Monir El Moudden 

As an experienced and award-winning educator, Monir El Moudden’s passion for enhancing the learning experience using technology has driven him to revolutionise the traditional exam format through digital exams, which will likely have a significant impact on the education system, not only in the UK but worldwide.  

His journey there began in 2015 as he recognised the struggles students faced with paper-based exams, such as time management and illegible handwriting affecting their grades. Realising the magnitude of the problem, he embarked on extensive research and testing to develop a digital exam platform to address these challenges while also enhancing the overall learning experience. To validate the effectiveness of the platform, he first implemented it in his own classroom with remarkable results as students found it user-friendly and experienced significant improvements in their exam scores. Encouraged by these outcomes, he presented his findings to the Department for Education in the UK and a national exam board. After thorough evaluation and testing, the exam boards embraced the concept and conducted a successful trial run with several international schools last summer. Implementing the platform on a national level was not without its challenges, with traditionalists resistant to change and concerns about system security posing initial obstacles. Nevertheless, with the support of his colleagues and the exam board, they effectively addressed these issues and forged ahead. The impact of the digital exam platform has already been immense. Not only have students benefited from a more accessible and user-friendly exam experience, but the platform has also contributed to reducing the environmental footprint associated with traditional paper-based exams.  

Once implemented nationally, the platform should significantly alleviate the workload of teachers who will no longer need to spend countless hours manually marking exams, free instead to redirect their focus towards delivering high-quality lessons and providing comprehensive support to their students.  Within Monir’s own school, the transformative effects of the digital exam platform have become evident, with students more engaged and motivated to learn, resulting in substantial improvements in their exam results. Recognising the significance of his work, several education publications have featured articles detailing the project, highlighting the impact of digital exams on GCSE and A-Level assessments, as well as the broader implications for teaching and learning. His work on EdTech and digital assessments received recognition in 2023, seeing him shortlisted for the prestigious Digital Leader 100 Award, the UKtech50 Awards for being among the most influential people in UK IT, and the Global EdTech Award 2023 for the most impactful teachers in Secondary/FE education.  

His work on developing middle leadership training and middle leadership in schools with practical strategies on areas such as effective curriculum have also been published. He is also a serial award-winning coding coach, leading individual students and teams to national and international computer science-related competition success. He has created special programmes outside of school, such as an award-winning Raspberry Pi club, educating students about the causes, effects, and solutions to climate change and in 2021 led a team of students to the Amazon Longitude Explorer Prize finals, as they created an application (Scan!) aimed to put an end to global food waste.