THE EDTECH MARKET IN FLANDERS - A DESCRIPTIVE ANALYSIS - GHENT UNIVERSITY LIBRARY
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The EdTech market in Flanders A descriptive analysis Word count: 13,615 Robbe Desmyttere Student number: 01505318 Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Mirjam Knockaert A dissertation submitted to Ghent University in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Business Economics: Marketing Academic year: 2018 - 2019
Deze pagina is niet beschikbaar omdat ze persoonsgegevens bevat. Universiteitsbibliotheek Gent, 2021. This page is not available because it contains personal information. Ghent University, Library, 2021.
Table of contents
1. Preface ..............................................................................................................................5
2. Introduction .....................................................................................................................6
3. Definition of Educational Technology .............................................................................6
4. Differences between the regions in the Belgian educational system ...........................7
4.1 Flanders and Wallonia: a history of cultural and political differences ........................7
4.2 Second School War: the cultural divide of the Belgian educational system .............8
4.3 Leuven-Vlaams: the split of the largest Catholic University ....................................9
4.4 The Egmont Pact: the official split of the Belgian federal system ...........................10
4.5 The Belgian federal structure ..................................................................................11
4.6 Repercussions for education and main differences in Belgium ................................11
5. Incentives offered by the Flemish government regarding EdTech ...............................13
5.1 Immersive tech .......................................................................................................15
5.2 Early childhood learning .........................................................................................15
5.3 Coding & technology ...............................................................................................16
5.4 STEM .....................................................................................................................16
5.5 Learning management systems .............................................................................17
5.6 Social-emotional learning ......................................................................................17
5.7 Language learning .................................................................................................18
5.8 Online courses .......................................................................................................18
6. The EdTech landscape in Flanders.................................................................................19
6.1 Market overview ......................................................................................................19
6.2 Companies in Flanders ..........................................................................................20
6.2.1 Startups ...............................................................................................................21
6.2.2 Scale-ups and mature companies ......................................................................23
6.2.3 Spin-offs ............................................................................................................25
6.3 Financial performance ...........................................................................................28
6.3.1 Financial performance of startups ......................................................................30
6.3.2 Financial performance of scale-ups and mature companies ...............................31
6.3.3 Financial performance of spin-offs ....................................................................32
6.3.4 Conclusion ..........................................................................................................33
6.4 Investment in Flemish EdTech companies .............................................................33
7. Conclusion, limitations and recommendations for future research ............................35
8. Resources ......................................................................................................................37
9. Appendix ........................................................................................................................43
9.1 Appendix 1: The Higher Education Technology Landscape (2018) by Encoura .........43
9.2 Appendix 2: The EdTech Landscape in Flanders ....................................................44
3List of figures
Figure 1: The educational system in the Flemish community ...............................................12
Figure 2: Educational performance in Belgian Communities: mathematics, reading and sci-
ence PISA scores, 2015 .......................................................................................................13
Figure 3: The number of patents in artificial intelligence technologies between 1991 - 2015 14
Table 1: Flemish EdTech startups .........................................................................................21
Table 2: Flemish EdTech scale-ups and mature companies ................................................23
Table 3: Flemish EdTech spin-offs ......................................................................................25
Table 4: Overview of Flemish companies focusing on EdTech .............................................26
Table 5: Ratios used to analyse the financial performance of the EdTech companies in Flan-
ders .....................................................................................................................................29
Table 6: Most recent arithmetical means of financial ratios of EdTech companies in Flan-
ders, categorised by market category and phase of the companies. ..................................30
Table 7: Investment in Flemish EdTech companies 2016-2019 (Crunchbase)........................34
41. Preface
The idea for this dissertation came from my passionate interest in technology. In this ever-changing
world, technology is more than ever the driver behind innovation and development. One thing that
will never change, however, is that children are the future. Therefore, educational technology is, in
my eyes, the most important development in education nowadays. Not only do students need to
learn how to work with technology, but technology will also be one of their main competitors on the
labour market of tomorrow. Artificial intelligence will substitute jobs in healthcare and transport,
which have always been carried out by humans. Additionally, employees should be able to learn their
whole life, which in turn has to be facilitated by technology.
