WeSchool

🇪🇺 Fragmentation is Europe's biggest EdTech competitor. Last week, I had the honour of representing Italy at the High-Level European EdTech Dialogue at the European Commission in Brussels — a room of 14 CEOs and founders who genuinely care about the future of education. I brought two messages to the table. 1️⃣ Our problem is not technological. It's structural. Linguistic fragmentation, divergent education systems, procurement cycles averaging 9 to 24 months — these are the real barriers keeping European EdTech companies trapped within their own national borders. We experienced this firsthand. When we tried to bring a project combining AI tools with outdoor learning for student wellbeing to schools ouside Italy, the questions we got weren't about learning outcomes or pedagogy. They were: "Why would an Italian company want to run a project like this here?" That question shouldn't even exist in a common European market. 👉🏻 What we need: a federated European education system (and market) and a European validation label for EdTech products — pedagogical quality, but also GDPR and AI Act compliance — so that one country can trust a solution built in another. 2️⃣ Public and private can work well together in education. WeSchool is living proof of that. Yet too often, when a private company wants to engage with schools, the assumption is that there must be a hidden motive. But many businesses understand something simple: schools are where tomorrow's citizens and workforce are formed. They want to invest — not to control the curriculum, but because they know education is where it all begins. And unlike most public grants, private funding tends to be continuous over time — which means projects can actually run long enough to see real impact. 👉🏻 What's missing is not the willingness. It's the infrastructure. Not a networking hub — a working one. A European structure where schools, EdTech companies, and businesses from any sector can build real things together, with validated partnerships designed to last. Grateful to Georgi Dimitrov and Tomislava Recheva for including me in this process. And a sincere thank you to Executive Vice-Presidents Roxana Minzatu and Henna Virkkunen for sharing their vision, priorities, and thinking for the years ahead 🙏 And a final thank you to all the founders and leaders around that table. Different countries, different stories — but the same mission. And together, we're actually moving the needle 💟 Albena Yotova Angela Jafarova Arvid Gilljam Beth Havinga Daniel Rogoz Diana Knodel Dorka Horváth, PhD Feliciea Jibson Guillaume Houzel Märt Aro Michal Hudeček Monika Katkute Ville Valtonen Mads Tvillinggaard Bonde - European Edtech Alliance Eto Kak LTD Datorium Magma Math Kinderpedia fobizz BOOKR Kids PAGS OpenClassrooms WeSchool Labster DreamApply Levebee Vedliai MinnaLearn

🇪🇺 The Race for Europe’s Digital Sovereignty Starts in the Classroom Yesterday, together with my colleague, Executive Vice-President Henna Virkkunen, we launched the High-Level Dialogue with the European EdTech industry. 🔹 We welcomed 14 representatives of leading European EdTech companies at CEO and Founder level - Eto Kak/Intreea (Bulgaria), Datorium (Latvia), Magma Math (Sweden), Kinderpedia (Romania), Fobizz (Germany), BOOKR Kids (Hungary), PAGS (Belgium), OpenClassrooms (France), WeSchool (Italy), Labster (Denmark/Germany), DreamApply (Estonia), Levebee (Czech Republic), Vedliai (Lithuania), and MinnaLearn (Finland) - alongside a representative of the European EdTech Alliance. They shared valuable insights on two key topics: 👉 Current barriers and opportunities, with a particular focus on how EdTech can strengthen European digital sovereignty. 👉 Ways to leverage education–business cooperation, exploring how strategic partnerships can help European EdTech scale and compete both within Europe and globally. 🔹 Why meet them now? At a very practical level, this dialogue provides important input for the Education Package I am preparing, which will be launched in November. A central element of this work will be our 2030 plan for digital education. The coming years will be decisive, not only for our economies and societies, but for every individual. 🔹Engaging with Europe’s EdTech ecosystem and supporting its development is essential as we shape policies for a safer, stronger Union, one that remains human-centric and firmly anchored in its values and social model. Digital platforms, tools, and devices are already transforming people’s lives at an unprecedented pace. With the rise of generative artificial intelligence, we are entering a new era of both immense opportunity and significant disruption, bringing breakthroughs, but also risks and structural change across all sectors. 🔹 Education is no exception. The way we teach and learn is already evolving, and the speed of this transformation is only accelerating. While education systems across EU Member States differ, digital tools and platforms offer a shared space, a powerful European connector and amplifier. They can empower people of all ages to navigate safely and confidently in the age of AI. 🤝 To fully realise this potential, we must strengthen cooperation and act more strategically. We need to prioritise and support European EdTech innovators - startups, developers, and providers alike. They are key stakeholders and trusted partners in building the EU’s much-needed digital sovereignty in a rapidly shifting geopolitical landscape. #commissionerofthepeople 🤝 Thank you everyone for a very insightful discussion: Albena Yotova Angela Jafarova Arvid Gilljam Beth Havinga Daniel Rogoz Diana Knodel Dorka Horváth, PhD Feliciea Jibson Guillaume Houzel Letizia Sbarbaro Märt Aro Michal Hudeček Monika Katkute