"Innovation is happening in education at every level," said Chris Hughes. His optimism was shared by others who noted a flurry of start-ups by innovators who see education as a much-neglected area of technological development.

Better incentives are needed

The real challenge, according to Hughes, is to make a coordinated effort to scale up the ideas that work in order to benefit students on a more universal level. On the parts of governments and other stakeholders, incentives could be much better aligned to serve education, said Hughes. "The amount of capital that governments spend on education in both the developed and developing world is enormous, yet little of it is available for new, innovative programs."

The time has come to prove scalable working models

In his closing address on Sunday, Professor Sachs alluded to these types of startups, explaining that what is really lacking is a proof of concept showing that these innovations are in fact viable on a much larger scale. Given the low cost of these technologies, he added, this is an effort that can and should begin today. "This is an opportunity in this industry to make a breakthrough," he said, challenging the ICT leaders gathered in the room. "Let's show some working models, demonstrate what can be done, and this way I think the governments all over the world will come running to say: 'We want more. We want to scale up what's possible.'"