I want to thank Prof. Dr. Mirjam Knockaert for her support and facilitation of this dissertation. She
has been a great promoter that supported my idea from the first contact we had. Furthermore, I
want to thank Patricia Iordache. She was the Marketing & Partnerships Manager at Airtame, where I
did an internship in the summer of 2018. Working at Airtame, a company that develops a wireless
HDMI-dongle and has a strong focus on education, with Patricia as my superior, was the inspiration
for the subject of this master’s dissertation. Lastly, I want to thank my family and friends. The former
for their unconditional support throughout my work, the latter for their companionship during the
long days in the library.
52. Introduction
Educational technology is one of the most rapidly changing industries in the world. There is no doubt
about the usefulness of the implementation of technology in education. In this master's dissertation,
I will try to answer some critical questions about educational technology in Flanders. First, I will ex-
plain the main differences between Flanders and Wallonia regarding education. Since 1989, educati-
on in Belgium has been split between three governments (Flemish, French-speaking and German-
speaking). Therefore, the structures and investments are significantly different in the communities.
Secondly, I will take a closer look at the incentives offered by the Flemish government to stimulate
technology in education. These incentives are necessary because the government can create a
structural demand for educational technology if it allocates a budget for it. Finally, I will outline the
landscape of suppliers of educational technology in Flanders. What are some of their main characte-
ristics? I will take a look at how some of the companies are structured and how they are performing
financially. Moreover, before concluding the EdTech market, investment in EdTech startups over the
last years will be analysed.
“TECHNOLOGY IN EDUCATION NEEDS TO BE IMPLEMENTED BECAUSE IT PROVIDES AN ADDED VALUE, NOT TO GIVE YOUR SCHOOL A
HIP AND POPULAR IMAGE.”
3. Definition of Educational Technology
Educational Technology (hereafter referred to as EdTech) can be defined as the usage of technology
to accommodate better learning environments and to improve performance by implementing tech-
nological software or hardware in classrooms or other educational settings. Other educational set-
tings can be the on-boarding of new employees with training via an e-learning platform, for example.
Technology in an educational setting is gaining importance and acceptance (Ostrow, Heffernan &
Williams, 2017). Whether in primary school, high school, higher education or continuing education,
there is a strong need for the modernisation of educational systems. This need results in growing
importance for investors in EdTech. The EdTech-market is not fully developed (yet), but investors
can already see the potential in this industry (World Economic Forum, 2016).
There are many categories and classifications of EdTech. Ashmeet Singh, an editor at The EdTech
World, designed a very logical grouping (2018):
• Immersive tech: applications based on the use of Virtual Reality or Augmented Reality
• Early childhood learning: applications developed to accommodate the learning needs of 3 to 5-
year-olds.
• Coding & technology: educational platforms designed to teach students about coding and robo-
tics.
• STEM: teaching science, technology, engineering and mathematics through learning applications.
• Learning management systems: systems designed to serve the administration of educational
courses.
• Social-emotional learning: applications designed to track and facilitate the wellbeing and mental
health of users.
• Language learning: platforms developed for the teaching of one or multiple languages.
6• Online courses: often referred to as MOOCs (massive online open courses).
The categories above structure EdTech following its goal. It does not mean that the groups are mu-
tually exclusive. For example, Virtual Reality is of use to teach STEM, or online courses can facilitate
language learning. Furthermore, as previously mentioned, there are numerous other ways to catego-
rise EdTech. One could be to cluster different technologies regarding innovation, which has been
done by Navitas Ventures in their Global EdTech Landscape 3.0 (2018).
Throughout this dissertation, the classification made by Ashmeet Singh, as outlined above, will be
used, because it is a rather comprehensive and straightforward way of picturing the EdTech lands-
cape.
4. Differences between the regions in the Belgian educational system
As the title of this dissertation states, the focus will be on the Flemish market of educational techno-
logy in Belgium. To understand why it is only possible to focus on one part of the Belgian educational
system, a study of the differences between the regions in Belgium is needed.
