Our Vision

In 2025, Mikea co-founded Hedgehog Education with the belief that the hard work of thinking should be protected, not made optional, by technology. He leads Hedgehog in its vision and strategy, product engineering as well as overall execution.

Mikea has years of experience in AI implementation. Previously a Data & AI consultant in the UK, he worked on projects for global clients in financial services, retail and telecoms, delivering better experiences for millions of customers.

At the University of St Andrews, UK, Mikea carried out research in early breast cancer detection using cutting-edge 3D mammography. Here, he graduated with a Master of Science in Artificial Intelligence and ranked first in his cohort, receiving the University Medal from the Faculty of Science.

Mikea believes that the profound impact of AI on society is inevitable, but its direction is not. He holds that those who build AI tools carry a responsibility to ensure the technology expands human potential rather than erodes it - preserving agency and confronting bias. In work and beyond, Mikea is driven by a restless curiosity and a passion for continuous learning; a conviction that we never really stop being students.

Miguel is a teacher of Physics from secondary to university level. Hedgehog was born from the frustration he directly faced with his own students: spending hours correcting homework that seemed perfect, handed in by students who - when faced with the same problem - couldn't do it on their own.

At Hedgehog, he works on pedagogy, solving the same problem for other teachers. He takes an experiment-based and evidence-driven approach, continually making compounding improvements to the Hedgehog platform, ultimately driving better learning outcomes.

During his years of teaching experience, Miguel founded and grew his own tutoring organisation, focused on O-Level and Intermediate Physics tuition. Alongside his teaching work, he specialises in Medical Physics and Radiation Oncology, topics which he lectures at the University of Malta at BSc and Master's level.

Miguel is passionate about the neuroscience and psychology behind high performance, and often finds himself blending this into his work and personal life. He is dedicated to mentoring his students beyond Physics tuition, and when he's not working, he's a dedicated triathlete.

A founding member of the Hedgehog team, Nigel brings commercial strategy expertise, an ability to navigate the legislative environment, and a drive for advancing the business side of the start-up. As Director of Strategy, Nigel focuses on positioning the platform with secondary schools and universities, building the partnerships and go-to-market approach that will allow Hedgehog to scale while staying true to its pedagogical roots.

An economist with a Master's from the London School of Economics, Nigel represents businesses on the international stage as a Policy Adviser at the Maltese Business Bureau in Brussels. He brings a track record that includes founding and leading a JA start-up for three years, joining Huskie, a successful Maltese start-up, as the first non-founding member, and working as an Economist at ERCST, a leading Brussels-based think tank.

Nigel believes the current discourse on AI places disproportionate emphasis on its risks rather than how to leverage it to amplify human potential. He is deeply conscious of the dangers of cognitive offloading and the ease with which LLMs without guardrails allow students to bypass thinking entirely, especially at a young age. His vision is for AI to augment rather than replace human cognition: to sharpen thinking and elevate cognitive abilities, not to enable corner-cutting.