Our Publications

Towards Excellence in Educational Innovation

The European EdTech Alliance has released a report under the EmpowerED project that identifies key barriers to digital innovation within Europe's education sectors. The report offers example solutions to building a cohesive, well-supported, and thriving EdTech ecosystem in Europe.

The findings have been gathered through research and interviews or workshops with key stakeholders from across the Ecosystem, including private and public actors, EdTech organisations, educators, researchers, and international institutions such as UNESCO, the European Commission, and the Council of Europe.

EmpowerED is a project funded by the European Union under Grant 101100704, coordinated by European Schoolnet (EUN). Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Commission. Neither the European Union nor the European Commission can be held responsible for them

The first edition of our EdTech Strategy Lab Deep Dive series focuses on how key issues of evidence are complicated by the shortage of testing environments and lack of resources for thorough evaluation.

We look at the crucial role trust plays in the EdTech sector and explore how it can be strengthened. We also identify three key types of evaluation frameworks relevant to EdTech: those led by the public sector, those driven by research, and those aimed at commercial validation. We believe that connecting these diverse approaches to quality and evidence assurance in education is essential.

Building trust in EdTech will require a collaborative effort to ensure evaluation mechanisms are not only effective but widely recognised across the sector.

The Digital Education Action Plan (DEAP) 2021-2027 is a vital roadmap for adapting education systems to the digital age across Europe. However, key areas require further development to ensure its long-term success and impact.

The EEA provides insights into key areas that can be strengthened moving forward.

This year’s SETT in Stockholm (Scandinavian Education Technology Transformation) featured a one-day long special format targeting education stakeholders from across the Scandinavian countries to network, share experiences, and gain a Nordic perspective on the most current educational issues: the Nordic Track. As part of this event, the EEA joined forces with its Nordic EmpowerED colleagues Ifous and OAMK and organised a breakfast workshop on trust and evidence in the EdTech sector. Read the full report of the workshop below!

EmpowerED is a project funded by the European Union under Grant 101100704, coordinated by European Schoolnet (EUN). Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Commission. Neither the European Union nor the European Commission can be held responsible for them

This 2023 State of Play of EdTech and the EdTech Ecosystem in Europe report is an integral part of the EU-funded EmpowerED project and delves into the current dynamics, developments, trends, challenges, and opportunities in Europe's EdTech ecosystem. It emphasises EdTech's role in achieving high-quality, inclusive, and accessible digital education across Europe.

Serving as a comprehensive knowledge base, the report is designed to inform EdTech organisations, policymakers, investors, and EmpowerED project partners about the multifaceted and evolving European EdTech landscape.

EmpowerED is a project funded by the European Union under Grant 101100704, coordinated by European Schoolnet (EUN). Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Commission. Neither the European Union nor the European Commission can be held responsible for them.

The impact of digital technologies and importance of high quality education materials

06.12.2023

The PISA results are in. In response, some media sources have sensationally focussed on stark downward trends in base skills, and others on the idea of screen time directly influencing mathematic achievement without also looking at the benefits of device use listed in the study, and a great number rightly understand that the challenging background of emergency remote teaching and learning played a consequential role in these results. We’ve collated some of the key points related to digital education from the PISA report and the launch event that we think are important to look at and also keep in mind as we consider a more balanced discussion of the results.

This report gives an overview of the different stakeholders of the European EdTech ecosystem. It describes the roles of its key actors, being EdTech solution providers and practitioners, and other stakeholders like educational institutions, policy makers and varied support systems such as accelerators and incubators, EdTech associations and research institutions.

Furthermore, this publication provides insights on the European EdTech market - presenting an overview of key statistics, a description of the various market segments, and a sketch of the most prevalent business models employed across the industry.

EmpowerED is a project funded by the European Union under Grant 101100704, coordinated by European Schoolnet (EUN). Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Commission. Neither the European Union nor the European Commission can be held responsible for them.

This report provides a snapshot of the 1.258 companies throughout Europe that have contributed to the Edtech Map so far and reveals trends that can serve to inform policy, development and implementation strategies. From the vast majority of Edtech organisations actually being Micro Organisations in size, to the fact that just under half of all organisations have no international sales, or to the extreme disparities in funding, team make-up and company leadership between genders, the inaugural Map insight report shows emerging trends in the map data and highlights areas needing sustainable support within this essential sector.

For the purpose of defining common goals and mechanisms for working together
across sectors and the public-private divide, the European Edtech Alliance views
EdTech as encompassing all forms of digital education solutions supporting the
broader education market and consisting of not only technical systems for the delivery
of content and education, but also digital resources, content and curricula tools,
administration and organisation solutions, and integrated, holistic, digital tools.

Open Educational Resources (OER) have become a critical part of the education discourse and political actions within Europe. As a direct effect of signing the UNESCO recommendations for OER, there have been increased activities in this field by multiple governments and authorities. By highlighting both risks and chances, the European Edtech Alliance intends for this paper to inform decision makers and policy makers in the creation and implementation of policies which support the responsible, future-proofed, quality-driven development and usage of learning resources and the implementation of OER.

Read the position paper on making EdTech a key driver in the European digital education by the European EdTech Alliance and others, presented to the Commissioner Mariya Gabriel after a series of round table discussions on the life conditions and role edtech can play in reaching the targets in the Digital Education Plan.

The European EdTech Alliance supports the EU Commission with their AI Regulation. Building trust through the first-ever legal framework on AI we contributed with sharing our know-how and market insights.

Key policy objectives are:

• Set enabling conditions for AI's development and uptake

• Build strategic leadership in high-impact sectors

• Make the EU the right place for AI to thrive

• Ensure AI technologies work for people

The future of European education innovation depends on the quality and insightfulness of the implementation of technology in education as well as the quality and development of European educational technology, edtech. In the aftermath of the effects of the pandemic, this has never been more evident.

Given the fact that education by and large is a product of the public sector, we know that the untapped opportunity of harnessing the full potential of technology is further behind development in other industries and sectors.

In this report, we have mapped initiatives from governments around Europe to see how they support the innovation learning ecosystems needed. Results show a clear trend of governments seeing the need to support an innovation ecosystem for edtech and education in their countries. This is good news for the future of European education!