First and foremost, schooling in Flanders is accounted for by the Flemish government. Education is
an authorisation of the Flemish Community (as opposed to the Flemish Region, that has different
authorities), but since the bodies of the Flemish Community and the Flemish Region have been mer-
ged into one Flemish government (Vlaanderen.be), this makes no difference in legislation. The only
difference between the Flemish Region and the Flemish Community is that the latter also includes
Flemish households in the bilingual Brussels Region. This organisation does not apply to Wallonia,
where there exist different governments for the Walloon Region, the French-speaking Community
and the German-speaking Community. Apart from these governments, there is also one government
assigned to the Brussels Region.
4.1 Flanders and Wallonia: a history of cultural and political differences
Flemish and Walloon disparities had been an issue since the beginning of the Belgian state in 1831.
From an educational point-of-view, before the First World War, French had been the leading langua-
ge for decades. Dutch was seen as an inferior language and was therefore not taught in any Belgian
school or institution. The flourishing Flemish economy incited a new movement, led by the Flemish
elite. The Flemish elite was gaining more political power and sat in parliament. It was not until 1910
that schools in Flanders accepted Dutch as a primary language, which in turn was followed by a
counter-movement of the French-speaking community (Varin, 2006).
The tension between the Flemish and Walloon community rose and peaked during the First World
War (1914-1918). A Flemish movement in search of independence collaborated with Germany. In Wal-
lonia, the Germans were heavily opposed by ‘La Resistance'. The crucial turning point in the educati-
onal system was the reformation of the University of Ghent to a fully Dutch-speaking university in
1916. Later, in 1917, the Council of Flanders, an independent government founded by the Flemish mo-
vement, declared independence. After the First World War, Belgium reunited, but the tension bet-
7ween Flanders and Wallonia never faded. The Council of Flanders fell apart, and many members were
incarcerated and scandalised as collaborators.
After a short period of peace in the interwar period (1918-1939), a new world war meant new Flemish-
Walloon tensions in the Belgian federal state. The Second World War had many similarities regarding
the fact that some Flemish minorities were collaborating with Germany. The Flemish National Union
(Vlaams Nationaal Verbond) advocated the merger of Flanders with the Netherlands, known as ‘Diets-
land'. In Wallonia, REX, a party founded by Leon Dégrelle, was a fascist collaborationist party, plea-
ding for ‘unitarism’ and royalism. Both parties were profoundly opposed to each other and were both
sabotaged by the resistance, again mostly active in the French-speaking part of the country.
After the end of the Second World War, the Royal Question (Koningskwestie or Question Royale) was a
new issue Belgium had to troubleshoot. The King of Belgium, Leopold III, was captured in 1944 by the
German army and deported to Germany. When the world war ended, there was a discussion about
the return of the King, who was said to be unable to reign. A referendum had to resolve this question.
However, this referendum resulted in a national crisis. The divide between Flanders and Wallonia was
more apparent than ever: while 72 per cent in Flanders voted for the return of Leopold, only 42 per
cent in Wallonia voted in favour of the King. In Brussels, 48 per cent voted for Leopold. Leopold III
returned to Belgium with only 58 per cent of the total population being in favour of his restitution. To
avoid a further crisis, Leopold distanced himself from the throne and passed the crown to his son
Baudoin.
4.2 Second School War: the cultural divide of the Belgian educational system
The Second School War can be situated in the 1950s and followed a similar crisis in the 19th century.
The crisis started with the appointment of Pierre Harmel (PSC-CVP, the Christian party) as the Minis-
ter of Education in 1950. Harmel increased the wages of teachers in Catholic schools and handed out
numerous subsidies to private schools. Liberals (mainly anti-clerical) and Socialists perceived these
decisions as being very controversial and, from a more extreme point of view, a declaration of war.
