The rapid rise of digitalization and technological innovation is transforming almost every industry domain, including healthcare, banking, & finance. Regarding the revolutionary impact of AI integration upon industrial growth, education is no exception. The rapid incorporation of state-of-the-art technologies like artificial intelligence into education is changing how we learn and teach. AI for education is being used by educational platforms worldwide to create highly collaborative and interactive learning environments for students. AI has many key benefits for education, including personalized learning, digital lessons that are highly immersive, 24/7 access, instant feedback, and improved engagement for students with disabilities. Emergen Research estimates that the global market for artificial intelligence in the education sector accounted for USD 1.55 billion in 2020.

Established by a royal decree issued on 30 August 2019, SDAIA is responsible for overseeing the national data and AI strategy through three executive arms: The National Data Management Office (NDMO), the National Information Center (NIC), and the National Center for Artificial Intelligence (NCAI). Through its vision, SDAIA seeks to establish the Kingdom as a global leader among the league of data-driven economies. Its mission relies on unlocking the value of data as a national asset to realize Vision 2030 aspirations by setting the national data and AI strategy and overseeing its execution through harmonized data policies, data and insights capabilities, and continuous AI and data innovation. Given that nearly 70% of the strategic goals, as mentioned, are AI and data related, the role of SDAIA is imperative. Speaking earlier this year at the launch of its brand identity, Dr. Abdullah Bin Sharaf Al-Ghamdi, the President of SDAIA, said, "We have witnessed first-hand, the early impact of AI and data-driven initiatives and their potential to propel Saudi Arabia's future economy, but we are still in the early stages with several untapped opportunities available. We, at SDAIA, have been tasked with defining the national data and AI strategy, and delivering on our nation's vision for the future by optimizing our national resources, improving efficiencies and enabling the creation of diversified economic sectors."

Priya Lakhani was just days away from a crucial moment in the life of her start-up, Century Tech, an education firm which uses artificial intelligence to track a pupil's progress. She had a signed term sheet from an investor, which is a big deal in the start-up world, as it typically confirms a substantial investment and lays out the commercial and legal terms of that deal. But on 21 March, amid growing concern over coronavirus and with just 10 days to go before completion of the funding round, Century Tech's investor pulled out, leaving Ms Lakhani and her team worried about what would happen next. Term sheets are not usually legally binding, and pulling funding at such a critical point can leave start-ups in a precarious position. At the time, the government was yet to announce any help for start-ups specifically, but it soon did with its coronavirus Future Fund, which enables UK-based start-ups to apply for government loans ranging from £125,000 to £5m, subject to at least equal match funding from private investors.

Homeschooling is set to be revolutionized by artificial intelligence, as US homeschoolers are offered use of the world's leading AI learning engine for the first time. Families can now access a low-cost AI teaching assistant that automatically grades, plans work and personalizes learning for children. The world's largest buying club for homeschoolers, Homeschool Buyers Co-op, has announced a new premium curriculum collection, Virtua. Teaming up with British AI pioneers CENTURY Tech, they have developed the program's cornerstone curriculum Virtua School – a bespoke AI-powered learning platform for US homeschoolers. Having worked with thousands of families and schools across the world, CENTURY has used its educational expertise to develop a new AI platform tailored specifically to the needs of homeschooling families.

Technology is everywhere in our lives today-- the workplace, in our homes, on our person and, now, in our schools. It figures that given the digital transformation of workplaces across industries-- and the increasing automation of our businesses-- the next generation of workers are early immersed in a culture of experimentation and innovation with emerging technologies and software. But that's not the sole aim of technology for education-- a growing market more commonly referred to as EdTech. It also offers an alternative to'traditional' classroom learning methods, engaging students which new, innovative formats, and the ability to tailor approaches to fit the individual student. According to a forecast laid out by Knowledgemotion CEO David Bainbridge in Forbes, the EdTech industry will reach a global value of US$252 billion by 2020.

Jan Buytaert is chief information officer at GO!, the public body for state schools in the Flanders region of Belgium. His role is to initiate new IT projects and prove their value to the business, with the hope that business decision makers and policymakers give them the green light. The projects can have huge implications for education in Belgium, as the region has around 750 schools and institutions, and 210,000 students. "There wasn't always a lot of digital innovation so I had to work hard trying to convince management and policymakers that we should invest in tech and digital education, and change the way of teaching and learning," Buytaert tells NS Tech. In 2016, Buytaert and his team analysed the way teaching was carried out in several schools, working alongside teachers, students and principals.