Getting to know... Dr Raoul-Gabriel Urma 

In a new feature for Bdaily looking at the person behind the business profile, Dr Raoul-Gabriel Urma, founder and chair of national education technology company Cambridge Spark, talks about his passion for problem-solving, his pride at his venture's Sunday Times 100 recognition and the power of fitness in building endurance and teamwork skills.

We know you as the founder of Cambridge Spark, but who is the person behind the title? Tell us a little about what makes you tick…

I’m really driven by my passion for the industry I work in.

I don’t think a day has gone by when I haven’t wanted to learn and experiment with new technologies – whether that’s building an app or grappling with large language models.  

I’m a creative thinker and get excited by challenges. 

It’s doing hard things like launching and scaling a business that interests me the most. 

It keeps you on your toes, and means you are constantly learning. 

I love problem-solving.

Did you always want to work in EdTech? 

I’ve always been passionate about education and technology. 

I learned how to code as a child, and then created websites to teach other children about strategy games like Age of Empires and Warcraft. 

I’ve always enjoyed studying and learning, whether at university or by teaching myself new programming languages. 

So now, when I look at it, EdTech seems like the most natural fit for me. 

What do you consider to be your greatest achievement? 

Seeing Cambridge Spark grow and rank in the Sunday Times 100, a list of Britain’s fastest-growing private businesses. 

A huge amount of hard work has gone into building Cambridge Spark to what it is today, both from me and my brilliant team, so it’s nice to be able to quantify some of that success with this recognition. 

What's the best bit about your job? And the worst? 

I’m fortunate to work in such a rewarding sector. 

One of the best parts of my job is being able to see first-hand the real-world impact of our training programmes. It is really empowering. 

Learning and developing new skills really emboldens people, giving them new confidence, abilities and opportunities. 

I don’t think there are many downsides to my job – but I’m not the biggest fan of admin!  

How do you relax outside of work? 

 I’m a bit of a fitness nut.

I enjoy functional training and have recently taken part in HYROX competitions.

It combines eight kilometres of running with different functional exercises, like the indoor rower and the sled pull. 

It’s pretty intense, but a lot of fun, and a really great way to build up your teamwork skills and endurance. 

Tell us something about you we didn't know... 

I love desserts.

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