Promoting European innovation in education

Outcomes and deliverables

The project will support closer collaboration in the digital education sector in Europe amongst European EdTech start-ups/SMEs and other relevant stakeholders and across Europe. It will foster the exchange of good practices at pan-European level, aiming at increased capacities of the national education systems and at distance, innovative, effective and inclusive learning. It will also foster increased opportunities for the European EdTech industry, while promoting European ethical values regarding the use of educational technologies and data shared in Europe. It will contribute to increasing synergies and complementarity between initiatives in digital education, in particular in view of the Erasmus programme and Horizon Europe. It will also help the education sector to be better prepared for possible future crisis such as additional lock-downs to due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

This action will support the digital transformation of the education sector at European level by boosting innovation in education in Europe by supporting EdTech start-ups and SMEs to accelerate their disruptive EdTech solutions. The project will support the strategic priority of the Digital Education Action Plan 2021-2027 and in full synergy with, and complementarity to, the objective of setting up a European Digital Education Hub and in line with the European Education Area framework.

The selected project will:

• Host a pan-European network to promote European excellence in educational innovation by bringing together European EdTech start-ups/SMEs, with other relevant actors such as technology providers, industry associations and investors, policy makers and ministries, schools, teachers, universities, research organisations, experts and NGOs, and linking this network to other existing pan-European networks/fora.
• Support cooperation between EdTech start-ups/SMEs and other stakeholders of a maximum number of Member States and Associated countries to exchange best practises, analyse successful applications of digital technologies and potential market uptake, explore lessons learned during and after the Covid-19 crisis. This should be done in close cooperation with the development of the European Education Area.
• Support EdTech companies with business and educational mentoring and training services and by gaining insights and understanding market trends and needs by collecting comprehensive and high-value up-to-date data to better understand the EdTech start-ups/SMEs landscape in Europe.
• Develop guidelines aiming at fostering a wider European EdTech industry for the development of digital education content, solutions and tools, in light of technological needs (connectivity, platforms, interoperability, standardisation, security and privacy issues, use of emerging technologies such as AI or data) as well as pedagogical, societal and ethical aspects, based on relevant scientific evidence and in consultation with European Education area stakeholders.
• Propose a roadmap towards a European EdTech ecosystem promoting European excellence in educational innovation, including how local, regional, national and European efforts can be combined.