Nordic EdTech News #120: 2024-09-30
Your Weeks 38 - 39 update from the Nordic and Baltic EdTech ecosystem
Hello and welcome to today’s Nordic EdTech News.
After the news of increased Icelandic investment in schools and educational resources in NEN 119, the Swedish government has now also announced “big investments for schools” in its latest budget (Link).
As part of the plan, Culture Minister, Parisa Liljestrand, announced: “Sweden's students need more textbooks.” So the government will increase “the investment in textbooks and teacher guides, with the aim of striving towards the principle of one textbook per student and subject. The government grant is increased by SEK 200 million to a total of SEK 755 million in 2025.” Yet the plans were described as a “disappointment” by Swedish school leaders (Link).
Slightly embarrassingly, it also transpires that previously announced increases in textbook spend have not actually reached their intended targets. Reports revealed that Swedish students missed out on textbooks worth over SEK 36 million last year. The money was distributed by the state, but was either not used or was incorrectly used by the municipalities and schools that received the grant (Link).
In Norway, the government has announced plans to transform provision for students in 5th to 10th grade which, it believes, should contribute to “better learning, motivation and wellbeing” (Link). Minister for Education, Kari Nessa Nordtun, confirmed that schools will get “more equipment, better premises and increased competence to give pupils more practical learning in all subjects.” The plan is for school life to “become more practical, varied and active so that motivation increases and students learn more.”
Besides the government news, it’s been another busy two weeks in Nordic EdTech. Humly (Sweden) confirmed the acquisition of Future Education, the London-based supply teaching agency (Link). The move is Humly’s sixth UK acquisition since 2021 and is their launch into London’s substitute teacher market which, it estimates, is worth £300 million per year.
In other acquisition news, Taito Learning, the Finnish EdTech company formerly known as Typing Master Finland, announced the sale of TypingTest.com to Sporcle (Link). The move is part of Taito Learning's “rebranding and its focus on new educational technology opportunities.”
Congratulations also to Denmark’s Alice.tech, who confirmed a raise of DKK 7.5 million from PSV and a number of prominent business angels (Link). Their aim is to build a "one-stop learning platform" which, with the help of AI, tailors learning experiences to the individual university student.
Malmö-based OmMej has also closed a seed funding round of €350,000 (Link). It was led by Gorilla Capital and will help the business to “continue developing its service, enabling more children to be heard and supported across the country.”
At the other end of the funding scale, reports are circulating that Sweden’s Sana is aiming to “take in half a billion kroner in venture capital - at a valuation that is soaring” (Link).
On the subject of growth, it’s great to see Albert’s expansion into Romania following a successful pilot project (Link). Jonas Mårtensson, CEO of the Albert Group, commented: "Establishing ourselves in Romania is an important step in our strategy to ensure profitable growth. With our business model, which has proven to be scalable in existing markets, we see great potential in expanding into new regions where we can benefit from economies of scale, while keeping costs low."
Interesting research from Bok365 in Norway shows that the total national spend on digital teaching resources increased by 7.7% to NOK 627 million in 2023 (Link). Spend on “textbooks and specialist books” fell by 15.2% to NOK 242 million in the same period.
In terms of market share, Gyldendal leads the way with revenues of NOK 608 million and 41% share. Cappelen Damm is second with NOK 468 million (31%) with Aschehoug third at NOK 355 million (24%)
Huge thanks to Skola24 and Dr. Federico Malpica Basurto from EdTech Finland for their excellent summaries of the Nordic EdTech Summit.
My friends at The Society Summit (20 -21 November in Skellefteå) will be hosting a think tank focused on The School of the Future 2040 (Link). There are a few free spots available for Nordic EdTech companies to join - it’s a great chance to contribute your insights on how education can become more innovative, flexible and ready to meet the needs of future generations.
And finally, the application deadline for the GESAwards has been extended to 5th October. Full details of the criteria and entry requirements here. The awards celebrate their 10th Anniversary this year and there’s a summary of their impact here.
As always, if you’ve got a story that you’d like me to include in a future issue of this newsletter, please email hello@10digits.org, tag me on Twitter or LinkedIn or use #nordicedtech / #balticedtech.
