Tallinn University strengthens cooperation with EdTech Companies within the EdTech Talents Program
In February, Aija Sakova, Manager of Entrepreneurship Cooperation and Knowledge Transfer at Tallinn University, accompanied by Professor of Mathematics and Computing Education Mart Laanpere and Visiting Research Fellow in Sustainable Education Katrin Männik, visited the Austrian educational technology company MatheArena as part of the EdTech Talents project. They also met with representatives from EdTech Austria, which brings together Austrian EdTech companies, to discuss cooperation between universities and educational technology companies.
According to Aija Sakova, the field of educational technology requires expertise in both technology and learning processes, making collaboration between researchers from various disciplines and industry entrepreneurs particularly important. In addition, EdTech companies must tackle issues related to user-experience and bringing innovative solutions to the education market.
EdTech Austria, which unites nearly 150 educational technology companies in Austria, notes from experience that tensions between universities and industry primarily arise over questions of who hosts the test beds for emerging technologies and who has access to them. Furthermore, entering the education market presents challenges for EdTech companies, in which university researchers can serve as crucial partners.
According to Janika Leoste, principal investigator of EdTech Talents, the impact of artificial intelligence has led to growing resistance to digital learning tools in various European societies, which in turn highlights an even greater need for closer collaboration between EdTech companies and universities.
MatheArena is an educational technology company founded by Eva-Maria Infanger and Gerald Infanger, who are working with vision and dedication to make learning mathematics less frustrating. Their solution is based on the theory of adaptive learning and supports both students and teachers throughout the educational process. In addition, MatheArena has initiated a collaboration with the Austrian publisher Veritas to bring adaptive digital learning tools to as many schools as possible. The company’s goal is to introduce these learning solutions to the Estonian education market as well.
The aim of the EdTech Talents project is to foster a closer dialogue between different sectors. Through extended visits, researchers can work alongside EdTech companies to further develop their research services.
5 March 2025 | by Aija Sakova, Tallinn University
