Contributor(s): Julia Gillard, Professor Pauline Rose | Julia Gillard (@JuliaGillard) will make the case for a step change in global investment in education to address a learning crisis in which hundreds of millions of children are out of school and many more are failing to achieve basic levels of learning. Ms Gillard will outline the ways in which donors, philanthropists and the private sector can join with developing countries to ensure the world’s children are equipped to meet the challenges of the 21st century. Julia Gillard is the chair of the Board of Directors of the Global Partnership for Education. She served as Prime Minister of Australia between 2010 and 2013 and successfully managed Australia’s economy during the global economic crises. During her tenure she reformed Australia’s education at every level from early childhood to higher education with a special focus on disadvantaged children. She also established Australia’s first national curriculum and ensured significant investment in school buildings. Before becoming Prime Minister, Ms. Gillard was Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Education, Employment and Workplace Relations and Social Inclusion. Pauline Rose (@PaulineMRose) is Professor of International Education at the University of Cambridge, where she is Director of the Research for Equitable Access and Learning (REAL) Centre in the Faculty of Education. She is also Senior Research Fellow at the UK Department for International Development. Professor Rose is author of numerous publications on issues that examine educational policy and practice, including in relation to inequality, financing and governance, democratisation, and the role of international aid. Saul Estrin is a Professor of Management and founding Head of the Department of Management at LSE. The Department of Management (@LSEManagement) is a globally diverse academic community at the heart of the LSE, taking a unique interdisciplinary, academically in-depth approach to the study of management and organisations.