24/04/2025

Initiating the European dialogue on EdTech testbeds

Kicking off an exciting chapter for EdTech in Europe! EmpowerED, the Global EdTech Testbed Network (GETN), and EdTech Station hosted an exclusive event to initiate the European dialogue on EdTech testbeds, in Kortrijk (Belgium).

The event brought together representatives of 7 testing ecosystems in Europe – Belgium, Finland, Ireland, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland – in an exciting ‘testbed safari’ that introduced all participants to different frameworks and practices around testing ecosystems. And indeed, testbeds can exist in all shapes and sizes. A testbed can be:

• Run by 1 person (CH) or a large team (IE)
• A physical space (NL), a mobile unit that can visit schools (FI) or a virtual platform to connect educational and technological expertise (SE)
• Based on collaborations at a national level (LT, BE) or at a regional level (FI)
• Funded by long-term national funding (NL) or based on income from members (CH, IE, SE)

The bottom line is that testing ecosystems are necessary to ensure the development of meaningful EdTech solutions. This should not be conflated with serving the interests of EdTech developers who want to sell their products. This is first and foremost to serve educators and learners. In many of the examples we saw in Kortrijk, the process was in fact initiated by schools, who presented their needs to the testbed and then met EdTech developers to work on those needs.

Testing ecosystems are about building trust for the mutual goal of ‘better learning’.

Do you want to learn more about how EdTech testing ecosystems work? Read our blog posts on:

• DNA of innovation: The 'triple helix model' for collaborative EdTech testing environments
• Three steps for planning your EdTech product validation journey
• Beyond the classroom: preparing educators to be at the forefront of EdTech design

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