Four years later, in 1954, the Christian party experienced a severe electoral loss. The Liberals and
Socialists won the election, and a new minister of Education was appointed: Leo Collard. Collard
immediately abolished the measures taken by Harmel, increased the number of (secular) state
schools and forced unqualified Catholic teachers (i.e. priests) out of the educational system. Col-
lard’s measures (known as the Loi Collard) were as controversial as the decisions taken by the pre-
vious minister, Pierre Harmel. The Loi Collard resulted in numerous protests in the clerical communi-
ty.
In the next federal elections, in 1958, a Catholic government, with Gaston Eyskens as their prime mi-
nister, gained power. On the 6th of August, the prime minister appointed a national committee. A
couple of months later, the government agreed. Since then, there are no more enrolment fees for
secondary education in Belgium, and there is complete freedom of choice for parents to send their
children to either Catholic or secular schools. This compromise is since then known as the School
Pact (Schoolpact or Pacte Scolaire).
8Although the School Pact has brought relative peace regarding education in Belgium, the Second
School War made the cultural gap of the Belgian educational system clearer than ever.
4.3 Leuven-Vlaams: the split of the largest Catholic University
(based on Van Nieuwenhuyse, K. (2003). Leuven Vlaams! De Standaard en de splitsing van de Leuvense
universiteit 1962-1968. Wetenschappelijke tijdingen: jg. 62.)
In the 1960s, the discussion about new legislation of the languages in Belgium was very present.
French-speaking students in Leuven, a city in Flemish Brabant that is known for its Catholic Univer-
sity (KU Leuven), felt alienated by the majority of Flemish students. The University was, despite its
geographic location in Flanders, bilingual. Some French students even campaigned for the total bi-
lingualism of the city of Leuven. When French-speaking professors demanded the formation of
French classes, in which their children could take part, Flemish nationalists perceived this as an in-
sult to the Flemish culture and heritage of the University.
In 1963, a new language law came into effect, signed by the government of prime minister Théo Lefè-
vre. The government wanted to start French-speaking kindergartens and primary schools in Leuven.
A few months later, the situation of the University was the main subject in the agreement of Herto-
ginnedal. In this agreement, the University had to install a French-speaking counter and the "école
d'application", where French-speaking students could study to be a teacher in Belgian secondary
schools. The government established language facilities (a system in which several students had the
right to different services in French) in Leuven, after which the pressure of the Flemish movement
started to mount.
At the same time, the question for expansion had risen. Leuven is a relatively small city, and the
number of students rose every year. In the meantime, a union of Flemish professors had sounded the
alarm. The position of Leuven in Flemish Brabant was threatened by French-speaking professors,
that wanted Leuven to be part of Greater Brussels. The union of Flemish professors (known as VVP,
Vereniging van Vlaamse Professoren) demanded the split of the university and the replacement of the
French department to Wallonia (Jonckheere & Todts, 1979).
Since the University in Leuven was (and still is) Catholic, most of its final decisions had to be made by
clerics. All seven bishops of Belgium discussed a final decision whether or not French-speaking stu-
dents could stay in Leuven in May 1966. The bishops decided not to replace the University, and thus
to let the French-speaking students stay in Leuven, but to split the general administration, from a
dynamic perspective of 20 years.
After this controversial decision, several Flemish activists and notable newspapers demanded the
replacement of the University to be put on the political agenda. Another repercussion of the admini-
strative decision not to replace the French-speaking department of the University was the wave of
anticlerical protest, which in turn reinforced the Flemish unity and democratic and anti-authoritarian
movement.
9In the year that followed, the budgets for the Dutch and French department split. The only factor that
kept the University from a total separation was the corresponding legal entity. However, several
Flemish leaders of the University refused to cooperate with the French-speaking department if they
did not come up with an expansion plan. In this plan, according to the Flemish people, Leuven had to
be solely for Leuven-Vlaams (Flemish Leuven). Leuven-Frans (French-speaking Leuven) had to relo-
cate to Wallonia, and a minor part of the University could move to Brussels. Plans for a French-spea-
king triangle Brussels-Leuven-Wavre (for which most French-speaking professors and deputies lob-
bied) were perceived to be detrimental for Flanders.
