The European edtech sector is having 'a main character moment', and while Covid played no small part in its rise to fame, the ecosystems in Europe and the confidence in the sector through VC funding are playing their part to keep the 'swagger' in the sector.
We’ll be having a good chat about the edtech sector at this year’s Tech.eu Summit - in the form of a panel discussion on how we keep on top of the pace of change in technology, and the demands put on edtech by the skills gap.
Ahead of the event we grabbed a word with panellist Svenia Busson, who is co-founder of the European Edtech Alliance, she gave a run through of the current state of the sector and where the gaps are that need filled.
Speaking about the positivity in the sector - now it has edtech dedicated VC funds in Emerge Education, Brighteye Ventures, EduCapital and Sparkmind.vc - Busson says, “it’s a very great sign for the ecosystem to have funds that are sector focused - it means that the sector is growing and that's a very positive sign.”
In order to keep up with the rapid pace of change in the technology sector, schools need to implement these technologies onto the curriculum but there is still a while to go to get everyone on board.
"The European Edtech Alliance, which I chair, we are really trying to get policies involved - a lot of public policy task forces to really work with the governments but also the European Commission - to get there and try to make sure that we have the right policies in place to adopt these amazing tools," says Busson.
There is one area which is severely lacking, and Busson is quick to point it out - there is a skills gap between the third level education sector and the workforce. This is something that the edtech sector can certainly respond to.
"We really need innovations in post-secondary - that gap between post-secondary and the workplace - right now we have a huge skills gap, jobs in the workplace cannot be filled because people who are leaving the higher education system don't have the right skills to be efficient in these jobs and often they need retrained,” she says.
“Higher education institutions are not agile enough - they should change their curriculum every year because skills are developing so fast, so many skills become obsolete and new skills become necessary,” she adds.
We will discussing edtech solutions to the skills gap, how edtech companies themselves keep up with the demands future technologies are putting on them, and lots more, at the Tech.eu Summit.
Join us to become part of the conversation in Brussels on 24th May 2023. See you then.
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