Nordic EdTech News #33 : 2020-12-21

Your Week 50 and 51 update from the Nordic & Baltic EdTech ecosystems

Dec 21, 2020

Welcome to the final Nordic EdTech News of 2020 and what a roller coaster 12 months it’s been!

The Covid-19 pandemic has undoubtedly been been a game-changer for EdTech and it has been extraordinary to report on the exceptional progress of Nordic and Baltic EdTech over the last 12 months. Given the ongoing public health challenges as I write this, it’s clear that digital learning delivery is firmly here to stay. The recent $80 million growth round for Polish EdTech, Brainly, certainly suggests that investors sense a systematic shift in educational delivery rather than a short-term trend (Link).

However the incredible size and scale of some of the largest global EdTech players (Brainly now has 350m users, for example), is causing concern. As the EU announces its plans to regulate Big Tech (Link), the publication of the TechDK Commission’s report into education and technology (Danish) has sparked an interesting debate. Although I’m not sure that “Danish educational traditions and values are repressed when teaching becomes digital and is based on American rote learning” (Danish), I’m more encouraged by the report’s recommendation to “strengthen Danish teaching startups”.

Our ecosystem is highly skilled in developing very distinctive EdTech propositions, so it’s great to see 7 of them identified in a recent list of 150 Baltic startups to watch. This formed part of the Baltic Startup Scene Report from Startup Wise Guys which, alongside Atomico’s 2020 State of European Tech report should certainly form part of your Xmas reading.

If your proposition is focused on maths and science, then do also check out the TIMSS 2019 report. The TIMSS (Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study) national reports feature 6 countries across our ecosystem and are full of invaluable insight.

Nordic EdTech News returns to subscriber inboxes on 11 January 2021, so please follow us on Twitter where we’ll be keeping an eye on any developments over the festive season.

Finally, huge thanks to everyone for reading, subscribing and supporting Nordic EdTech News over the last 12 months - it’s hugely appreciated!

Stay healthy and wishing you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Best regards, Jonathan

News from Denmark

Tips from Denmark’s Digital Teacher of the Year. (Link)
Danish teachers report that the quality of teaching declined during virtual lessons. (Danish)
New research examines university students’ experience of online learning. (Danish)
Over 25,000 students join Alinea’s Sofaskolen for the end of term! (Danish)
CanopyLAB are nominated for the European Future Unicorns Award (Den) as CEO, Sahra-Josephine Hjorth, reveals they’ve had 3,800 school orders during the pandemic. (Link - $$)
Shape Robotics issue revenue expectations for FY 2020 (MDKK 6.0 - 7.0) and predict MDKK 14.0 - 17.0 for FY 2021. (Link)

News from Estonia

Clanbeat announce collaboration with Telia to launch Estonian and Russian versions of the app from the beginning of 2021 (Link) as ICYMI they team up with International Education Solutions (IES). (Link)
Drops detail how they ensure inclusivity across their app and business. (Link)
Lingvist identified as a Top 10 company at the CEE Scaleup Challenge. (Link)
“The Hamlet-like dilemma of digital competence in Estonian schools” - find out the full story here!
How Estonian tech companies come together to support public education. (Link)

News from Finland

A recording of the recent Hybrid Learning Summit from the Helsinki Business Hub is now available. (Link)
Code School Finland expands into South Africa (Link) and launches new AI course for parents in Hong Kong with new partner, Classroom. (Link)
Education Alliance Finland forms new partnership with EdTech Impact. (Link)
Finnish Global Education Solutions (FGES) acquires KOULU Group. (Link)
Congrats to the International School of Helsinki, which is 1 of 4 European institutions selected as a HP Campus of the Future. (Link)
Kide Science celebrate their third birthday with news of their first US agreement in Minnesota. (Link)
New Nordic School has been listed as a hot Finnish startup. (Link)
Reactored expands services into the corporate sector. (Finnish)
School Day expands into new US districts and schools from early 2021. (Link)
Visma’s Wilma platform provides the GraphoGame app to all Finnish children. (Link)
Whiteboard.fi attracts angel investment. (Link)

News from Iceland

Great Microsoft case study featuring Beedle’s work with Kinsale Community School in Ireland. (Link)
Great to see the the Icelandic tradition of Jólabókaflóðið (Christmas book flood) featured in a recent issue of the always-excellent Learnit Memo. (Link)

News from Latvia

Edurio are now in 1,000 schools in Latvia and the UK (Lat) as they launch an important new report looking at the use of technology in UK schools during the pandemic. (Link)
Great to see Exonicus’ trauma training software being tested. (Link)
Solfeg.io launch new recording functionality to help students share their progress. (Link)
ZoomBox launches offering at-home science learning kits. (Lat, Eng)

News from Lithuania

Qoorio identified as startup of the year 2020 by Vilnius startup museum. (Link)
Teachers Lead Tech raise first investment with support from Koinvest and a team of angel investors. (Lith, Eng)

News from Norway

Lots to read in recent ‘Fremtidens skole’ supplement that appeared in Aftenposten recently. (Norwegian)
Great interview (in Norwegian) with Capeesh CEO, Marie Jacobsen Lauvås, in Midtpunkt Magazine. (Link)
Germany’s third largest state, Baden-Württemberg, selects itslearning as their new statewide LMS (Link) as the company launches a new Test tool for all users. (Link)
Kahoot’s Android and iOS apps are now available in French, Brazilian Portuguese and Norwegian. (Link)
Over 120,000 students from over 1,714 schools participated in Kodetimen this year! (Link)

News from Sweden

New digital teaching resource ‘Sveriges historia’ is launched. (Swedish)
Kognity announce new virtual teacher conference, Engage, scheduled for February 2021. (Link)
Lexplore ink deal with the Ministry of Education in Djibouti. (Link)
NUITEQ sign distribution agreement with BenQ Nordics for their Snowflake product. (Link)
Joel Hellermark, CEO Sana Labs, is named in Sifted’s list of Europe’s top young founders (Link) as the company’s CCO argues the case for using AI in workforce learning. (Link)
Strawbees wrap up 2020 and announce plans for 2021. (Link)
Monterro acquires majority share in TimeEdit in a $17.5 million deal. (Link)

Thanks for reading and see you again in 2021!