COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS on the Digital Education Action Plan
Date: 2018-01-17
Institutions: Directorate-General for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture, European Commission
Subjects: action programme, cooperation in the field of education, digital technology, education policy, educational reform, educational system, new educational methods, vocational training

EN 

  EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 17.1.2018 COM(2018) 22 final  COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS   on the Digital Education Action Plan {SWD(2018) 12 final}  
 
 
1. Introduction 

Education and training are the best investments in Europe’s future. They play a vital role in 
boosting growth, innovation and job creation. Europe’s education and training systems need 
to give people the forward-looking knowledge, skills and competences they need to innovate 
and prosper. They also have an important role to play in creating a European identity, building 
on common values and cultures. Education should help empower young people to articulate 
and  engage,  participate  and  shape  the  future  of  a  Europe  characterised  by  democracy, 
solidarity and inclusion. Digital technology enriches learning in a variety of ways and offers 
learning  opportunities,  which  must  be  accessible  to  all.  It  opens  up  access  to  a  wealth  of 
information and resources.  

In  the  Rome  Declaration  of  March  2017,  EU  Member  States  stressed  their  commitment  to 
providing young people with the ‘best education and training’. The October 2017 European 
Council  called  for  training  and  education  systems  to  be  ‘fit  for  the  digital  age’1.  At  the 
November  2017  Gothenburg  Summit,  the  Parliament,  the  Council  and  the  Commission 
proclaimed  the  European  Pillar  of  Social  Rights,  which  enshrines  the  right  to  quality  and 
inclusive  education,  training  and  life-long  learning.  The  Communication  ‘Strengthening 
European Identity through Education and Culture2, the Commission’s contribution to the 
EU Leader's Agenda discussion on education and culture at the Gothenburg Summit, sets out 
a vision for a European Education Area and announced a dedicated Digital Education Action 
Plan. 

The Commission will host the first European Education Summit in January 2018 with a broad 
theme  of  ‘Laying  the  foundations  of  the  European  Education  Area:  for  an  innovative, 
inclusive and values  based education’. As part of delivering on  the  New  Skills  Agenda for 
Europe3, the Commission will propose a revised European Reference Framework of Key 
Competences for Lifelong Learning4 that sets out the knowledge, skills and attitudes people 
need  for  life,  including  digital  competence.    This  Action  Plan  sets  out  how  education  and 
training systems can make better use of innovation and digital technology and support the 
development  of  relevant  digital  competences  needed  for  life  and  work  in  an  age  of  rapid 
digital change. The Action Plan has a specific focus on initial education and training systems 
and covers schools, vocational education and training (VET) and higher education. 

2. Challenges and opportunities of digital transformation for education 

Europe’s  digital  transformation  will  accelerate  with  the  rapid  advance  of  new  technologies 
like  artificial  intelligence,  robotics,  cloud  computing  and  blockchain.  Like  previous  major 
technological advances, digitisation affects how people live, interact, study and work. Some 
jobs  will  disappear,  others  will  be  replaced,  new  jobs  will  be  created,  many  jobs  and 

1 EUCO 14/17: European Council conclusions of 19 October 2017. 
2 COM(2017) 673: Strengthening European Identity through Education and Culture. 
3 COM(2016) 381: A New Skills Agenda for Europe. 
4 COM(2018) 24: Proposal for a Council Recommendation on Key Competences for Lifelong Learning. 

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industries will be transformed and new activities will emerge5. This makes investing in one’s 
digital skills throughout life of the utmost importance. 

While there are many opportunities arising from digital transformation, the biggest risk today 
is  of  a  society  ill-prepared  for  the  future.  If  education  is  to  be  the  backbone  of  growth  and 
inclusion in the EU, a key task is preparing citizens to make the most of the opportunities and 
meet the challenges of a fast-moving, globalised and interconnected world. 

