This is the EdTech Austria team: Project Leader Jools Turrell

For a little over three years now, there has been EdTech Austria. We have achieved a lot: nearly one hundred and sixty members, numerous networking events, two EdTech Austria Summits, initiated several projects like the innovation lab Inter-Di-Ko, and much more. The team is also expanding. And we want to introduce you to the people behind all this work here.

Do you already know Jools?

Justice and equal educational opportunities – that is important to Jools. That’s why the cultural and social anthropologist and media scientist worked with children and young people on their media skills early on. And that is also why she co-founded the JANA association in 2013 – an education project that now runs several schools in various villages in Bangladesh.

What is your name?

Julia Alwine Turrell (or just: Jools)

When did you join EdTech Austria?

Since May 2022, I have taken over the project management role, starting in early 2024.

Describe yourself in three words:

Enthusiastic, open-minded and responsible

Your motto?

Go with the flow!

Why are you committed to education in general and digital education in particular?

Education is the key to social justice and makes people happy. I grew up very privileged in terms of my education. If I hadn’t had such a strong social environment, I’m sure I wouldn’t have got this far. Growing up between different cultural areas, I asked myself early on why some people go to school and others don’t, why some people have to pay for it and others don’t. In the further development of our education system and our educational opportunities in the digital space, I see a possibility for more equal opportunities. At the same time, it is incredibly important to be able to deal critically with digital media.

What is your favourite way to learn?

By experiencing something new, new people, new countries, new cultural settings. For me, learning begins with looking.

What do you think the school will look like in 20 years?

Hopefully it will still be a space for community and closer to people’s needs.

Your first experience with digital educational technologies that you can remember?

I can remember the first use of digital technologies and processes in education, namely computer science lessons in grade 6 and my excitement about the simplicity of being able to express everything in 0s and 1s. I remember, it must have been in the 7th grade, teachers who wanted us to research something on the internet as homework. I refused because not everyone had the same access to the internet.

And also very early on, I must have been about 20 years old, I made podcasts with children and showed them how to do it. We prepared self-acquired knowledge about a concentration camp in the form of media and produced radio plays. This not only taught them history, but also promoted media skills.

What is the best way to reach you?

Call! I love the spoken word.

What else would you like to learn?

I am currently learning sailing, I would like to continue learning Bengali and Arabic. I never want to stop learning! I look forward to every new challenge.

This is how you can reach Jools:

+43 5 7599 722 53

julia.turrell@innovation-salzburg.at