Nordic EdTech News #12 : 2020-02-03
Your Week 4 & 5 update from the Nordic & Baltic EdTech ecosystems
It’s clear from innumerable conversations at BETT and from the feedback I received from Educa that Nordic and Baltic EdTech are in rude health. The news and updates below, including investments, partnerships and international expansion serve to reinforce that perspective!
If you weren’t at BETT, then I’d recommend these three excellent summaries (Link, Link and Link), whilst OAJ have provided detailed follow up on Educa here. Next year, thankfully, the dates don’t clash (BETT will be Jan 20-22, Educa will be Jan 29-30), so I’ll look forward to attending both events!
Thanks for reading and for your support. Please reply to this email with any feedback!
Best, Jonathan
Regional news
N8 Co-Founder Märt Aro calls for Estonian and Nordic education businesses to improve global education with innovative learning solutions via FoundME. (Link)
Nordic Sounds website launches providing teachers with “..traditional music, dance, songs, games, rhymes and lullabies from the Nordic countries.” (Ice, Eng)
The CEOs of Matteappen and Seppo feature in the excellent Best of BETT podcast series from Soundtrap. (Link)
Strong Nordic presence for the GESAwards Final at BETT (Link) and in the Kids Judge BETT competition (Link and Link)
Powerful research (in Swedish) studying the link between digital media and young people's mental wellbeing in the Nordics. (Link)
Global trends
Google (Link) and Microsoft (Link) outline their ambitions and plans.
Svenia Busson shares her insights on European EdTech via EETN. (Link)
Two interesting reports emerged from the World Economic Forum on education for the fourth Industrial Revolution (Link) and the influence of play and technology on learning (Link).
WISE launch a new Global Education Barometer focusing on young people’s thoughts on their education and their future. (Link)
News from Denmark
Compelling new research studying the role of digital resources in Danish language teaching in schools. (Den, Eng)
The Minister for Education and Research gives DKK 45 million to strengthen HE educators’ digital skills through nine new schemes. (Den, Eng)
More municipalities have been reported to the Danish Data Protection Agency following breaches of student personal data security. (Den, Eng)
Lego Foundation’s global partnership expands to Vietnam. (Link)
Launch of Schools’ Wellbeing Day announced (1 March 2020). (Den, Eng)
News from Estonia
Congrats to 99Math who have raised $500,000, led by Change Ventures, the Good Deed Education Fund and Martin Villig, co-founder of Bolt. (Link)
BeED sign MOU with the Robotic Institute of Hong Kong (RIHK). (Link)
Great feature on Kadri Tuisk, CEO @ Clanbeat. (Link)
DreamApply announce new Intelligence Tool. (Link)
Estonian Startup Database is now live with 40 EdTech companies included.
Estonia’s education success is big news at the Education World Forum. (Link)
EdTech companies well represented at the 2019 Estonian Startup Awards. (Link)
HITSA, Startup Estonia and Tallinn University launch new co-creation programme between Estonian schools and 8 EdTech companies. (Est, Eng)
News from Finland
360Mediahouse launches 360Education VR publishing platform at BETT. (Link)
Arctic Education Forum is now just around the corner! Tickets here!
Brazilian delegation meet leading Finnish EdTech businesses. (Link)
Education Alliance Finland and WISE Accelerator announce a partnership (Link) and CEO Olli Vallo details How to Evaluate Product-Market Fit in EdTech. (Link)
Highly recommended! The Finnish Education Story: Adapting the Lessons to the 21st Century Education Challenges. (Link)
How Finnish primary schools are fighting against fake news. (Link)
Freeed CEO Heikki Rusama reinforces the importance of the teacher. (Link)
Reactored raise € 220K and sign a collaboration with Sanako to inspire language learners globally. (Link)
School Day and Eduscape form North American partnership. (Link)
TinyApp announce partnership with Atea Finland. (Link)
News from Iceland
Kara Connect’s CEO, Thorbjorg Helga Vigfusdottir was recently awarded the 2020 FKA Inspiration Award! (Ice, Eng)
Further feedback here on the recent Icelandic innovation ecosystem survey (see NEN #10).
Strong Icelandic teacher presence at BETT - #Bett2020 and #menntaspjall
News from Latvia
New app launched for students to report bullying (Lat) as government launches coordinated effort to tackle the problem in schools. (Lat, Eng)
Inspiring stories of educators at work in Riga (Lat, Eng) as the nation’s best chemistry teachers are recognised. (Lat)
Latvian Government launches new teacher training initiative. (Lat, Eng)
News from Lithuania
BitDegree have launched micro-scholarships for learning online and over 120 requests have been funded already. (Link)
Reach for Change Lithuania launch Game Changer campaign offering investment and expert support for business ideas improving children’s lives. (Link)
News from Norway
Loved the Norwegian Classroom at BETT - a great showcase of Norwegian and Nordic EdTech. (Link)
National solution recommended to support municipalities and schools in protecting children online. (Nor, Eng)
Fascinating profile of the work and team at Ludenso. (Nor, Eng)
Norwegian universities explore collaborative online solutions for storing and distributing content. (Nor, Eng)
Expansion announced for online bilingual education in maths, Norwegian and science for newly-arrived students nationwide. (Nor, Eng)
Students identify security breach in Visma’s school management system. (Nor, Eng)
News from Sweden
There are still opportunities for EdTech business to test their products and services with Swedish Edtest. Register your interest here.
IT-Pedagogen asks if brighter times are ahead for producers of teaching materials. (Swe, Eng)
Learnster announce new agreements across restaurant sector. (Swe)
The businesses behind NEXT LEVEL (Admentum, Advania, Canvas, DigiExam and Matteappen) announce their next event on 5th March. (Swe, Eng)
New event from SKL Kommentus looking at the digital school. (Swe, Eng)
ICYMI - Total Specific Solutions expands its presence in Sweden by acquiring Ping Pong AB. (Link)
Verbling, a Swedish-led language learning platform has been acquired by Busuu, in a multi-million dollar deal. (Swe, Eng)
Thanks for reading and see you again on 17th February!
Best regards, Jonathan
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