Reform  efforts  continue  every  year,  yet  a  persistent  divide  exists  between  and  within  EU 
Member  States,  in  particular  regarding  digital  infrastructure  and  skills,  all  of  which  hinders 
inclusive growth. Vulnerable groups are particularly affected by this situation. In addition, the 
lack  of  interest  among  girls  to  pursue  studies  information  and  communication  technologies 
(ICT)  and  science,  technology,  engineering  and  mathematics  (STEM)  remains  a  clear 
problem.  This  leads  to  lost  social  and  economic  opportunities  and  risks  reinforcing  gender 
inequality. 

Education can benefit from opening classrooms, real-life experiences and projects, and from 
new learning tools, materials and open educational resources. Learners can be empowered by 
online  collaboration.  Access  to  and  the  use  of  digital  technologies  can  help  reduce  the 
learning gap between students from high and low socioeconomic backgrounds. Personalised 
teaching  can  result  in  increased  motivation  by  focusing  on  individual  learners.  However 
progress on integrating technology in education remains limited. 

More  than  80 %  of  young  people  in  Europe  use  the  internet  for  social  activities6.  Mobile 
access  to  the  internet  significantly  increased  over  the  last  years7.  But  use  of  technology  for 
educational  purposes  lags  behind.  Not  all  primary  and  secondary  schools  in  the  EU  have 
broadband  connections  and  not  all  educators  have  the  competences  and  confidence  to  use 
digital tools to support their teaching8. A recent study showed that in 2015 an estimated 18 % 
of primary and secondary schools in the EU were not connected to broadband9.  

Innovation  in  education  systems,  understood  as  the  adoption  of  new  services,  technologies, 
competences  by  education  organisations,  can  help  to  improve  learning  outcomes,  enhance 
equity and improve efficiency10. It is most effective and sustainable when embraced by well-
trained teachers and embedded in clear teaching goals. More needs to be done on how to best 
use digital means to reach education objectives. 

Digital  advances  also  bring  new  challenges  for  Europe’s  pupils,  students  and  teachers. 
Algorithms used by social media sites and news portals can be powerful amplifiers of bias or 

5 European Commission (2017): A concept paper on digitisation, employability and inclusiveness. The role of Europe, 
http://ec.europa.eu/newsroom/document.cfm?doc_id=44515.  
6  Eurostat (2015): Being young in Europe today - digital world, http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-
explained/index.php/Being_young_in_Europe_today_-_digital_world. 
7  Enders Analysis (2017): Children's changing video habits and implications for the content market. 
8  European Commission (2013): Survey of Schools: ICT in Education Benchmarking Access, Use and Attitudes to Technology in Europe’s 
Schools, https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/news/survey-schools-ict-education 
9 European Commission (2017): Satellite broadband for schools: Feasibility study, 
 http://ec.europa.eu/newsroom/document.cfm?doc_id=46134. 
10  OECD (2016): Innovating Education and Education for Innovation. The Power of Digital Technologies and Skills.  

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fake news, while data privacy has become a key concern in the digital society. Young people 
as  well  as  adults  are  vulnerable  to  cyber  bullying  and  harassment,  predatory  behaviour  or 
disturbing  online  content.  Everyday  exposure  to  digital  data  driven  largely  by  inscrutable 
algorithms creates clear risks and requires more than ever critical thinking and the ability to 
engage positively and competently in the digital environment. We face a constantly evolving 
need  for  media  literacy  and  a  wide  mix  of  digital  skills  and  competences  including  safety, 
security and privacy, but getting them to the wider population and more advanced professions 
and sectors remains a challenge. 

3. The key role of EU-wide cooperation in scaling up innovation in EU Member States’ 
education and training systems 

EU-wide cooperation through exchange of best practice, peer learning and evidence sharing is 
a  proven  way  to  support  EU  Member  States’  education  and  training  systems.  Common 
frameworks  help  identify  effective  solutions  while  shared  tools  such  as  eTwinning  increase 
efficiency  and  broaden  impact.  Innovative  practices  in  education,  in  particular  digital  ones, 
are taking place across the EU. These take various forms and involve public, private and non-
governmental  actors.  However,  innovation  in  education  systems  is  not  an  end  it  itself  but  a 
way to improve the quality and inclusiveness of education systems. 