In January 1968, the French-speaking deputies communicated their expansion plan. It rejected the
Flemish wishes for relocation to Wallonia. Not only was this the start of an anti-Walloon movement,
but also concerning the demand of democratisation of the University by most parts of the students
in Leuven. Students protested in the streets, and the pressure on politicians was complete by the
support of the Flemish press. Not only the relocation but also the future of the Catholic University
were at stake. Also, some Flemish bishops that decided on the split of the general administration
rather than the move of it were showing signs of disagreement with the pact of two years earlier.
The final decision passed to parliament.
Several politicians demanded an answer to the Flemish claim for the relocation. A statement of pri-
me minister Vanden Boeynants did not mention the replacement of the French-speaking part of the
University to Wallonia. Instead of reading the announcement in front of the tribunal, the prime minis-
ter declared the fall of the government.
The formation of a new government, started immediately after the fall of the previous government,
was unsuccessful. It seemed that there was no obvious solution to the problem with the current ma-
jority in parliament. A new election appeared to be the only way to bring an end to this dilemma. An
important side note to be made is that the biggest party in Belgium, the CVP (Christelijke Volkspartij
or Christian Party of the People), separated in a Flemish and Walloon wing since the quarrel about
the Catholic University. The new election was the first one in which the CVP handed in separate lists
for Flanders and Wallonia.
The new election resulted in a severe loss for the Christian party and a win for the Volksunie, a Fle-
mish nationalist party that since the beginning strongly backed the demand for relocating the
French-speaking department of the University. The Christian party and the Socialists formed a new
government and decided to replace the French-speaking part of the University to Wallonia (in Lou-
vain-La-Neuve, Walloon Brabant). The KU Leuven (the Flemish part of the University) is since then a
separate legal entity.
4.4 The Egmont Pact: the official split of the Belgian federal system
The 24th of May, 1977, almost 20 years after the Second School War, the Egmont Pact was signed.
The Egmont Pact aimed at ending conflicts among the linguistic communities (Flemish/Dutch,
French and German) in Belgium (Mares, 2010). Although the agreement was never entirely put into
10practice, some of its most essential elements are what shaped the Belgian political landscape as of
today.
The Pact proposed greater autonomy to the three communities, by forming their governments and
making it possible for the three parts to issue decrees. Furthermore, Belgium was divided into three
regions (Flanders, Wallonia and the Brussels-Capital Region), again with their governments.
The reason why the Egmont Pact has never been entirely put into practice was not that of the forma-
tion of separate communities and regions, but due to the creation of peripheries in Brussels. These
peripheries are called facility municipalities (faciliteitengemeenten) and give the inhabitants of these
municipalities the right to services in different languages. An example is Ronse (or Renaix) in East
Flanders, where the official language is Dutch, but where the administration has to offer municipal
services in French upon request. As of today, there are still several facility municipalities, which have
been the subject of many political quarrels.
4.5 The Belgian federal structure
As previously mentioned, the critical element of the Egmont Pact is the reform of the federal system
into the system as it is known today. As of today, the Belgian Federal State consists of three sub-
parts. As the first Article of the Belgian Constitution states: "Belgium is a federal state, composed of
communities and regions.” Belgium has three ‘partners', each with its authority and domain (Belgi-
um.be).
• The Federal State: in charge of, for example, foreign affairs, domestic affairs, defence, justice,
finance, social security and national health. The Federal State remains to have powers that can-
not be attributed to either the Communities and the Regions.
• Communities: responsible for the powers of linguistic and cultural interest. Belgium is divided
into three districts: the Flemish/Dutch-speaking, the French-speaking and the German-spea-
king Community.
• Regions: based on geography and economic interests, Belgium has three areas: Flanders, Wal-
lonia and Brussels-Capital Region.
Furthermore, Belgium assigned remaining powers to 10 provinces and 581 municipalities (2019).
