GOOGLE FOR EDUCATION

Certified Innovator Program

The Google for Education Certified Innovator Program recognizes and supports top educators around the globe who are using technology to solve meaningful challenges in education.

Become a Certified Innovator and join a community of more than 2,200 passionate educators in over 50 countries who are excited to grow professionally, advocate for innovative technologies and drive school transformation.

The program kicks off with a three-day Innovation Academy focused on helping new participants define, design and eventually launch a transformative project. After the Academy, Innovators stay engaged through mentorship, ongoing learning and development trainings, and special opportunities from Google to advocate for transformative technologies and practices.

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Drive transformation through a project you’re passionate about

Inspire other educators through various advocacy opportunities

Grow leadership skills through ongoing learning and development

Receive tailored mentorship from other Innovators

1 / HOW CAN I JOIN?

We are looking for passionate, innovative K-12 teachers and school leaders who are Google for Education Level 2 Certified and who are driven to solve a challenge in the coming year.

APPLICATION STEPS:

1.	Find a three-day academy in your region that you are able to attend if accepted
2.	Take the advanced course and pass the Google Certified Educator Level 2 exam
3.	Identify a challenge in your classroom or school you’d like to try to solve. Interview a few students or teachers affected by the challenge, and film a 90-second video about that challenge and why you want to solve it. Here are example videos.
4.	Apply before the respective deadline for the academy you hope to attend

2 / WHAT WILL I CREATE?

You’ll take your initial interviews about the challenge at your school or district and your challenge video and bring it to the Google for Education Certified Innovator Academy. At the Academy, you’ll work with a small team and a coach from the innovator community. Your coach will support you before, during, and after the Academy. You’ll experience hands-on design thinking sprints, work through ideation and brainstorming, prototyping, validating and testing your idea, and eventually launch your solution. You’ll be paired 1:1 with a mentor from the Innovator community and work throughout the year to iterate and get support to make your project come alive!

VIEW INNOVATION PROJECTS IN THE GALLERY innovator_academy

“Coaching is not just about helping others address a challenge. It’s an opportunity for personal growth for both you and your team. As part of the Google Innovator Academy, coaches and their teams work together to find ways to develop solutions to problems that will hopefully change the face of education. And through that journey, find themselves changed as well.”

Jesse Lubinsky, #NYC08

INNOVATION ACADEMY AGENDA

Day 1: Networking and team bonding

Day 2: Inspirational sparks from Googlers and Innovators and design sprints for ideation and prototyping, advocacy opportunities

Day 3: Inspirational sparks from Googlers and Innovators and design sprints for validation and launching, graduation

3 / MEET THE INNOVATORS

Connect with past cohorts
Join the conversation on the #GoogleEI hashtag
Connect with Innovators via the Directory
Nominate an innovative educator you know

“Leadership requires innovation, we must push ourselves to think differently to design the education system to best meet the needs of our students. The Google Innovator Academy gives you the strategies, network, and coaching to confidently and successfully be an innovative leader.”

Jason Markey,
Google Certified Innovator and Principal,
Leyden High School, Franklin Park, IL

4 / LOCATIONS & DATES

2020 Cohorts

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Location	Academy Dates	Application Deadline
Virtual Innovator Academy: VIA20 Global (English and Spanish language only)	August 8-October 10	July 10
CANCELED - SVL20 Sunnyvale, California (English language only)	July 29-31	June 5
CANCELED - SYD20 Sydney, Australia (English language only)	August 26-28	July 10
CANCELED - CESP20 Madrid, Spain (Spanish language only)	October 7-9	August 21
CANCELED - MEX20 Mexico City, Mexico (Spanish language only)	December 2-4	October 2

VIRTUAL INNOVATOR ACADEMY: VIA20
Due to the ongoing public health and travel concerns, we have made the decision to cancel in-person academies in 2020. Join Google for Education in our first-ever online offering of the Certified Innovator Academy, which will be available in English and Spanish. Applications are now open to any educator worldwide. The academy will take place across 8 weeks, with approximately 3 hours per week of online sessions. This will be followed by 8 months of 1:1 mentorship with an expert innovator. Application deadline: July 10, 2020.