Exploring Europe's innovative EdTech testbeds
Over two inspiring days, the European EdTech Alliance (EEA) joined educators, researchers, policymakers, and innovators from across the continent for a thought-provoking event focused on understanding what makes educational technology effective - and how best to measure its impact.
Day one brought together about 40 experts from 13 European countries. The event began with an engaging “EdTech Safari”, a showcase featuring seven testbeds from across Europe. Participants travelled from the Swiss EdTech Collider to the renowned Swedish Edtest, further to Lithuania’s EdTech Centre and the pioneering EdTech Testbed Helsinki in Finland. The Netherlands’ NOLAI, Ireland’s Learnovate, and insights into the development of testbedding activities in Belgium rounded out the informative tour.
What became clear during the safari was not just the breadth of innovation but the diversity in how these testbeds operate. Participants discovered the unique conditions each testbed sets, such as the different stages of EdTech organisations they support, the variety of operational models, as well as the diversity of funding streams, methodologies, outputs, and their integration within the broader EdTech ecosystems.
Despite these differences, some commonalities emerged. For instance, each testbed emphasised a strong foundation built on genuine educational needs, and highlighted that the testbed’s engine consisted of a collaborative approach between its key stakeholders: education institutions, developers, and researchers.
Following the safari, participants engaged in an energetic design-thinking workshop, laying important groundwork for future collaboration. Key challenges discussed included involving stakeholders effectively, balancing diverse stakeholder interests, and enhancing collaborative frameworks.
The momentum continued into day two with the Learning Bytes Festival, deepening conversations around evidence, evaluation, and impactful EdTech. Keynote speaker and co-organiser Alison Clark-Wilson highlighted the importance of understanding EdTech testing as an iterative process of continuous improvement: “EdTech will only get better - it will never get best.”
This dynamic two-day event, jointly organised by EmpowerED, <edtech/station>, and the Global EdTech Testbed Network (GETN), clearly set the stage for ongoing European cooperation - proving once again that, Europe’s EdTech community is not just innovating, but continuously working together toward meaningful educational transformation.
