Michael O’Sullivan, used his keynote speech at this year’s Education World

Our Chief Executive,Forum to deliver a simple message. He talked about the value of good quality questions – something we care a lot about at Cambridge.

Why are ‘good questions’ so important?
In his speech, Michael highlighted the following:

Good questions give students the chance to share what they know.
Good questions can provoke deeper thinking and lead students to make new connections and want to know more.
Good questions are crucial for high-quality assessment and for high-quality teaching.
The specific examples Michael gave were refreshing. Their simplicity and familiar scale were a welcome contrast to the vast pressure on governments to deliver improvements in educational outcomes. At this, the largest international gathering of education ministers in the world, that pressure seems to point towards the same basic truth that we all know: every child deserves a good education and the chance to fulfil their potential. Every nation’s future rests on its ability to realise the potential of its people. Although more children have access to school education than ever before, we still have a lot to do in order to achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal of inclusive, quality education for all by 2030.

At the forum, ministers reflected on the fact that some countries face tougher structural challenges than others. Despite this, there was a strong sense of optimism and shared endeavour at the forum – it was fantastically positive, even optimistic.

An opportunity to engage
Each year the Education World Forum gives us an opportunity to engage with politicians and officials from ministries of education who we work with directly or in whose education systems Cambridge schools, curricula and assessments play a part. The forum is a brilliant event for ministers and ministry officials from all over the world to share experiences of progress made and perspectives on new ideas and opportunities.