Nordic EdTech News #4 : 2019-10-14

Your Week 40 & 41 news update from the Nordic & Baltic EdTech ecosystems

The two biggest stories from the last fortnight share a clear and common thread because both powerfully demonstrate the exceptional international reputation of Nordic and Baltic EdTech.

At the individual company scale, businesses from across our ecosystem have been promoting “the world’s coolest EdTech” in Silicon Valley, in China, in Dubai, in Italy, in Qatar and in Thailand. Not only that but Nordic EdTech businesses have been sharing their expertise with the Minister of Education from Colombia and the Ministry of Higher Education from the Maldives. Congratulations to everyone involved!

Meanwhile at European level, Nordic EdTech associations are at the heart of the recent formation of the European Edtech Alliance. Details are still emerging but N8, Oslo EdTech Cluster, Swedish EdTech Industry, ​Edtech Southeast Sweden, EdTech Finland and xEdu are Founding Members of the group and have all played leading roles in the group’s creation. We’ll watch for, and report on, further developments here!

As always, your comments and feedback are most welcome (just reply to the email or comment on the web archive). If the topics covered here resonate, then let’s talk about how we can help your organisation. Coffee?

Finally, if you enjoy this newsletter, please share it and/or sign up to get it in your inbox every two weeks: https://nordicedtech.substack.com

PS - Where possible, links are provided in English, but opening links in and translating via Google Chrome should help non-native speakers!

Regional news

• EU Code Week continues with activities running across all Nordic and Baltic countries - see how your country is doing here.

• Kahoot listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange's Merkur Market and were valued at more than 5Bn NOK at time of publication. (Nor, Eng)

• Microsoft Denmark’s CEO makes the case for the Nordics to enter the global AI race via Digital Hub Denmark. (Link)

• Registrations are still open for EdTech startups to apply for a demo space at XcitED. Great opportunity to get your proposition noticed and tested! Apply here by 20th October 2019.

• A timely look into moves to encourage more Nordic girls to code (link), following last Friday’s #MarchForSisterhood, the first all-digital march in history.

• Public voting now open in Nordic Startup Awards - too many to mention but find and vote for your favourites here.

• Exploration of what the games industry can learn from Nordic developers, but lots of relevance for EdTech here too. (Link)

Global trends

• Amazon launch the first Kindle specifically designed for children. (Link) 

• Essential global insights highlighting where VCs are looking to invest in EdTech. (Link - requires subscription)

• Influential US publication EdSurge highlights six key trends for 21st Century Teaching, and argues that ‘evolved teaching’ is key. (Link)

• Five ways to make AR/VR in education go mainstream via VentureBeat. (Link)

News from Denmark

• Startup Genome argue that students are the key to building more Danish unicorns (via Digital Hub Denmark). (Link)

• Always worth listening to these podcasts from Birgitte Rubæk and Karin Eckersberg about online learning in a digital age. (Link - in Danish)

• Eduflow optimise their online learning solution to work seamlessly on mobile devices. (Link)

• Andy Hargreaves and Pasi Sahlberg feature on the agenda of two fascinating Danish conferences about the future of education and learning. (DK)

• Labster launch a new virtual lab simulation focusing on superbugs and genetic transfer in bacteria. (Link)

• Shape Robotics announce a new Fable Blockly App for Chromebooks and seek staff to work on a collaboration with the renowned Rigshospitalet. (Link)

News from Estonia

• Startup Estonia launch collaboration with leading Finnish EdTech accelerator, xEdu. (Link)

• Importance of recognising and supporting gifted and talented students in Estonian education system. (Link)

• DreamApply announce partnership with Turnitin to streamline the admissions process for global Higher Education Institutions. (Link)

• Details of first events of this year’s Startup Week Tallinn are published. (Link)

• Particularly excited about the 48 hour EdTech hackathon that Garage48 are organising with Innove and Startup Estonia. (Link)

News from Finland

• Powerful evidence of the impact for Eduten Playground in UAE research survey with the University of Turku and GEMS Education. (Link)

• Next month’s Helsinki Education Week programme “emphasises the voice of the learner, well-being and comprehensive learning.” (Link)

• Helsinki University professor Kirsti Lonka argues that education underpins Finnish national success. (Link)

• Kide Science have closed their second deal in Indonesia. This new co-operation begins with PT Cahaya Utara Indonesia (The Northern Lights Indonesia) in Surabaya, where they start extra-curricular Kide lessons in December 2019.