Evidence  from  the  European  Institute  of  Innovation  and  Technology  (EIT)  has  shown  that 
rather than waiting for change to happen, stakeholders are actively using digital opportunities 
to  enhance  teaching  and  learning11.  Innovative  and  entrepreneurial  spirit  in  education  and 
training should be fostered and supported with clear political willingness and effort to make 
innovation  work  for  everybody.  There  is  a  need  to  share,  discuss  and  promote  and,  where 
possible, scale up innovative practice. Concepts, tools, methods, processes, systemic thinking 
and design thinking need to be more accessible to education professionals who are usually not 
fully aware of what is tried and tested elsewhere, sometimes even next door. 

EU-level data and evidence contribute to  better transparency, while  measuring progress  and 
learning from peers across EU Member States. There are many studies and surveys linked to 
the use  of technology in schools. However, most are either partial, covering,  say, a specific 
area  such  as  connectivity,  or  are  geographically  limited,  covering  a  particular  country.  The 
main  sources  of  benchmarking  at  global  level  are  the  European  Commission’s  surveys 
including  the  2013  ICT  in  Education  survey  and  the  annual  survey  on  ICT  usage  by 
households  and  individuals,  and  the  OECD’s  Programme  for  International  Student 
Assessment  (PISA)  and  Survey  of  Adult  Skills  (PIAAC)  studies.  There  is  a  need  for  more 
evidence and a coherent approach towards data collection. 

The  education  and  training  stakeholders  are  the  key  players  in  making  innovations 
mainstream.  Recent  public  consultations  stressed  the  need  for  more  dedicated  EU  action  to 
support the adoption of innovative approaches and digital technologies in education, and the 
development  of  digital  competences,  including  digital  media  literacy  and  digital  safety  and 

11  European Commission (2017) 351: Commission Staff Working Document on the interim evaluation of the European Institute of 
Innovation and Technology.  

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well-being12.  68 %  of  respondents  to  the  public  consultation  on  Erasmus+  recognised  that 
innovation  is  ‘extremely  relevant’  for  meeting  the  education  sector's  needs.  There  is  also  a 
clear need to: (i) boost entrepreneurial competences and an entrepreneurial mind-set; and (ii) 
support  digital  entrepreneurship,  which  embraces  new  ventures  and  the  transformation  of 
existing businesses through new and emerging digital technologies. 

The Digital Education Action Plan builds on the two Communications adopted in May 2017: 
A renewed EU Agenda for Higher Education and School development and excellent teaching 
for  a  great  start  in  life13.  It  supports  the  work  on  the  Digital  Single  Market14  and  the  New 
Skills Agenda for Europe.  

The Action Plan takes further the call of the Reflection Paper on Harnessing Globalisation for 
society to become ‘increasingly mobile and digital as well as […] providing the right blend of 
‘soft  skills’  as  well  as  robust  digital  skills’.  It  called  for  education  to  help  strengthen 
resilience  in  times  of  rapid  technological  change  and  globalisation.  The  Action  Plan  is 
aligned with the G-20 Digital Economy Ministerial Declaration in 2017 which shows a global 
recognition that ‘all forms of education and lifelong learning may need to be adjusted to take 
advantage of new digital technologies’. 

These  documents  outline  a  number  of  relevant  policy  objectives,  which  remain  more  valid 
than ever. These include:  

improving its relevance;  

  support for high-quality education;  
 
  developing Europeans’ digital skills and making them more visible;  
  boosting innovation and digital competences in all education institutions;  
  opening up education systems. 

