Edge has sponsored the education session at the annual Virtual Island Summit for some years, says Olly Newton, Executive Director at Edge and I’m always impressed by the amazing initiatives developed in the world’s most geographically remote locations. This year’s session focused on how digital technology is reshaping learning across island communities, highlighting lessons for the mainland around equity, inclusivity, and digital access. Rajeev Rajam, CEO, Globe From Home, reminded us that education should not just deliver content – it should connect people. Faced with urgent global challenges, educational approaches worldwide must evolve and interconnect to better equip learners with the necessary skills. Globe From Home achieves this through live-streamed, source-based learning, which takes students beyond the classroom into communities around the world, where they can learn directly from existing solutions. For example, islands can teach us a lot about biodiversity conservation, indigenous knowledge and working with nature.
Central to Rajeev’s approach is designing for connectedness. In one virtual session on global fashion, learners start by learning how 100 billion garments are produced annually worldwide. They then travel to secondhand markets in Africa to see the impact of discarded clothing on local communities, before visiting landfills where unsold clothing is burned, impacting nearby populations. Finally, they meet organisations working on sustainable solutions. Seeing these impacts in real time offers students a global awareness that no textbook can match. Dr Arlene Smith-Thompson, MD, Education, Policy and Research, Cadwell Consulting, British Virgin Islands, offered a snapshot of digital learning in the Caribbean where major upheavals, including hurricanes, have accelerated the region’s readiness for online learning. As a result, when the pandemic hit, the transition to virtual classrooms was swift.
This readiness is now shaping longer-term reform. The British Virgin Islands’ Ministry of Education’s 2025–26 plan focuses on digital literacy and innovation, preparing students to become leaders of new industries. Curricula are increasingly focused on areas like robotics and coding, with integrated technologies including AI and VLEs to support learning. Though internet access and attitudes to reform vary across the Caribbean nations, this offers a tantalising early glimpse into how future education systems might evolve.
Steven Graham, Head of School, e-Sgoil, Isle of Lewis explained how a small island initiative became the national model for online learning. Founded to address teaching shortages in Scotland’s Western Isles, e-Sgoil (l‘e-school’ in Scots Gaelic) connects students with teachers and industry partners far beyond the local area. Students can now access subjects, skills, and career insights they would never otherwise have. Prioritising accessibility, e-Sgoil also benefits semi-retired or differently-abled teachers and learners with anxiety or sensory sensitivities. The onset of the pandemic saw the Scottish Government draw on e-Sgoil’s work, expanding their programmes nationally – providing evening and holiday support, work-related learning and even collective Gaelic studies that were previously unavailable to many. Digital innovation can evolve and widen access for all types of learners. Islands can be on the geographical periphery but also front and centre in the digital world.
Lastly, Dr Kate McKenzie,CEO, Climate Change Legal Initiative (C2LI) Scotland) introduced Island Explorers, a programme that began life as a public engagement project at the University of Strathclyde. After connecting primary schools in the city, it was extended to those in the Outer Hebrides. The programme introduces primary school students to global sustainability challenges in the context of island settings. This four-year project-based learning initiative lets students tackle challenges from ocean plastics to sustainable energy – investigating solutions, building prototypes and presenting their work. Partnerships with schools in locations like Honolulu and St Vincent help students understand the real-world impact of sustainability challenges while comprehensive, cost-free resources support teachers by minimising preparation.
With support from Edge, Island Explorers is now being reimagined as an island-to-island collaboration. The programme is experimenting with digital tools, including AI, while ensuring these technologies are integrated with principles of equity and environmental justice.
There are, of course, a few practical challenges around the programme’s scalability, such as mixed-age-group classrooms, translation and technological access. But these island initiatives show that even with limited resources, thoughtfully-designed digital learning interventions can tackle big challenges – a lesson that educators and communities everywhere should take to heart.