29 September - 1 October 2026
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The Arena, Riyadh | Saudi Arabia.
Hugh Viney
Founder & CEO - Minerva Virtual Academy (MVA)
Hugh Viney, 38, is the visionary founder and CEO of Minerva Virtual Academy (MVA), a multi-award-winning online school for students aged 11-18 and MVA Tutors, a premium 121 tutoring service. Over the past decade, Hugh has championed a simple yet profound question: How can we make school fit the child instead of forcing the child to fit the school?
Founded in 2021, Minerva Virtual Academy is the UK’s fastest-growing school, having grown to more than 1400 full-time students (and counting) across 60 countries in just over 4 years. It is also the largest online school of its kind to be accredited by the Department for Education. Today, he leads MVA’s mission to provide a flexible and supportive alternative to traditional school, giving more young people access to the British Curriculum in a way that works for them. MVA is designed as an affordable alternative to traditional education, offering thousands of students the chance to thrive outside conventional systems.
Hugh’s educational philosophy prioritises student wellbeing, confidence and interdisciplinary learning, ensuring that when students are happy, success follows. His dedication to this mission has led his organisation to multiple prestigious awards, including the Grand Prix prize at the Education Investor Awards in 2021, Best Technology-Led Teaching at the Muddy Stilettos Best School Awards, and Best Company in the UK with under 50 employees at the National Business Awards. In 2024, Minerva won three awards, including Tutoring Business of the Year and Online School of the Year at the National Tutoring Awards. Minerva again won the same two awards in 2025, completing a historic “double-double” at the NTAs. In 2025, MVA was nominated for the World’s Best School Prize in the Innovation category, and Hugh was named Education Innovator of the Year at the EducationInvestor Power List awards.
Speaker Sessions
Leaders in Education
1499
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The Future of Schooling is Already Here
Session Summary:
For too long, school has looked and felt the same — rows of desks, one-size-fits-all lessons, and a system built for a 19th-century world. But that model simply doesn’t work for every child, and families know it. What’s exciting now is that we’re no longer talking about what schools could be. We can show you what one school already is doing — and how it’s transforming lives today. In this talk, we’ll lift the lid on a fast-growing movement in UK education, one that’s rethinking everything from teacher time to student wellbeing — with remarkable results. You’ll hear how flipped learning, 1:1 mentoring, and a reimagined school week are being put into action with sincerity and care, not as gimmicks or tech experiments, but as part of a grounded model that any school could adopt with the right mindset. You’ll also meet the students — young people who are thriving in a model that puts them at the centre, not at the edges. This isn’t the future of schooling in theory. It’s the present, already happening, with outcomes that are transformational, both emotionally and academically.
There’s a reason this school is growing faster than any other school in the UK. The demand is real — from parents, students, and local authorities alike — and the model works.
The future of schooling is already here. It’s time to take a closer look.
Speakers
Hugh Viney
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Founder & CEO - Minerva Virtual Academy (MVA)
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Reimagining Tomorrow: Transforming Education for the Next Generation
Session Summary:
Education stands at a transformative crossroads, shaped by rapid technological advancement, evolving workforce demands, and changing societal expectations. This forward-looking session explores emerging trends, innovative practices, and paradigm shifts that will define the future of teaching and learning in the coming decades. The session highlights how artificial intelligence, personalised learning technologies, and new pedagogical approaches are reshaping educational delivery and student engagement. The session addresses critical questions about preparing learners for jobs that don't yet exist, fostering skills like creativity and critical thinking, and creating flexible, adaptive educational systems that can evolve with changing needs. Join this session to:
• Analyse emerging educational trends and evaluate key technological, social, and pedagogical developments that will significantly impact future educational practices and student learning experiences
• Design future-ready learning environments for creating flexible, technology-enhanced educational spaces that support personalised learning, collaboration, and adaptive instruction methods
• Prepare students for unknown futures by creating curriculum and instructional approaches that emphasise transferable skills, critical thinking, creativity, and adaptability rather than solely content-based knowledge
• Build adaptive educational systems through organisational structures and policies that enable educational institutions to evolve continuously, embrace innovation, and respond effectively to changing societal and economic demands
• Going beyond IQ: How to deep the humanness alive and intact?
