Nordic EdTech News #66: 2022-05-16
Your Weeks 18 & 19 update from the Nordic and Baltic EdTech ecosystem
Hello, good morning and welcome to today’s Nordic EdTech News!
Easily the biggest story from the last two weeks is Kara Connect raising $6.3m from Iceland’s Idunn Venture Fund (Link). With offices already in Denmark and Iceland, this funding will be used to power the business’ growth into new European markets. Education is a key market for Kara’s secure platform which helps therapy and counseling teams to provide a range of remote, virtual support services to learners.
Like Kara, most EdTech businesses aim to have a genuine impact - to make the world a better place or to improve learning outcomes in some way. So it’s brilliant to see three Finnish companies (Eduten, GraphoGame and Kide Science) named as finalists for the UNICEF EdTech Award, with the opportunity to improve learning experiences for 100m children worldwide (Link). Congratulations to all three and good luck!
As I write this after the Eurovision weekend, I’m reminded that many Nordic EdTech companies continue to respond to the emergency situation in Ukraine. If your solution isn’t listed on the European Edtech Alliance’s database, then you can easily add it here. Notable to see some of our region’s largest players including itslearning (Link) and Kahoot! (Link) translating their services as well as providing language support and new learning content in Ukrainian.
Do check out the latest updates from Brighteye Ventures. Their annual State of EdTech Marketing report and new guides on DEI and building a customer success team are, as ever, packed with invaluable insights (Link).
If you’ve not booked your ticket yet for the EdTechX Summit 2022 (23rd June in London), then have a look at the latest programme / speaker list here. You can get 40% off by booking now and using the promo code - ETX22SPEAKER40. This is the link for full event details and to book your place.
As always, do let me know if you’ve got any feedback or a story to include in a future issue of this newsletter by emailing hello@10digits.org. Sharing this email with your network is also always much appreciated!
And finally, if you read this newsletter for Nordic EdTech analysis and insight, you may be interested to know that I also offer advisory and consultancy services. Want to find out how I could help you or your business? Let’s talk.
Thanks for reading, Jonathan
News from Denmark
Digital Læringsdag takes place on 2nd June. Full details and tickets here.
The Danish government allocates DKK 200 million for technology education in primary and lower secondary schools as part of a new national digitisation strategy. (Link)
CanopyLAB announced new partnerships with School Farms (Link) and Dream Rise Foundation (Link) to deliver free access to education for young people.
First time I’ve heard of Skolen Fri, where all teaching is delivered online via livestream. (Link)
How a pandemic pivot took Swap Language to new heights. (Link)
UDU will launch this Summer with the aim of combining physical exercise and gaming. (Link)
News from Estonia
Estonian EdTech companies share their experience and knowledge with colleagues in Poland. (Link)
Great webinar (in English) highlighting the impact of EdTech solutions and platforms. (Link)
News from Finland
Grants of up to €10 million have been announced for the development of children's and young people's digital skills. (Link)
“Finland’s big new export to India: Education.” Full story here.
Applications are now open for the Autumn 2022 EdTech Incubator at the Helsinki Education Hub. (Link)
HEI Schools win prestigious international design competition. (Link)
New Nordic Schools confirm Petri Koskinen as their CEO. (Link)
Psyon Games are working with Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, to leverage the power of gaming to improve people’s health worldwide. (Link)
Wilma published their 2022 teacher survey. Great to see the survey finding that digital tools make teachers’ jobs easier. (Link)
News from Iceland
The City of Reykjavík has to pay a five million ISK fine for the incorrect use of the Seesaw student system in the city's primary schools. (Link)
News from Latvia
Improving digital skills can help address the current shortage of teachers in Latvian schools. (Link)
News from Lithuania
Lithuania’s national EdTech centre has been opened as part of the country’s Digital Education Transformation project. (Link)
Members of EdTech Lithuania gathered at the Seimas Constitution Hall to discuss teachers’ digital literacy and to share best practice. (Link)
BitDegree argues that the metaverse will be “the biggest innovation in education since the smartphone.” (Link)
News from Norway
Schools in Norway should not have to choose between having the right teaching resources or enough teachers. (Link)
The Norwegian Directorate of Health recommends that children under two years should not use screens and only one hour per day for under fives. (Link)
Stavanger municipality spends NOK 33 million on resources - and asks schools to prioritize physical books over digital materials. (Link)
IKT Norge argues that “Technology and digital tools can motivate school-weary students.” (Link)
“Solid financial performance in Q1” for Kahoot! (Link)
Scrimba revealed that they’re now delivering NOK 15 million in ARR. (Link - $$)
Interview in Shifter with the founder of Zen Math. (Link - $$)
News from Sweden
Applications invited for the national printed teaching resources framework. The digital equivalent will follow later this year. (Link)
Special Swedish summary included in new research: “Changing texts - an international review of research on textbooks and related materials.” (Link)
Interesting practitioner perspectives on the use of digital resources. (Link)
imagiLabs is a finalist in Fast Company’s World Changing Ideas Awards (Link) and has confirmed the launch of imagi Edu, “a platform for instructors to easily teach Python and create private classes.” (Link)
Mikael Wahlberg has been named COO at IST Group and now has “full operational responsibility for taking (it)…into the future.” (Link)
Läromedelsföretagen members agree a new policy to standardize the exchange of information across digital teaching aids. (Link)
Zcooly confirms rapid growth since fundraising last December. (Link)
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