Thanks for reading, Jonathan
News from Denmark
The Danish Data Protection Authority has criticised Aarhus University's processing of personal data for research purposes. (Link)
Political moves in Copenhagen to limit students' use of screens and to make it mandatory for all schools to introduce an IT policy. (Link)
Anette Falkner Larsen has been confirmed as Vice President of KMD’s education division. (Link)
Rasmus Holm, founder of Opinoma, has been nominated for the EY Entrepreneur of the Year Award. (Link)
The founder of SkoleGPT: "I can understand that AI makes it really difficult to be a teacher right now." (Link)
Tiimo is now working with 500,000 people with “superpowers.” (Link)
Tinyfarms expands into Lithuania through a new partnership with BMK. (Link)
News from Estonia
kood/Jõhvi celebrate their 3rd anniversary and the start of Batch 5, which has 175 students. (Link)
The University of Tartu’s Digiefekt study, supported by the Ministry of Education and Research, explored the impact of EdTech tools from 2020 to 2023 including how to enhance learning through digital integration. (Link)
News from Finland
Detailed insight available for the first time showing municipality spend on learning materials. (Link)
Linked to the above, research indicates that the unauthorised photocopying of education resources has increased in the last year. (Link)
National guidance on the use of AI will be coming soon, as the latest drafts are circulated for expert comment. (Link)
How Eduten launched their service into Bhutan’s Monastic Schools. (Link)
GraphoGame made a strong entrance into the Icelandic market, becoming the most downloaded app nationwide. (Link)
HEI Schools teamed up with a leading Philippine university to introduce renowned Finnish Early Education to local educators. (Link)
The relaunched Helsinki Education Hub will focus on “emphasising educational research in EdTech innovations.” (Link)
Peili Vision’s ADHD detection tool will be piloted in schools in Yorkshire, UK. (Link)
News from Iceland
Evolytes launch a new monitoring system that allows teachers to plan interventions and personalise learning. (Link)
News from Latvia
72% of young people in Latvia believe that AI should be taught at school, according to new research from Samsung Solve for Tomorrow. (Link)
Edurio launched new research with the Confederation of School Trusts highlighting the main priorities for MATs in England. (Link)
News from Lithuania
23 higher education institutions have trained 800 teachers in digital skills and digitised +1,000 content modules as part of the national EdTech project. (Link)
Teachers Lead Tech / Vedliai are developing a new AI-powered teaching assistant through a co-funded EU project. (Link)
News from Norway
Den Norske Dataforening: “We must ensure that the children are equipped to handle the digital future. They must not only learn to avoid the dangers of the web, but also to utilise the resources of the technology.” (Link)
Good to see a new partnership between International Centre for EdTech Impact (WiKIT) and Injini to build testing and scaling of “accessible learning solutions in South Africa.” (Link)
Line Gaare Paulsen, EdTech lead at IKT-Norge, is moving to KS, where she will work on the digitisation of the municipal sector. (Link)
Learnlab has launched a new book titled “Leading Educational Change in the Era of AI.” (Link)
Ludenso signed a new agreement with Porto Editora, the biggest name in Portuguese publishing. (Link)
No Isolation add Worcestershire County Council in the UK to their more than 800 customers across Europe. (Link)
Pickatale have announced a new partnership with Waka, one of Vietnam’s leading digital library platforms. (Link)
News from Sweden
Sweden's Teachers: Mobile phones are not the problem at school.
A stellar panel at this great event from Business Sweden - Unlocking Global Expansion for Swedish EdTech companies.
Congrats to all the winners at the Swedish Learning Awards 2024.
Katinka Engellau-Nilsson has been named the new CEO at Digital School Systems (DSS). (Link)
Gradr raised SEK 500,000 in a convertible note on the TV show Draknästet. (Link)
Kattalo have signed their first licence deal in Finland with Vörå municipality. (Link)
Luleå Municipality will collaborate with AI Sweden and develop an AI assistant for school leaders that can streamline their working day. (Link)
Swedish Edtech Industry raises the alarm over falling national digital skills which, it fears, may impact Sweden’s global competitiveness. (Link)
Tools from Tempus are now used by around 350,000 users across Sweden. (Link)
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