close
close

DACH education ‘AI-ready’ as parents demand next phase of innovation

Posted on by angelo
DACH education ‘AI-ready’ as parents demand next phase of innovation

Two-thirds of parents in Austria (66%) and Germany (65%) believe that artificial intelligence (AI) is a very effective educational tool, compared to just 53% in the UK and 45% in France.

According to GoStudent 2024Report on the future of education, The DACH region is at the forefront of automated and technology-driven education, helping to improve aspects of lesson planning, post-lesson assessments and provide a more diverse range of tutoring methods.

Felix Ohswald, co-founder and CEO of GoStudent, admitted to being surprised by this continent-wide technological advancement. “I grew up in Vienna and that’s certainly not how I perceived the culture or the attitude growing up,” he says.

And his surprise seems justified at first glance. Just a year ago, only 48% of children in Germany and 51% in Austria felt confident about life in a world with new technologies, less than in any other region in Europe. By 2024, these figures had increased considerably to 73% in both cases.

Clearly, children in DACH countries are becoming increasingly familiar with the notion of innovation in their daily lives, and parents are responding accordingly by demanding its stronger introduction in educational environments. The final piece of the puzzle is now for the sector itself to explore more alternative digitalised modes of teaching.

Change voice

GoStudent’s advocacy for greater digital disruption across the education spectrum – not just in schools, but across broader teaching platforms and scenarios – hasn’t necessarily reflected a level of acceptance that already exists.

Despite rapid growth globally, much of Ohswald’s work since founding the company in 2015 has been convincing parents, teachers, students and even governments that the sector was ripe for change and digital intervention.

“It’s not easy,” he says. “It’s not just about selling a technology, but in some cases it’s about changing a culture and a way of doing things.”

“For example, in Germany, if a family earns below a certain threshold, they are eligible for subsidies for tutoring, but all of that tutoring happens offline… all the administration around it is about offline processes.

“It’s very difficult to change something that is so deeply ingrained, and that’s why it can’t just come from us and our solutions. It also requires parents and students to be clear that they want technology and that they want a reasonable transition to online learning when it’s appropriate.”

“Our annual Education Report gives these groups a voice, and it’s interesting to see how that voice has changed in the DACH region, even over the past year.”

Ohswald notes other cultural barriers such as fears about data privacy, but he has also seen signs of changing attitudes among national policymakers toward digital intervention in the sector.

“The path to ‘digital first’ is increasingly clear,” he explains. “Initiatives like Germany’s Digital Act are accelerating the implementation of digital infrastructure in schools, which will increase children’s exposure to technology, which may be another reason why they and their parents are demanding even more tools like AI.”

Attracted by the alternative

In the DACH region in particular, it is this latter demographic of parents who appear to be leading the charge in 2024.

While students’ familiarity with new technologies such as tablets is generally good, the introduction of more intuitive, automated or advanced tools still raises questions in general. However, this is less the case in this area of ​​Central Europe.

In Germany and Austria, 40% of parents in France and 50% in the UK and Spain would like to see more use of virtual reality (VR) as an educational tool. Similarly, 67% of Austrian parents would be in favour of a greater role for the metaverse, compared to much lower figures in Italy, Spain, France and the UK.

“When you’re talking about alternative forms of service, outside of the traditional expectations of schools, parent buy-in is absolutely vital,” Ohswald notes. “Historically, we launched GoStudent with kids in mind, but we quickly evolved our model to target parents first because we realized that they are the decision makers and they are the ones who are going to demand more from schools or government.”

“It is therefore interesting to see that DACH countries are so open to alternative educational technologies like virtual reality and the metaverse for their children, having already made their case for AI as well.”

Guiding through the digital forest

This year Education Report is the third part of GoStudent, whose logic is still the same as at the end of 2021, when the first one was released: assess the expectations and wishes of students and parents before integrating them into the direct communication that a growing number of specialized tutors around the world already benefit from. The expected result remains a more diversified, digitalized and tailor-made educational offer, which thrives in tandem with traditional institutions and practices.

“I think there’s a fundamental mistake in education: We listen to everyone except young people,” Ohswald continues. “They’re often the ones with the best ideas, the ones who are most open to new concepts, and the ones who are willing to share their frustrations with their current situation. Parents are often the best placed to know how their children will learn or absorb information.”

For GoStudent as a service provider, there is then a step to take to try to meet the request shared via the report.

“In 2023, the focus was on virtual reality, and we responded to that demand with GoStudent VR. In 2024, the focus was on AI, an area where we are already very active in improving the student and tutor experience. Once again, we responded with GoStudent Learning and our AI tutor, Amelia,” Ohswald explains.

“We see ourselves more as a guide. We don’t tell people what to say in this report. On the contrary, parents and students are actively telling us that they want more digitalization in education. So our role is to help navigate this vast forest of rapid technological developments, so that innovation actually meets these demands and facilitates the teaching process.

“Technology, especially in education, needs to stay relevant and not become too abstract. The report helps us to steer the right solutions based on people’s highest expectations. In the DACH region, perhaps to our surprise, people want VR, the metaverse and AI. We, as an industry as a whole, should be listening.”