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EdTech Chronicle Announces Inaugural “Bestie” Awards Open November 6

ETC will select winners for the inaugural “Best in Education” Awards in more than 40 categories recognizing people, deals, and and business efforts in education and edtech  

NEW YORK (October 31, 2023) – EdTech Chronicle (ETC), a rapidly growing publication covering education and education technology, announced today that it will host an award program – The Best in Education Awards – for a variety of education and education marketplace categories. 

Unlike other education award and recognition programs, the Bestie awards will emphasize people and actions in education over product and service offerings – including an exclusive focus on M&A deals and finance leaders. The one exception to product categories is to recognize the Best Product Supporting Academic Integrity.

“Teaching and learning are human, they are about people,” said Derek Newton, editor and publisher of ETC. “We did not want to get into the game of parsing products and instead, have chosen to focus on the people, decisions, and deals that drive education today. We want to spotlight good work and great leaders as well as illuminate the gears and levers that help make, deliver and adapt good education practices and products. We hope our awards are different, that they carry a unique meaning and value.” 

Nominations for the inaugural Besties will open November 6, 2023 and close January 15, 2024, and focus on education and edtech activities that took place in 2023.  Information about entry procedures and cost are available now at edtechchronicle.com/awards. The official entry form opens on November 6.

The inaugural Bestie categories are: 

  • Best BIG M&A Deal OVER $20M
  • Best M&A Deal UNDER $20M
  • Best Deal or Partnership
  • Best Early Funding Deal
  • Best Late or Midterm Funding Deal
  • Best Education Angel Investor 
  • Best Education Investor, Non-Angel
  • Best Education Investment Firm or Supporting Service Firm
  • Best Founder for a Company Launched in 2023
  • Best Product Supporting Academic Integrity
  • Best Education CEO   
  • Best C-Level Education Executive, Not CEO
  • Best Higher Ed M&A Deal 
  • Best K12 M&A Deal
  • Best CTE/Workforce Ed Deal
  • Best Pre-K or Early Education Deal 
  • Best K12 Product Launch
  • Best Education Accelerator, Incubator or Studio 
  • Best Press Release or Press Announcement 
  • Best Opinion or Commentary article
  • Best Webinar or In-Person Panel 
  • Best K12 Podcast Series 
  • Best HE Podcast Series 
  • Best Training/Workforce Podcast Series 
  • Best K12 Podcast Episode
  • Best HE Podcast Episode
  • Best HE Publication or Digital News Site
  • Best K12 Publication or Digital News Site
  • Best K12/HE Journalist or Writer
  • Best Blog or Newsletter by an Individual in K12
  • Best Blog or Newsletter by an Individual in HE
  • Best Corporate Blog in Education
  • Best Education Conference in HE
  • Best Education Conference in K12
  • Best Education Book 
  • Best C-Level Officer in Education/EdTech
  • Best Leader of an Academic Institution  
  • Education/EdTech Company of the Year 
  • Education/EdTech Person of the Year 
  • Best Education/EdTech Rising Star 
  • Best Reported Article About Education Business 
  • Best Reported Article about Education Issues
  • Best Education Service Firm or Company
  • Editor’s Choice

“I am confident that these categories fill in many gaps in recognizing and rewarding the people and activities that make modern education happen,” Newton said. “We want these awards to recognize serious people and serious contributions, but be fun at the same time,” he said. 

Newton has been an education writer for nearly a decade. He is a contributor at Forbes and his writing has been published in The Washington Post, The Atlantic, USA Today and many others. He has owned and published ETC since 2015. 

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For more information, e-mail [email protected] or visit: https://edtechchronicle.com/