The Tools Competition is now open!
Awarding $4.5+ million to
ed tech innovation.
Accepting abstracts through October 13th.
The Learning Engineering Tools Competition is a
multi-million dollar funding opportunity for ed tech innovation
that leverages digital technology, big data, and learning science to meet the urgent needs of learners worldwide.
Supporters
The Tools Competition is organized by The Learning Agency,
with support from the organizations below.
Timeline
-
Sept 10, 2026Tools Competition Launch
-
Oct 13, 2026Deadline for Phase I
Abstracts -
Nov 24, 2026Select Participants
Invited to Phase II -
Jan 21, 2027Deadline for Phase II
Proposals -
Mar 18, 2027Finalists Invited to
Phase III Pitches -
April 2027Phase III Pitches
(Virtual) -
June 2027Winners
Announced -
2027-2028Winner
Impact Study
Objectives
Catalyze learning
outcomes
We support cutting edge solutions for the most pressing challenges facing learners worldwide.
Advance learning
science research
We build capacity for ed tech to leverage big data to support a better understanding of learning at scale.
Develop all innovators
We welcome individuals and teams at all phases of development—from early ideas to established platforms.
Build the Learning Engineering community
We cultivate a strong network, driving collaboration between ed tech, researchers, and educators.
How to participate
1. Find Your Track
The Tools Competition is designed to be inclusive of diverse ideas at all phases of development. We encourage participation from ed tech innovators, researchers, students, and educators alike.
Strengthening Teaching
Tools that transform teaching in two connected ways: increasing instructional effectiveness and making the teaching profession more sustainable.
Reimagining Assessment
Tools that strengthen K-12 assessment by advancing more continuous, actionable, and inclusive insight into student learning.
Navigating Postsecondary Learning and Work
Tools that help learners build the skills, connections, and support to successfully navigate learning and work in an increasingly AI-driven world.
Building Better Datasets
High-quality education datasets that capture the diversity of learners, educational contexts, and learning environments.
2. Select Your Prize Level
Select a prize level corresponding to your phase of development.
Catalyst Prizes ($50k)
for early stage tools
Growth Prizes ($150k)
for products with some users and scale
Transform Prizes ($300k)
for established platforms with
10,000 or more users
What is a Tool?
The Tools Competition funds ed tech tools and technologies that support learning outcomes and can contribute to learning science research.
Eligible tools have the potential to generate novel learning data that researchers can study to better understand learning at scale. This may include an app, software, dataset, algorithm, or other digital technology that facilitates or supports continuous data collection and has the potential to scale at minimal cost.
Please note that this definition is not exhaustive. As technology continues to develop and innovations are created globally, other tool concepts may also be competitive.
Explore winning tools from previous years to get a sense of compelling proposals.
To date, the Tools Competition:
Awarded
million
Named
winners
across 53 countries
Reaching over
million
learners and educators
million
Why Learning Engineering?
The Tools Competition meets an urgent need to leverage cutting edge digital technology and data to support learning science research at scale.
Underpinning the Tools Competition is the growing field of learning engineering, which brings together ed tech, researchers, and educators to leverage big data to:
- Expand what we know about learning—what works, for whom, and under what conditions.
- Catalyze a cycle of continuous improvement to develop more effective interventions and drive evidence-based product innovation.
Ed tech has an important role to play in contributing to research at scale. Tools generate rich data that can allow researchers to run studies and better understand the learning process.
All participants will need to detail how their tool contributes to learning engineering.
Learn from Previous
Winners
Teaching Lab’s ‘Innovation Studio’ for EdTech Transformation: From Competition to Collaboration
How Tools Winner AI-Learners Helps A Special Education Teacher Save Time While Reaching Every Student
