June 28, 2022

European Commission Calls for Integrated Approach to EdTech

A At a recently held EdTechX Summit, participants rallied for a more integrated approach to EdTech communication with the educational sector. The conference was held on the 23rd of June 2022, and during the event, participants and speakers called for integrated public- private partnership approach to learning.

Georgi Dimitrov, Head of the European Commission's digital education unit, updated the media before the annual EdTechX Conference in London about the components to be considered moving forward. He told the press, “Sometimes if you talk to a minister [regarding EdTech] you get one impression, but if you talk to a start-up, you get a different impression.”

…due to the lack of funding, however, and the fact that we were covering costs ourselves, our NGO almost bankrupted itself because we didn’t get the extra funding that was needed to be able to pay teachers’ salaries...

Mr. Dimitrov also focused on the two new digital education hubs in his keynote speech, both of which will result in positive change for the edtech sector and student experience. The first, announced on June 1, was the Ukrainian School Hub, which would provide access to educational resources for Ukrainian students through a collaboration between the European edtech sector and the Finnish Ministry of Education. The second program was the new European Digital Education Hub, it was released on the day the Summit launched.

At the summit, there were other speakers who shared their inputs on the topic, one of them was Yuriy Balkin of the Optima Education Group. Speaking remotely from Kiev, he said, “At the start of the war, we hired Ukraine refugee teachers to teach students.”

Another participant, Ms. Maria Rahamägi, founder of Ukrainian-Estonian company Edumus further added, “We have continued to teach them in their mother tongue. Due to the lack of funding, however, and the fact that we were covering costs ourselves, our NGO almost bankrupted itself because we didn’t get the extra funding that was needed to be able to pay teachers’ salaries. This is a common theme that we’ve seen.”

Anne Marie Imafidon MBE, who started the Stemettes, a social enterprise striving to empower young women and non-binary individuals up to the age of 25, closed out the conference by saying, “Equitable practice isn’t actually just about equality, but it’s about how we can recognise the learner, recognise different types of folks on our platform and ensure we’re hearing from and working with them. It’s co-creating educational experiences that is a really great opportunity for you as you educate for the future.”

Posted in News and tagged News, London, European Commission, EdTechX Summit, Ukrainian School Hub, European Digital Education Hub
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