4. Priorities for action  

The Action Plan focuses on implementation and the  need to stimulate, support and scale up 
purposeful use of digital and innovative education practices. It will draw on a wide range of 
education  and  training  stakeholders  including  business,  research,  NGOs,  as  well  as,  non-
formal education where relevant. It has three priorities: 

  1: Making better use of digital technology for teaching and learning 
  2: Developing relevant digital competences and skills for the digital transformation 
  3: Improving education through better data analysis and foresight 

For each priority,  the  Action Plan sets out measures  to help EU Member States address the 
challenges. These include: (i) providing tools to help educators and trainers make better use of 

12  Public consultations for the Review of the Key Competences for Lifelong Learning and the Renewed EU Agenda for the Modernisation of 
Higher Education.  
13 COM (2017) 248: School development and excellent teaching for a great start in life and COM (2017) 247: A renewed higher education 
strategy. 
14 COM(2015) 192: A Digital Single Market Strategy for Europe. 

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technology  including  better  internet  connectivity;  (ii)  targeted  action  to  develop  relevant 
digital competences; (iii) reinforced and new efforts to improve education via better evidence 
and analysis. The Action Plan does not prejudge the forthcoming Commission proposal on the 
new Multiannual Financial Framework and the future funding programmes. 

4.1. Priority 1: Making better use of digital technology for teaching and learning 

Our society and economy are increasingly pervaded by digital technology. Technology in its 
various forms is a large part of our working environment and our lifestyles. However, there is 
a  difference  between  using  digital  technology  in  everyday  life  and  in  education.  Digital 
technology has huge, largely untapped potential for improving education.  

A key part of digital education is ensuring equity and quality of access and infrastructure. 
The digital divide has many dimensions, but improving access to technology and connectivity 
for  all  children  in  education  must  be  a  starting  point  for  reducing  inequality  and  exclusion. 
We also need to address the varying quality of access and infrastructure, as high quality offers 
a more innovative and fulfilling learning experience. 

Innovation  in  education  and  training  depends  greatly  on  empowering  and  connecting 
educators.  Erasmus+  achieves  this  through  peer  learning.  New  expert-led  training  and 
practitioner  workshops  for  both  policymakers  and  educators,  including  the  Platform  of 
European  Associations  of  VET  Providers,  will  further  strengthen  connectedness  by 
developing specific content in multiple languages and by utilising key EU platforms such as 
School Education Gateway and Teacher Academy. Blended mobility will be further promoted 
with  new  opportunities  in  Erasmus+  to  support  both  online  and  face-to  face  learning  and 
exchange for pupils in different countries.  

Digital  readiness  in  education  requires  knowhow  and  involves  adaptation  and  change. 
Schools  and  training  institutions  in  Europe  are  diverse,  with  equipment,  teacher  skills  and 
approaches to technology use varying considerably. There are pockets of innovation in digital 
education throughout Europe. Yet innovative policies and practices need support to be scaled 
up. 

To bring innovation and technology to the classroom, educators need the right environment, 
infrastructure, devices and leadership support. Making digital technology benefit students and 
staff requires an approach that combines teacher training, curricula and educational materials 
that  are  fit  for  digitally-supported  teaching  models.  This  organisation-wide  approach  to 
implementing digital technologies for teaching and learning is reflected in the SELFIE self-
assessment tool, which has been piloted in schools in 14 countries. 

Mobility is an important part of education and digital technology is key for improving it 
further.  Erasmus+  projects such  as  the  European  Student  eCard  and Erasmus  without 

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Papers will be scaled up and integrated with the work on authentication in projects under the 
Connecting Europe Facility15. The aims are to:  

  enable students to identify themselves in a trusted manner, in line with the once-only 

principle16;  

  digitally connect higher education institutions’ information systems;  
  allow secure exchange and verification of student data and academic records;  
 
  enable access to services students are entitled to when arriving in the host country. 

reduce administrative procedures;  

The EU  Student  eCard initiative  aims  to  improve  the  quality  of  student  mobility  in  Europe. 
By 2025 all students in Erasmus+ mobility should be able to have their national identity and 
student status recognised automatically across EU Member States, including access to campus 
services  when  arriving  abroad  (e.g. course  materials,  enrolment  services,  libraries).  20 000 
pupils and 4 000 teachers will receive support for school exchanges to complement and build 
on ongoing digital project work and collaboration. 

