% during their pilot programme. The team has also provided schools with training on the use of GenAI in education.
Supported nationally by Starling Bank, Airwallex, Chime Agency, Development Bank of Wales, EvaBuild, ForrestBrown, GiftRound, GS1 UK, Join Talent, OVHcloud, Project Simply, ScoreApp, SFC Capital and Welsh Government, Harriet Rees, CIO at Starling Bank says:
“Turning an idea into a successful business takes a lot of courage and dedication. Congratulations to Teachify on winning Education & Training Startup of the Year in the Midlands and making it to this year’s UK national final. Start-ups need certainty to plan ahead. It’s great to see so many thrive, especially in these challenging economic times.”
Teachify stood out in a year of record-breaking number of entries The StartUp Awards UK received by pioneering start-ups from all over the UK.