Number 28 - September 2023 European Edtech Alliance Update
News from the world of European Edtech
Welcome to September's European Edtech News. This month has seen so much movement across the entire EdTech sector within Europe.
UNESCOs Digital Learning Week took place in Paris, where the EEA was involved in discussing the importance of data for learning and saw several key reports and guidelines launched and discussed. Check out our ‘Worth Reading’ section below to catch up on these. It is vitally important to better understand the effects and impact of the technologies used in education, however, we caution that it is imperative in this debate to clearly differentiate between tech developed specifically for education and tech used in education (e.g. conference tech like Zoom). It also remains essential to remember that the emergency remote teaching practices of the pandemic cannot be effectively compared with EdTech environments specifically designed for remote teaching practices.
Coming in at the end of the month were two big pieces of news from the Council of Europe: (1) 2025 has been officially declared the year of digital citizenship education by the Council, which will provide exciting opportunities for the ecosystem to come together as well as further explore the guidelines to support equitable partnerships of education institutions and the private sector, and (2) the ministers welcomed the development of a legal instrument to regulate the use of Artificial Intelligence systems in education to promote and to protect human rights, democracy and the rule of law to the sector of education.
The EEA has launched the 2023 Edtech Map in conjunction with the EmpowerED project - make sure you get your voice heard as part of this map, or put your name down to participate in our other maps. The annual Edtech Next event in Bielefeld took place this month, which saw 700 Edtech organisations from Europe gather to be inspired by trends in Edtech and best practice as they continue their journey supporting the digital education ecosystem.
We’re looking forward to a busy October and more exciting developments!
Beth Havinga
EdTech Map
Looking to boost your edtech organization's visibility and connect with fellow innovators? Join the European Edtech Map! 🗺
🌟 Showcase Your Brand & Products
💻 Drive Traffic to Your Website & Social Media
🎯 Define Your Target Audience
🤝 Connect with Collaborators
🔍 Identify aligned ideas
🌱 Support the EdTech Ecosystem
Ready to get started? Register your edtech organization here!
Our next Map is around the corner: The Ecosystem Builder Map, showcasing investors, accelerators, incubators, and more - the driving forces behind Edtech innovation. If you are interested in getting on the Ecosystem Builder Map fill out the form on our website (below the Map) and we will keep you updated.
EEA Webinar: How to approach an investor
We are happy to invite you to a special EEA webinar on How to approach an investor with our First Chair Svenia Busson. This webinar will explore the European investment landscape as well as the difference between types of investors and stages of investments. Come explore the topic of fundraising with Svenia Busson, who has experience working in the VC space and has helped numerous companies fundraise. Register for our webinar on October 26th, 4 pm (CET) here!
Don´t forget to check out our previous Market Discovery Webinars here!
And that´s not all, we are excited to introduce our new webinar series EEA Meets… where we will meet and talk with some of the major policy and industry stakeholders on current and important topics for the Edtech ecosystem.
GESAwards 2023
Applications for the Global EdTech Startup Awards (GESAwards) are closing on October 12! If you are a founder of an edtech startup, seize this opportunity and join the largest global EdTech community.
Why should you apply?
🚀 GESAwards is the premier platform for EdTech innovators to gain the ecosystem's recognition.
🌎 GESAwards community spans the globe, providing a unique opportunity for international growth.
🌟 Showcase your groundbreaking solutions to an audience of educators, investors, and industry leaders.
Take your EdTech venture to new heights and apply here!
Worth Reading:
5 UNESCO guidelines/guidance on digital learning
EU Commission´s Policy Reports:
Council of Europe:
The World Intellectual Property Organization´s (WIPO) Global Innovation Index 2023
HundrED´s "The Messy Middle: Implementing Education Innovations at Scale"
FUNDRAISING:
Dutch Lepaya, a corporate upskilling provider, secured 36m € to enhance its AI tools and data analysis capabilities. The investment will support tailored learning content.
Berlin-based PowerUs raised 24m € to further develop its career platform for electronics technicians and plant mechanics.
Berlin-based Cleverly raised 8.6m € for its digital 1-to-1 coaching supporting children and teens with personal and academic skills.
Correcto, a Spain-based platform offering real-time language and spelling solutions and corrections for written Spanish through AI, secured 6.5m €.
Gizmo, a generative AI learning startup that uses gamified quizzes to engage learners, today announced 3.4m € to scale its platform globally, hire more engineers and roll out new features.
London-based StudentCrowd, a decision-making platform for higher education secured 2.9m € to prepare for international expansion.
London-based Morphoses secured 2.1m € for its platform offering a gamified learning experience for soft skills development in young people.
Denish Swap Language, a language training provider, secured 2m € to expand its services into the German market.
French Wheel of Work platform raised 2m € to connect freelancers with businesses.
French La Taloche, a boot camp provider in the construction industry, raised 1.8m €
Upcoming Events, click on links for more information and tickets:
10th-12th October: EDUtech Europe in Amsterdam, Netherlands - Agenda & Registration!
19th October: Heilbronn Slush'D in Heilbronn, Germany - Programme & Tickets!
25th-27th October: European Big Data Value Forum in Valencia, Spain - Programme
Check out our members’ newsletter:
This newsletter is written and produced by the European Edtech Alliance. The European Edtech Alliance is a consortium of national trade associations and clusters working with founders and providers of education technology (Edtech), to support the domestic and international growth of these businesses and the innovations they represent.