Professor Dr Ger Graus OBE is a renowned figure in the field of education – once described as “Jean-Jacques Rousseau meets Willy Wonka”. He was the first Global Director of Education at KidZania and the founding CEO of the Children’s University. In 2019, Ger became a Visiting Professor at the National... Read more
Professor Dr Ger Graus OBE is a renowned figure in the field of education – once described as “Jean-Jacques Rousseau meets Willy Wonka”. He was the first Global Director of Education at KidZania and the founding CEO of the Children’s University. In 2019, Ger became a Visiting Professor at the National Research University in Moscow, Russia. He is also a Professor of Practice at the University of Cumbria, United Kingdom, and is a frequent keynote speaker at some of the world’s leading education conferences. Driven by his famous mantra that “Children can only aspire to what they know exists” he champions the cause of creativity, progress, equity, and innovation in children’s learning.
Born in the Netherlands, Ger moved to the United Kingdom in 1983 where he began his teaching career, later becoming a Senior Inspector, and Education Director.
Ger is a member of Bett’s Global Education Council; DIDAC India’s Advisory Board; and Junior Achievement’s Worldwide Global Council. He chairs the Beaconhouse School System’s Advisory Board, Pakistan; advises the Fondazione Reggio Children, Italy; supports a range of education start-ups globally; and was invited to help shape the future of education in Dubai as a member of the Dubai Future Councils. In 2023, Ger joined the Global Teacher Prize Judging and the World’s Best School Prize Academies as a judge. In 2024, Ger was invited onto the Board of Trustees of the Sharjah Education Academy by Sultan bin Mohammed bin Sultan Al Qassimi, Ruler of Sharjah.
In the 2014 Queen’s Birthday Honours List Ger was made an Honorary Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to children, and in 2018 he received the Global Education Leadership Award at the World Education Congress, India. In 2022, he was granted the award of Iconic Leader Creating A Better World For All by the Women Economic Forum (WEF) and the following year, Ger was made a Companion of the Harry Volker Genootschap in The Netherlands.
Ger’s professional autobiography, Through a Different Lens – Lessons from a life in Education, will be published by Routledge in early 2025.
The key ingredients to organizational success. But who are the leaders, and who are the managers? Or is leadership a case of Johan Cruijff’s “Total Football”? Are we all leaders and are we all managers?
Experience is everything. How we connect the real world with the classroom (or the office in the case of grown-ups) will determine the quality of our lifelong learning. The environment is the third teacher.
“There is too much Tech and not enough Ed!” We need to stop kidding ourselves that technology alone will provide all the solutions to all our problems. Good teachers (and good people) are the real answer. A journey from GoodTech to Tech4Good.
What has entertainment to offer to education and schooling? Is EduTainment just a money-spinning gimmick or can it really make difference?