The way forward: 

1.  Tackle  the  connectivity  divide  between  EU  Member  States  regarding  the  uptake  of 
very high capacity broadband in all European schools by: (i) raising awareness of the 
benefits for schools and available funding opportunities17; (ii) supporting connectivity 
i.e.  through  a  voucher  scheme  focusing  on  disadvantaged  areas  and  ensuring  full 
implementation of the toolkit for rural areas18; (iii) publishing data about progress. 

2.  Support 

the  digital  readiness  of  both  general  and  vocational  schools  by 
strengthening  their  digital  capacity  and  by  making  the  SELFIE  self-assessment  tool 
reach  one million  teachers,  trainers  and  learners  by  end of  2019 in  all  EU  Member 
States  and  the  Western  Balkans;  promote  a  mentoring  scheme  at  national/regional 
level, supported by an EU-level awareness-raising platform. 

3.  Provide  a  framework  for  issuing  digitally-certified  qualifications  and  validating 
digitally-acquired  skills  that  are  trusted,  multilingual  and  can  be  stored  in 
professional  profiles  (CVs)  such  as  Europass.  The  framework  will  be  fully  aligned 
with  the  European,  Qualifications  Framework  for  Lifelong  Learning  (EQF)  and  the 
European  Classification  of  Skills,  Competences,  Qualifications  and  Occupations 
(ESCO). 

15 Connecting Europe Facility, https://ec.europa.eu/cefdigital/wiki/display/CEFDIGITAL/CEF+Digital+Home.  
16 European Commission (2017), EU-wide digital Once-Only Principle, https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/news/eu-wide-digital-
once-only-principle-citizens-and-businesses-policy-options-and-their-impacts.  
17 Including via the recently created EU network of Broadband Competence Offices. 
18 European Commission (2017): European Commission joins forces to help bringing more broadband in rural areas, 
https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/news/european-commission-joins-forces-help-bringing-more-broadband-rural-areas.  

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4.2.  Priority  2:  Developing  relevant  digital  skills  and  competences  for  the  digital 
transformation 

To  function  and  thrive  in  the  digital  society  and  overcome  digital  risks,  citizens  need 
competences  that  help  them  meet  the  challenges  and  seize  the  opportunities  of  digital 
transformation. Digital skills are a basic skill alongside literacy and numeracy, needed in all 
walks of life, yet too many citizens have limited or outdated digital competences. There is a 
need  to  go  ‘wide’  as  all  citizens  need  to  have  an  understanding,  at  different  levels,  of  the 
different aspects of digital competence, and there is a need to go ‘deep’ for more specialised 
skills in informatics required in the ICT profession. 

Digital  competence  is  a  part  of  the  revised  European  Reference  Framework  of  Key 
Competences for Lifelong Learning which all citizens should have. Digital competence means 
the  confident  and  critical  use  of  digital  technology  and  covers  the  knowledge,  skills  and 
attitudes  that  all  citizens  need  in  a  rapidly  evolving  digital  society.  The  European  Digital 
Competence Framework for Citizens19 describes digital competence in five areas: information 
and  data  literacy;  communication  and  collaboration;  digital  content  and creation;  safety  and 
well-being;  and  problem-solving.  The  recently  published  European  Digital  Competence 
Framework  for  Educators20  offers  educators  guidance  in  developing  digital  competence 
models.  Taken  together,  these  frameworks  offer  an  in-depth  and  usable  reference  model  to 
systematically promote digital competence. 

