A doctor in physics and professor of educational technology at the University of Newcastle (United Kingdom), Sugata Mitra became world famous when TED, the organization that promotes technology, education and design, chose his talk as the most inspiring and with the greatest potential for change in 2013. He is also known for his “Hole in the Wall” experiment, which inspired the novel that later became the movie ‘Slumdog Millionaire.’ Today, his educational proposal, SOLE (Self-Organized Learning Environments), has experiences in schools of over 50 countries.

A doctor in psychology and philosophy, Tal Ben-Shahar currently holds the record for the largest enrollment in an undergraduate course at Harvard University: over 1400 students per semester. His Positive Psychology course quickly earned professor Tal Ben-Shahar his “Happyness Professor” nickname among students. His theories, which draw on science to propose methods to live life with enthusiasm and happiness, have resonated far beyond his classrooms, and his books have become global bestsellers. Can one learn how to be happy? Ben-Shahar’s answer is that “yes, we can change our levels of happiness,” but he doesn’t stop just there and argues that we should teach children how to be happy at schools.

Carlos Torres Vila is, first and foremost, a great strategist. He’s capable of looking at any issue, delving into it until he unravels its complexity and understands all the details. He can then translate his insights into something that’s easy to understand. Once he’s made up his mind, he makes a decision and concentrates on executing on his idea. He fully relies on his teams: He makes sure that everyone who is seated at the table – regardless of seniority, responsibility or age – takes part in the conversation. He encourages everyone to share their opinions, and he values bright ideas.

Dutch therapist and writer Eline Snel is Europe’s leading voice in mindfulness applied to education. Snel method’s, also known as the “frog” method due to its focus on attention and breathing taking cues from amphibian behavior, is applied in primary and secondary schools in countries such as France, Germany, Singapore and also Spain. According to Snel, although mindfulness, “is not a magic wand”, teaching it at schools is beneficial for children and teachers, one of the most demanded professionals in the world, she explains.

He is better known as the founder of the world’s most important collaborative projects: Wikipedia. His contribution to the promotion and dissemination of human knowledge has been recognized on many occasions including a Princesa de Asturias Award for international cooperation in 2015. Jimmy Wales is passionate about education, especially about the possibilities that informal learning currently opens up for people’s education. Named the sixth most influential person in the world, Wales believes that, thanks to technology, learning is no longer restricted to schools and colleges, and that we all the need to keep learning throughout our lives.

A journalist and professor at Palo Alto High School (California, USA) for over 30 years, Esther Wojcicki is considered as a pioneer in the study of media literacy applied to education. Along with creativity, critical thinking and collaboration, Wojcicki holds that communication is one of the key skills that must be taught at schools to achieve a more relevant learning in the 21st century.