Q3 2019

13 | Q3 2019 May19468 Filisia understands that, more than most, early learning and special education needs solutions require creativity and innovation. More than that, it needs to be simple, grounded in pedagogy and research to create a viable education tool for all children, no matter their individual needs. This is, fundamentally, the crux of Cosmo’s success as Georgios explains in more detail. “Every young learner and student with special education needs is different. They have different abilities and need to train different skills. Moreover, they work with teachers and therapists of different specialisations, such as physical education teachers, occupational therapists, speech and language pathologists among others. They play and learn in different contexts, with some preferring solo activity, while others prefer groups. Because of this diversity, our team worked with 200 practitioners to develop Cosmo and support a broad range of learners.” Comprised of three separate parts that work synchronously with each other – the ‘Cosmoid’ controller, activity suite and comprehensive lesson plans - the entire system has been designed to be as adaptable as possible, moulding itself to the needs of the environment and student. Georgios takes a moment to breakdown the role of each element in more detail. “The ‘Cosmoid’ was designed to be robust to withstand the classroom environment. They light up in different colours and were designed to draw attention away from screens. Finally, the controllers are very customisable and have very accessible designs.” Cosmo: An Essential Tool for Special Education Needs and Disabilities (SEND) Established five years ago in Athens, Filisia is a ‘Healthtech’ and ‘Edtech’ hybrid that specialises in early years learning and innovations in special education. On the back of the company’s success in the 2019 SME Top 100, where Filisia’s core product – Cosmo- was named ‘Most Innovative Learning Technology Product for Children, we spoke with Founder and CEO, Georgios Papadakis to find out more. “Each of the ‘Cosmoid’ devices connects to an iPad which contains an activity suite comprised of twenty-four games and are designed by teachers and therapists to help with a large variety of skills: collaboration, vocalisation and problem solving being just a few. Finally, the iPad app contains a series of lesson plans linked to early years and special education needs and disabilities curricula. The lesson plans help teachers, therapists and parents target specific skills, easily.” Yet, Filisia’s success has started to move beyond the early years education sector into elderly care, with Cosmo being used as a tool for therapists working with people with dementia. “Its use of music, clear visual props and support for joint attention and sequencing makes it a great tool for people with the condition”. Today, with 5000 students worldwide using Cosmo, it’s clear that the future of Filisia is a promising one indeed. Company: Filisia Name: Georgios Papadakis Address: Edspace, New City College, Falkirk Street, London, N1 6HQ, United Kingdom Website: https://www.filisia.com/ Telephone: +44 (0)20 8133 4220 “We’re proud to have created an evidence- based learning system than is trusted by professionals and loved by children”