Nordic EdTech News #14 : 2020-03-02
Your Week 8 & 9 update from the Nordic & Baltic EdTech ecosystems
Two of the most interesting articles I’ve read over the last fortnight directly address a key issue for Nordic and Baltic EdTech - the scale problem.
Writing in Sifted, Gauthier Van Malderen, Chief executive and founder of Perlego, identifies four reasons (market size/opportunity, teacher resistance, government support and investment) that inhibit the growth of European EdTechs. Meanwhile Toby Mather, Co-founder & CEO of Lingumi argues that making teachers, students AND technology active participants in learning can best deliver “transformational teaching experiences at exponential scale”.
Given the size of national markets in the Nordics and Baltics, these perspectives are vital when considering how best to scale our technological and pedagogical innovations to build sustainable, impactful businesses. As always, I’d welcome your thoughts on this - just reply to this email!
Best, Jonathan
Regional news
Details announced for the Nordic Learning Analytics Summer Institute in Stockholm, 20-21 August 2020. (Link)
Great to see the Nordplus Junior project pulling together students from across our ecosystem! (Link)
Detailed national PISA summaries now available via OECD - great reading for Baltic and Nordic countries. (Link)
Thoughtful analysis in ‘The Geography of Europe’s Brain Business Jobs’ where the ‘Nordic nations are top performers.’ (Link)
Global trends
Lots of coverage about EdTech’s response to coronavirus - whether that’s home study (Link, Link, Link) or new online courses to aid public understanding. (Link)
Plenty to think about in David Perell’s thread on the future of education. (Link)
Navitas Ventures review the global EdTech investment themes of 2019. (Link)
How EdTech innovations are helping to fix education in Nigeria. (Link)
The UK’s Institute for Ethical AI in Education published its interim report with a blueprint for ethical design, development and use of AI in education. (Link)
News from Denmark
Denmark’s Laeringsfestivalen is next week. Look forward to following all of the outputs, particularly Thomas Illum Hansen’s final report on the impact of technology in education. Some early comments available here (Den, Eng)
Great insights and feedback from last week’s Danish EdTech Showcase in London. All the best bits are here.
The Danish Agency for IT and Learning launches new login technology to increase security for schools (Den, Eng) as parents voice data security concerns. (Den, Eng).
Useful insight from Labster about moving science courses online (Link) as their CEO, Michael Bodekaer, is featured on the XR for Learning Podcast. (Link)
Learn more about Lego Ventures (Link) as they announce new investment in FreshGrade. (Link)
Detailed blog post about block based programming from Shape Robotics highlighting its benefits in education. (Link)
News from Estonia
99Math included in EU-Startups list of Estonian startups to watch. (Link)
This definitive technology review for Estonian schools is a comprehensive, must-read plan for future EdTech provision. (Est, Eng)
The Good Deed Education Fund provides business internships for school principals. (Link)
Learn how Estonia supports its youngest learners via NCEE. (Link)
Government CIO Siim Sikkut shares the vision for AI to deliver Estonian public services. (Link)
Detailed 2019 review of the Estonian startup ecosystem here.
News from Finland
Amazing Finnish presence during Dubai Education Week (Link, Link), as the Finnish model proves a compelling proposition in the UAE. (Link)
Immersive teaching techniques and their benefits in vocational education, via 3D Bear. (Fin, Eng)
HEI Schools announce their first Summit in Helsinki this May. (Link)
How does the city of Helsinki act as a giant learning environment? (Link)
Eduten’s Finland Math proposition is now used in 37 countries (Link) and receives good coverage for its Belgian research pilot. (Link)
Kide Science launch paid-for online STEAM teacher training resources (Link) and secure agreement to work with the City of Salo. (Finnish)
School Day launch web app (Link) and demonstrate how their data helps schools. (Link)
Following a pilot, Tampere University of Applied Sciences will be running courses on Viope’s platform from this Spring. (Link)
News from Iceland
Mussila appoint Jón Gunnar Þórðarson as new CEO (Ice, Eng) and announce that they’ve been certified by Education Alliance Finland. (Link)
Great film showing how Enterprise Europe Network are helping Kara Connect to grow and scale. (Link)
Interesting review of the Icelandic startup ecosystem by Einar Gudmundsson (here), which provides another angle to Startup Iceland’s view here.
News from Latvia
Raccoons host a 48-hour student hackathon on 27 - 29 March in Riga. (Link)
This podcast is well worth a listen! It features Andris K. Berzins of Change Ventures and his perspectives on the Baltic startup scene. (Link)
Further progress announced in developing Latvia’s higher education system. (Link)
News from Lithuania
Congratulations to Danielius Stasiulis, who has been appointed CEO at BitDegree. (Link)
Great to see Gosu.ai included in Silicon Canals’ review of Vilnius tech startups to watch out for in 2020. (Link)
News from Norway
Ludenso announce investment from Kahoot Founders (Nor, Eng) and are identified as one of the Top 3 businesses in the Creative Tech Hunt. (Link)
Norwegian Data Inspectorate to examine Google’s use of school data. (Nor, Eng)
Kahoot! publish latest quarterly figures (Nor, Eng) and introduces new student-paced game mode. (Link)
Securing the use of Norwegian language text in Higher Education. (Nor, Eng)
Digital solution needed to verify students’ police certificates. (Nor, Eng)
News from Sweden
ABB and Tillväxtverket roll out ‘Robot in school’ programme to upper secondary schools around the country. (Swe, Eng)
New guidance issued on national digital writing tests. (Swe, Eng)
Schibsted increase investment in coding and programming education for young people. (Swe)
How SchoolSoft uses AI to best support municipalities and schools. (Swe, Eng)
The Swedish Government proposes changes to the law to improve distance learning provision for school-age students. (Swe, Eng)
Real-world maths resources from Teknikföretagen win acclaim. (Swe, Eng)
Fascinating research from University of Gothenburg highlights differences between using maths textbooks and digital learning resources. (Swe, Eng)
Thanks for reading and see you again on 16th March!
Best regards, Jonathan
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