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DACH education ‘ready for AI’ as parents call for next phase of innovation
A rallying cry for digital intervention in the sector across the DACH region could set the tone for a continental shift towards more dynamic and intuitive learning in the years to come
Two-thirds of parents across Austria (66%) and Germany (65%) believe that artificial intelligence (AI) is a highly effective educational tool, compared with only 53% in the UK and 45% in France.
According to GoStudent’s 2024 Future of education report, the DACH region is leading the charge towards automated and tech-driven education, helping to improve aspects of lesson planning, after-lesson reviews, and to provide a more diverse range of tutoring methods.
GoStudent’s co-founder and CEO Felix Ohswald admitted he was surprised by this continent-leading drive towards technology. “I grew up in Vienna, and that’s certainly not how I perceived the culture or attitude growing up,” he says.
And his surprise seems valid at first glance. Only one year previously, just 48% of children in Germany and 51% in Austria felt confident about living in a world with new technologies – lower than in any other region of Europe. In 2024, those numbers have jumped dramatically to 73% in both cases.
Clearly, children in DACH are becoming more familiar with the notion of innovation in their everyday lives, and parents are responding in kind by calling for its stronger introduction to education settings. The final piece of the jigsaw now, is for the sector itself to explore more alternative digitised modes of education provision.
Changing voices
GoStudent’s advocacy for greater digital disruption across the education spectrum – not just in schools, but also across wider teaching platforms and scenarios – hasn’t necessarily reflected a level of acceptance that already exists.
Despite growing at a rapid rate worldwide, much of Ohswald’s work since the company’s inception in 2015 has been to convince parents, teachers, students and even governments that the sector is ripe for change and digital intervention.
“It’s not easy,” he says. “You’re not just selling a technology, but in some cases you’re trying to change a culture and a set way of doing things.
“For example, in Germany, if a family earns below a certain threshold, they are eligible for tutoring subsidies, but all of that tutoring happens offline… all of the admin around it is for offline processes.
“Changing something so deep rooted is very difficult, and that’s why it can’t just come from us with our solutions. It also needs to come from parents and students saying clearly that they want technology, and they want a sensible transition to online where suitable.
“Our yearly Education report gives those groups that 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 hurdles such as fears around data privacy, but has also seen signs of a change of attitude among national decision makers towards digital intervention in the sector.
“There’s more of a clear ‘digital first’ path being laid out,” he explains. “Initiatives like The Digital Act in Germany are fast-tracking digital infrastructure in schools, which will be increasing exposure of technologies to children, which may be another reason why they, and their parents, are calling for even more tools such as AI.”
Attracted to the alternative
In the DACH region specifically, it is that latter parent demographic that seems to be leading the charge in 2024.
While familiarity with new technologies such as tablets among students is strong across the board, the introduction of more intuitive, automated or advanced tools still have question marks around them in general. Less so in this Central European zone, however.
Compared to 40% in France and 50% in the UK and Spain, around two-thirds of parents would like to see more use of virtual reality (VR) as an educational tool across Germany and Austria. Similarly, 67% of parents in Austria would welcome a stronger role for the metaverse, compared with much lower numbers in Italy, Spain, France and the UK.
“When you’re talking about alternative forms of service, outside of the traditional school expectation, the buy-in of parents is absolutely vital,” Ohswald notes. “Historically, we started GoStudent by targeting children, but quickly pivoted our model to first target parents as we realised that they are the decision-makers, and they are the people who will demand better from schools or government.
“So, it is interesting that, in DACH, they are so open to such alternative education technologies like VR and the metaverse for their children, after already making their case for AI as well.”
Guiding through the digital forest
This year’s Education report is GoStudent’s third instalment, with the rationale behind it still the same as in late 2021 when the first was released – to gauge the expectations and wishes of students and parents before dovetailing that with the direct communication already enjoyed with a growing number of specialist tutors around the world. The intended outcome remains a more diverse, digitised and bespoke provision of education, thriving in tandem with traditional institutions and practices.
“There is such a fundamental mistake in education typically, I believe, where we listen to everyone but the young people,” Ohswald continues. “They often have the best ideas, are more open to new concepts and are willing to share frustrations about their current situations. A step back from that are their parents who often know best how their children will learn or take in information.”
For GoStudent as a service provider, there is then a step they need to take to try and meet the demand that is being shared through the report.
“A lot of the focus in 2023 was on VR, and we responded with GoStudent VR. In 2024, it has been a lot around AI – a space we’re already very active in to augment the student-tutor experience. Again, we responded with GoStudent Learning and our AI tutor, Amelia,” says Ohswald.
“We more see ourselves as a guide, really. We’re not telling people what to say in this report. Rather, parents and students are actively telling us that they want more digitisation in education. Our role then is to help navigate through this big forest of rapid technological development, so that innovation is actually meeting those demands and helping the teaching process.
“Technology, especially in education, must stay relevant and can’t become too abstract. The report helps us guide the right solutions to what people most want. In DACH, perhaps to our surprise, they want VR, they want the metaverse, and they want AI. We, as a whole industry, should listen.”
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