Nordic EdTech News #13 : 2020-02-17
Your Week 6 & 7 update from the Nordic & Baltic EdTech ecosystems
Hello from the very snowy north of Sweden and welcome to today’s newsletter!
As always, there’s lots of news to share, so let’s get started…
Best, Jonathan
Regional news
Nordic companies are well represented in the EU-Startups list of EdTechs to watch in 2020. (Link)
NY Times article puts education at the heart of Nordic success. (Link)
The State of the Nordic Region 2020 report is a must read as part of the vision to make the Nordics the world's most integrated region by 2030. (Link)
Global trends
Entries are open for the Europas Tech Startup Awards 2020, including hottest EdTech start up. (Link)
The first cohort of nine start ups join EduSpaze in Singapore. (Link)
Latest HolonIQ research reviews 20 years of global education stocks. (Link)
How does EdTech respond to the increasingly demand for soft skills? I think that there are interesting opportunities to explore in this McKinsey report. (Link)
YouTube announces $100m investment in content that “..inspires children to develop life skills and pursue their passions.” (Link)
News from Denmark
Don’t miss the Danish EdTech Showcase in London on 27th Feb. Details here.
An honest assessment of the challenges of using technology in schools. (Den, Eng)
Important research from EMU on experimental school approaches to teaching technology skills. (Den, Eng)
Hopspots won an European Enterprise Award (hosted by EU Business News) for "Best Interactive Children's Education Company - Scandinavia.” (Link)
New lesson resources from KUBO on the earth’s systems. (Link)
Labster release new lab simulation focusing on the reactivity rules of organic chemistry. (Link)
Forbes article suggests that ‘LEGO is the biggest education company on earth’. (Link)
Tiimo have developed an app to support people with autism and ADHD and have raised over €350,000 via crowdfunding including from Kahoot’s founders. (Link)
News from Estonia
BeED ecosystem included in the renowed e-Estonia briefing centre. (Link)
Drops launches Droplets, an app to teach 8 - 17 year olds foreign languages. (Link)
Estonian schools and local EdTech businesses work together to develop new digital solutions. (Est, Eng)
News from Finland
Code School Finland sign deal to deliver a complete solution for AI education in China. (Link)
Education Alliance Finland host a Pedagogical Impact workshop in Helsinki on 13 March (Link) and secure a partnership with EduSpaze Accelerator. (Link)
Look forward to seeing the outputs from the Finnish Education Expo being held in Dubai next week. (Link)
Widely-shared but important piece on Finland’s start up mentality. (Link)
HEI Schools secure first African partner, launching in Egypt in September. (Link)
Estonian President Kersti Kaljulaid visited Hive to learn more about one of Finland’s newest coding schools. (Link)
Kide Science kick off their first camp in Bahrain with partner, Clever Play. (Link)
ThingLink and Tablet Academy announce professional development partnership. (Link)
News from Iceland
2019 Iceland Funding Analysis here from Northstack.
Kara Connect were recognised as digital service of the year at UTMessan. (Ice)
News from Latvia
Edurio have concluded a £450k investment round led by Practica Capital to support their rapid growth. Congratulations! (Link)
This is beyond my language abilities, but this article on Latvian maths teaching looks worth a watch. (Latvian)
As Accenture Latvia creates MathScape game to boost interest and skills in the subject. (Latvian)
Thoughtful analysis of Latvian higher education system (Latvian) as FILCIL calls for change. (Lat, Eng)
News from Lithuania
January update here from BitDegree as they join the Tech5 community. (Link)
Sifted identify the rising stars of Lithuania’s startup scene. (Link) Great to see Gosu.ai and Qoorio included.
News from Norway
How language learning app, Capeesh, works with industry to help non-native speakers improve their skills. (Nor)
Change at the top of itsLearning as Steve Tucker is appointed CEO. (Link, Link)
Medietilsynet survey highlights popularity of Snapchat and YouTube with young people (Nor, Eng), as children reveal their fears about being online. (Nor, Eng)
Newschool announce grant funding to launch four new projects in Poland. (Link)
Encouraging to see 35 national agencies and businesses working together and committing to implement measures to protect children online. (Nor, Eng)
News from Sweden
AcadeMedia launch new EdTech business operations. (Swe, Eng)
New collaboration announced between Coop and Peppy Pals on a AR app. (Link)
Digilär announce new neural speech synthesis proposition (Swe, Eng) and launch new resources for teaching French and Spanish. (Swe, Eng)
DIGG takes over the framework for digital collaboration. (Swe, Eng)
Great feedback from teachers in Trelleborg about using Studi. (Swe, Eng)
Sweden’s National Agency for Education has decided to postpone the launch of the digital national tests to 2023. (Swe, Eng)
Jannie Jepperson, CEO Swedish Edtech Industry, has been appointed to join the Government’s strategic partnership programme for lifelong learning. (Swe, Eng)
Thanks for reading and see you again on 2nd March!
Best regards, Jonathan
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