Before the global coronavirus boom in 2020, education was supposed to be one of the more traditional industries with minimal technological developments. But along came COVID-19 which not only changed the face of education, but also brought about advancements and digitization that had not been anticipated before. Concepts like Virtual Classrooms, Artificial Intelligence and Augmented Reality – which seemed like distant dreams just yesterday started getting adopted as part of the curriculum and general learning strategies. In short, it would not be wrong to say that Covid-19 jump started the digital revolution of the education sector which followed in 2021 and 2022.

The past two years’ events have had a tremendous effect on the adoption of new technologies in the education sector. In 2021, the EdTech market was valued at $254.80 billion, and experts suggest it might reach more than $600 billion by 2027. EdTech’s primary aim should be to help us overcome the most pressing challenges in today’s education. And as of late, the most prominent one is the lack of interest in learning from students. This has resulted in some children falling behind, which is worrying, to say the least.

The EdTech sector holds an immense potential to drive forward the digital transformation and innovation of European education and training. In the last years, the sector is growing at unprecedented speed – investments in 2021 reached 2.7 billion EUR, almost five times from 2020 (according to Global EdTech Venture Capital Funding in 2021, HolonIQ). Thousands of European EdTech companies offer a great diversity of services such as online learning platforms, learning management systems, STEM and coding labs. By creating cutting-edge hardware and software, the sector in transforming the way learning and teaching takes place. While steadily growing, the sector faces challenges related to inadequate funding and tendering mechanisms at national level, difficulties with scaling-up operations across borders and globally as well as limited capacity and trust of education and training institutions to cooperate with the sector in a structured manner. We need to therefore empower education innovators and reignite a pioneering spirit in education, so that the strong roots and values of European education can not only withstand but also thrive in the digital age.

Focus on outcome and transition to e-learning

In the first round of expansion, online education focused on platforms and delivery. Today, the focus is on content and outcomes. Since online learners access the programmes at an individual level from a time and place of their convenience, it is necessary to reorient the online education approach to a more personal level. The new changes are towards improving learner-centric personalisation and outcome-oriented deliveries.

A rapid surge in the adoption of online learning methods has been witnessed owing to benefits, such as improved focus, convenience, and cost-effectiveness. Furthermore, online learning enables both learners and tutors to enhance their productivity and efficiency. The partnerships and collaborations among mobile app developers and content providers have led to the introduction of smart learning solutions. The market is expected to demonstrate considerable growth over the forecast period owing to the massive adoption of these services by school students and corporate professionals.

The on-demand segment led the market in 2021 accounting for more than 76% share of the global revenue. The coronavirus pandemic has also surged the growth of on-demand online tutoring due to the nationwide school closure. On-demand tutoring combined with analytics applications helps tutors and content providers obtain real-time information on the learner’s progress. Thus, the rapidly growing adoption of customized and personalized learning is driving the segment growth positively. Structured online tutoring involves real-time interaction between the students and the tutor.

The Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) courses segment dominated the market and accounted for more than 62% share of the global revenue in 2021. Some school districts have formed partnerships with digital learning platforms to offer local educational broadcasts focused on different STEM courses grade levels. For instance, in January 2022, Vedantu, an interactive online tutoring platform for students, influenced over 40 million students in more than 500 cities worldwide. The platform functions as a knowledge network, allowing any learner to connect with a teacher directly and learn in a personalized manner.

The other courses segment includes tutorials and courses on lifestyle, skill trades, marketing, business, finance, and music. It is anticipated to register a noticeable growth rate over the forecast period. The segment growth can be attributed to the growing prominence of short-term diploma courses in coding and business-related subjects among corporate professionals. For instance, in March 2022, Amazon stated that it is expanding upskilling possibilities for hourly workers in the United States by collaborating with over 140 universities and colleges to offer fully funded college tuition. The statement is part of the firm’s continuous improvements to Career Choice, an Amazon upskilling program aimed to assist frontline employees in developing skills for future success at Amazon or anywhere.