Presented by the European Education Technology (EdTech)* community to the European Commission.
Europe needs now to step-up in advancing the transformation of education and training in the digital age and the European EdTech community welcomes the Digital Education Action Plan 2021-2027 of the European Commission and its key strategic priorities. Digital education is an enabler of inclusion, high quality and access in education and training in the digital age. But to succeed on the ground and meet the pressing needs and challenges of our education systems today – from the ongoing COVID-impact to our long-term goals of improving quality and access, we need to embrace innovation.
The European Education Technology (EdTech) sector holds an immense potential to drive forward the digital transformation and innovation of European education and training. In the last years, the sector is growing at unprecedented speed - investments in 2021 reached 2.7 billion EUR, almost five times from 2020 (according to Global EdTech Venture Capital Funding in 2021, HolonIQ). Thousands of European EdTech companies offer a great diversity of services such as online learning platforms, learning management systems, STEM and coding labs. By creating cutting-edge hardware and software, the sector in transforming the way learning and teaching takes place. While steadily growing, the sector faces challenges related to inadequate funding and tendering mechanisms at national level, difficulties with scaling-up operations across borders and globally as well as limited capacity and trust of education and training institutions to cooperate with the sector in a structured manner. We need to therefore empower education innovators and reignite a pioneering spirit in education, so that the strong roots and values of European education can not only withstand but also thrive in the digital age.
What is the European EdTech community’s vision for stronger European EdTech in the digital education ecosystem? And how can we achieve this vision together?
What do we need to establish a truly high-performing digital education ecosystem in Europe?
You can find the answers to these questions by reading the full statement (PDF) >>
*E-Civis, Robo Wunderkind, Ucha.se, BOOKR Kids, LEGO Education, Speexx, WeSchool, DreamApply!, Brainly, Open Classrooms, Reaktor Education and the European Edtech Alliance.