The digital revolution will continue to dramatically change the way Europeans live, work and 
study.  While  this  offers  tremendous  opportunities,  there  are  also  significant  risks  if  digital 
competences  are  not  developed.  As  part  of  the  Skills  Agenda,  the  Upskilling  Pathways 
initiative recommends that Member States introduce coherent provision to improve the digital 
(and literacy and numeracy) skills of the many millions of low-skilled or low-qualified adults 
- the group in most urgent need. Moreover, an estimated 90 % of jobs nowadays require some 
level of digital skills21 and one significant threat is that Europe will lose its most competitive 
edge  —  a  highly-skilled  and  educated  workforce  —  should  we  fail  to  teach  digital 
competences to Europeans of all ages.  

Acquiring digital skills needs to start at early age and carry on throughout life. This can 
happen as part of educational curricula or through after-school classes. Young Europeans are 
avid users of the web, apps and games but they also need to learn about underlying structures 
and  basic  algorithms,  and  become  digital  creators  and  leaders.  An  example  of  a  successful 
grassroots movement is the EU codeweek.eu initiative, which reached nearly a million people 
around  the  world  in  2016.  Based  on  this  experience,  the  initiative  will  be  scaled  up  to 
encourage  all  schools  in  Europe  to  participate  in  EU  Code  Week  by  collaborating  with 

19 European Commission (2016): Digital Competence Framework for Citizens, https://ec.europa.eu/jrc/en/digcomp/digital-competence-
framework.  
20 European Commission (2017): Digital Competence Framework for Educators, https://ec.europa.eu/jrc/en/digcompedu. 
21 European Commission (2016): ICT for work: Digital skills in the work place, https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/news/ict-work-
digital-skills-workplace.  

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authorities  in  EU  Member  States,  Code  Week  ambassadors,  the  eTwinning  network,  the 
Digital Skills and Jobs Coalition22 and related actions. 

Greater focus must be put on effectively tackling the challenges digital transformation creates 
for  online  safety  and  cyber  hygiene.  We  need  to  strengthen  children’s  and  young  people’s 
critical  thinking  and  media  literacy,  so  they  can  judge  and  overcome  the  ever-present 
threats of fake news, cyber bullying, radicalisation, cybersecurity threats and fraud. Even the 
youngest  children  are  in  daily  contact  with  digital  technologies  yet  do  not  understand  the 
risks, and parents worry about inappropriate content and risks but do not know how to address 
them.  In  parallel,  Europol  reports  a  growing  rate  of  cyberattacks,  data  breaches  and  other 
illegal online activities. In its September Communication on cybersecurity23 the Commission 
called  on  EU  Member  States  to  pledge  to  include  cybersecurity  in  academic  and  vocational 
training curricula. 

Closing the gender gap through digital and entrepreneurship education is vital if Europe 
is  to  fully  embrace  the  benefits  of  the  digital  revolution.  While  both  girls  and  boys  have 
similar levels of interest and competence in digital technologies, fewer girls go on to develop 
this  interest  in  their  studies  or  for  their  career.  Girls  and  young  women  require  positive 
examples,  role  models  and  support  to  overcome  stereotypes  and  realise  that  they  too  can 
embark  on  a  fulfilling  and  successful  career  in  ICT  and  STEM.  Increasing  female 
participation  in  these  careers  will  help  unleash  Europe’s  digital  potential  and  ensure  that 
women take an equal place in shaping the digital world24. In the EU fewer than one in five 
ICT professionals are female25. 

Developing high-skilled ICT professionals is critical for competitiveness26. Advanced digital 
skills  are  important  for  supporting  the  next  generation  of  analysts,  researchers  and 
innovators. Deep digital expertise is necessary for many professions, not just those working 
in  ICT.  For  example,  medical  doctors  analysing  trends  in  the  spread  of  illnesses  need  both 
medical expertise and a wide range of advanced digital competences. More generally, today 
three  out  of  four  researchers  have  no  training  in  open  access  or  open  data  management. 
Citizen-centred research and innovation focused on solving societal challenges should make 
more use of open data and collaborative digital technology tools and methods.  