• Mehackit persuasively argue the case for teaching coding and programming. (Link)

• How the New Nordic School use the UN Sustainable Development Goals to bring purpose to learning in their Nordic Baccalaureate. (Link)

• Panda Training won the DigiEduHack competition organized by Aalto University and the European Commission. (Link)

• Roybi Robot (XEdu alumni), the world’s first AI-powered robot providing personalised language learning lessons is now live on Indiegogo. (Link)

• SAMK publish international study of teachers’ perceptions and readiness to teach coding skills. (Link)

News from Iceland

• Kara Connect publish an insightful article in Scitech Europa about the impact and role of their technology. (Link)

• Mussila chosen as Editor’s Pick on EdTechX360. (Link)

• Northstack report on the launch of Icelandic government’s Innovation Policy. As they put it - “Innovation isn’t a luxury. It’s a necessity”. (Link)

• Further details emerging for a key Icelandic education event - UTís 2019. (Ice)

News from Latvia

• IT company Cognizant in partnership with Learn IT launches children's and youth coding / programming competition. (Lat, Eng)

• High-quality outcomes from ICEBREAKERS'19, Northern Europe’s largest student business festival. (Latvian)

• New Innovation Grants programme launched for students from six Latvian universities to develop their business ideas. (Latvian)

News from Lithuania

• Lots happening at BitDegree as their September update demonstrates. (Link)

• BrandLAB programme launches to support Lithuanian start-ups to grow export revenues through enhanced marketing and comms programmes. (Link)

• Phonal launch mobile app to help users practise their speaking skills and gain AI feedback. (Link)

• Vilnius University Business School host EdTech hackathon on 19th and 20th October. Register and find out more here.

News from Norway

• Delighted to hear that Oslo Edtech Cluster and their members from the Norwegian EdTech industry are presenting the Norwegian Classroom at BETT 2020. (Link)

• Christer Gundersen, Head of Creative Commons Norway, powerfully argues that schools of the future should be built on “..a sharing culture”. (Nor, Eng)

• Kahoot! summarise their raft of new product features and back-to-school updates. (Link)

• Lær Kidsa Koding! launch new website, thanks to collaboration with Mediebruket AS. (Links in Norwegian)

• A new project from NAV Alna will train young people to become instructors in coding and programming, who can then teach school children via code courses. (Nor, Eng)

• Great feedback from Oslo Skaperfestival 2019 across social media.

• School data breach in Bergen reinforces need for vigilance when learner data is involved. (Nor, Eng)

News from Sweden

• Advania School Partner highlight role of technology in transforming Sweden’s schools. (Swe, Eng)

• Detailed summary of the Swedish startup scene here. HT to ArcticStartup

• The DigiExam application is now available via the Windows Store offering “a secure and reliable platform for high-stakes exams and academic tests. (Link)

• Digilär identify three keys to help students succeed with digital reading. (Swe, Eng)

• Edtech Southeast Sweden promote DIGIT event that highlights digital innovation and collaboration for schools. (Swe, Eng)

• Important blog post from Kognity on how to successfully embed technology in the classroom. (Link)

• Oscar Täckström joins Sana Labs from Google AI as Director of Research. (Link)

• Unikum announces SEK 20M ($2M) capital investment round to fuel expansion plans outside Sweden. (Swe, Eng and Eng)

Thanks for reading and see you again in two weeks!

Best regards, Jonathan

If you enjoyed this newsletter, please share it and/or sign up to get it in your inbox every two weeks: https://nordicedtech.substack.com

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