22 For more information on the Digital Skills and Jobs Coalition see https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/digital-skills-jobs-coalition.  
23 JOIN 2017 (450): Joint Communication of the European Commission and European External Action Service: Resilience, Deterrence and 
Defence: Building strong cybersecurity for the EU. 
24 See SWD, point 2.3. 
25 83.9 % of employed ICT specialists are male, 16.1% female (Eurostat, 2015). 
26  The European e-Competence Framework (e-CF) is a European standard and a reference for the competences required by ICT 
professionals. It is developed and maintained by the European Committee for Standardisation (CEN). 

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The way forward: 

4.  Create  a  Europe-wide  platform  for  digital  higher  education  and  enhanced 
cooperation.  The  new  platform,  supported  by  Erasmus+,  will  serve  as  a  one-stop  -
shop and offer: online learning, blended mobility, virtual campuses and exchange of 
best practices among higher education institutions at all levels (students, researchers, 
educators).  

5.  Strengthen open science and citizen science in Europe by piloting dedicated training, 
including  continuous  professional  development  courses  on  open  science  in  higher 
education institutions at all levels (students, researchers, educators). 

6.  Bring  coding  classes  to  all  schools  in  Europe,  including  by  increasing  schools’ 

participation in EU Code Week. 

7.  Tackle  the  challenges  of  digital  transformation  by  launching:  (i)  an  EU-wide 
awareness-raising  campaign  targeting  educators,  parents  and  learners  to  foster 
online  safety,  cyber  hygiene  and  media  literacy;  and  (ii)  a  cyber-security  teaching 
initiative  building  on  the  Digital  Competence  Framework  for  Citizens,  to  empower 
people to use technology confidently and responsibly. 

8.  Support  measures  to  further  decrease  the  gender  gap  in  the  technology  and 
entrepreneurial sector by promoting digital and entrepreneurial competences among 
girls; mobilise stakeholders (companies, NGOs) to equip girls with digital skills and 
inspirational models, building on the Digital Competence Framework for Citizens and 
the Entrepreneurship Competence Framework. 

4.3. Priority 3: Improving education systems through better data analysis and foresight 

Data  is  vital  for  education  and  training.  Using  technology  creates  data  that  can  be 
exploited. The challenge is how to use this data to develop better insight and foresight that can 
improve  education  systems  or  solve  current  educational  challenges.  As  technological  trends 
like  artificial  intelligence,  automation  and  robotics  are  global,  EU-level  cooperation  can 
provide  useful  guidance  for  all  EU  Member  States  and  help  initiate  collaboration  and 
exchange  on  possible  responses  to  emerging  challenges  that  cross  borders.  Data  collection 
through  surveys  and  studies  on  digitisation  in  education  and  training institutions  and  digital 
to  policymaking.  However,  comparable 
technologies 
comprehensive  data  on  disseminating  technologies  in  educational  systems  is  often  scarce, 
partial  or  not  up-to-date.  This  calls  for  more  efficient  and  effective  data  collection  and 
coordination at EU and international (OECD) level. 

learning  are  vital 

inputs 

in 

Data also helps to identify and address needs for evidence-based required policy measures, 
but  comparative  data  especially  is  rarely  used.  Initiatives  on  digital  education  are  seldom 
compared  with  other  initiatives  and  available  data,  so  little  is  known  about  which  practices 
work in general or can benefit specific societal and education systems. Big data and learning 
analytics offer new opportunities to capture, analyse and use data to improve education. There 

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are many initiatives in different EU Member States to move from a ‘one-size-fits-all’ teaching 
approach in subjects like mathematics to more personalised learning with scope for tailoring 
content to individual pupils’ needs27. Learning analytics can improve personalised learning28, 
e.g.  by  identifying  at-risk  students,  and  can  evaluate  the  impact  of  different  teaching 
strategies.  However,  since  learning  analytics  is  still  in  its  infancy  in  Europe,  we  need  more 
pilot schemes to research and experiment in this field29. 

User-driven  innovation  is  key  for  early  adoption  of  innovation  solutions  that  tackle 
educational challenges. Education data and trends are generally collected in a top-down way, 
led  by  international  organisations  and  governments.  The  user’s  perspective  is  often  not 
sufficiently considered, which could limit the possible solutions to a need. This is especially 
true in an age of user-driven innovation where individuals develop the solutions for problems 
they  face.  In  this  context,  the  Commission  will  explore  ways  of  promoting  citizen 
engagement and user-driven innovation through an annual EU-wide Education Hackathon 
to develop innovation solutions for key education and training challenges. 

Foresight: from lagging behind to anticipating change. Education and training institutions 
are trying to catch up with technological developments. Foresight for education and training 
can  reverse  this  trend  and  engage  educators  (from  policymakers  to  practitioners)  to  lead 
upcoming change.  

The way forward: 

9.  Build  evidence  on  the  uptake  of  ICT  and  digital  skills  in  schools,  by  publishing  a 
reference study  assessing progress in  mainstreaming  ICT in education.  It will cover 
the availability and usage of ICT infrastructure and digital tools and levels of digital 
skills. Together with the next round of the PIAAC survey, the results may feed into an 
update of the Digital Competence Framework30. The Commission will also work with 
the OECD on the development of a new module in PISA on the use of technology in 
education, as well as explore the relevance and feasibility of proposing new Council 
benchmarks for digital competences and entrepreneurship. 

10. Launch artificial intelligence and learning analytics pilots in education as of 2018 to 
make  better  use  of  the  huge  amount  of  data  now  available  and  thus  help  address 
specific  problems  and  improve  implementation  and  monitoring  of  education  policy; 
develop relevant toolkit and guidance for Member States. 

11. Initiate  strategic  foresight  on  key  trends  arising  from  digital  transformation  for  the 
future  of  education  systems,  in  close  cooperation  with  Member  State  experts  and 

27  In  Luxembourg,  for  instance,  the  Ministry  of  National  Education,  Children  and  Youth,  in  support  of  the  ‘Digital  Lëtzebuerg’  strategy, 
launched the MathemaTIC national digital transformational project, which aims to enable students to interact with research-backed, engaging 
resources in mathematics that are tailored to students’ specific needs and aligned to learning outcomes in the curriculum. 
28 COM(2013) 654: Opening up Education: Innovative teaching and learning for all through new Technologies and Open Educational 
Resources. 
29 Ferguson, R., Brasher, A., Clow, D., Cooper, A., Hillaire, G., Mittelmeier, J., Rienties, B., Ullmann, T., Vuorikari, R. (2016). Research 
Evidence on the Use of Learning Analytics — Implications for Education Policy. In: R. Vuorikari, J. Castaño Muñoz (Eds.). Joint Research 
Centre Science for Policy Report; EUR 28294 EN. 
30 See footnotes 19 and 20.  

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making  use  of  existing31  and  future  channels  of  EU-wide  cooperation  on  education 
and training. 

5. Conclusions and outlook 

The  Action  Plan  outlines  European  initiatives  that  the  Commission,  in  partnership  with 
Member States, stakeholders and society, will implement by the end of 2020. It forms part of 
the Commission’s broader ambition towards a European Education Area, complementing the 
Recommendations  on  Common  Values  and  Key  Competences.  The  Action  Plan  will  be 
implemented as part of the European cooperation in education and training (ET2020) process. 
It  will  also  support  the  European  Semester,  which  is  a  key  driver  for  reform  through  the 
education-and training related country-specific recommendations. 

The  Commission  will  launch  dialogue  with  relevant  stakeholders  on  how  to  implement  the 
proposed  actions.  In  the  follow-up  to  implementation,  the  Commission  will  work  with  the 
ET2020  Group  on  Digital  Skills  and  Competences.  The  Commission  will  also  draw  policy 
lessons  from  how  the  actions  are  implemented.  This  will  contribute  to  the  emerging 
discussion on future European cooperation in education and training. 

31 Such as the ET 2020 working groups and big data skills needs and trends as part of the Europass Framework. 

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