Since 1989, education in Belgium has been assigned to three governments: the Flemish government,
the government of the French-speaking Community and the government of the German-speaking
Community. Although different sectors can organise schools, they are all funded by the regional
government (Van Praag, Stevens, Van Houtte & Verhoeven, 2018). The role of the federal government
is limited to determining the duration and age range of compulsory education, minimum require-
ments for recognised qualifications and retirement regulations (OECD, 2017).
4.6 Repercussions for education and main differences in Belgium
A country like Belgium has a long history of not only linguistic but also ethnic and cultural disparities.
Consequently, it is the subject of socio-economic inequality. Since education is the responsibility of
11different governments over the country, it is likely to come across conflicting goals and methods.
Overall, Flemish students are stronger in subjects like mathematics and languages and are less likely
to fail or drop out than Walloon students (Varin, 2006).
In general, the educational system is similar in the different regions. Before the age of 6, children
have the choice to go to preschool. School is compulsory from the age of 6 until the age of 18. These
twelve years are split into six years of primary school and six years of secondary school. In Flanders,
at the beginning of secondary school, students choose between general (ASO), art (KSO), technical
(TSO) or vocational education (BSO). In the French-speaking community, the system is slightly diffe-
rent, with each cycle focusing on observation, orientation and specialisation (Van Praag, Stevens,
Van Houtte & Verhoeven, 2018).
Figure 1: The educational system in the Flemish community
(based on Van Praag, Stevens, Van Houtte & Verhoeven, 2018)
According to PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment), three-yearly research on the
performance of mathematics, science and readings by 15-year-old pupils conducted by the OECD,
Belgium remained to score above average on all three subjects in 2015. However, there were variati-
ons among the communities (OECD, 2017). While Flemish students (57% of all students) score above
average on all subjects, French-speaking students (38% of all students) seem to lag in both science
and reading. German-speaking students (5% of all students) also performed above average for all
subjects.
12Figure 2: Educational performance in Belgian Communities: mathematics, reading and science
PISA scores, 2015
(OECD, 2017)
Even though PISA provides excellent insights regarding the overall performance of 15-year-old pu-
pils, it is the subject to a lot of debate and controversy. In 2018, De Tijd (a Flemish newspaper) repor-
ted that Flemish students scored weaker on mathematics than ten years ago. According to De Tijd,
the schools are not to blame, but rather the change of demography. Between 2008 and 2015, the
number of pupils going to a Flemish school that did not speak Dutch at home increased from 39.000
to 60.000. Those students score significantly lower on the PISA test. The maths test, for example,
exists exclusively out of assignments rather than simple mathematical problems. Even though there
are a lot of French-speaking students and immigrants of the second and third generation, that have
been speaking Dutch for years, enrolled in Flemish schools, there are also a lot of ‘newcomers’ that
barely speak the language, and are thus unable to resolve complicated mathematical assignments
(De Brouwere, 2018).
5. Incentives offered by the Flemish government regarding EdTech
Since the Flemish government is independent regarding education, it is up to the assigned minister
to take decisions on technology and innovation in education. In the policy note of Hilde Crevits, the
minister of education in Flanders, there is a short chapter dedicated to technological, scientific and
innovative developments. In that note, minister Crevits states that the European Commission sees a
possible solution towards more open and flexible learning in the strategy ‘Rethinking Education',
which stimulates the usage of ICT and Open Educational Resources (OER). Apart from the European
Commission, also the OECD saw trends in the usage of ICT in schools (OECD, 2013). The policy note
stresses exponential increase of internet and social media usage, the rapid rise of the possession of
mobile devices with internet access and the risks tied to a digital society: cyberbullying, internet
fraud and the invasion of privacy (Crevits, 2014).
13In 2019, the OECD published Trends Shaping Education 2019. One of the essential takeaways regar-
ding technology in education is that students need to learn more advanced skills to fully participate
in an ever-changing labour market and a more knowledge-intensive economy (OECD, 2019). The stra-
tegic deployment of technology in the early stages of education is vital.
Furthermore, artificial intelligence (AI) increased by an average of almost 11% between 1991 and 2015
(OECD, 2017). AI is becoming more and more important in sectors such as healthcare, transport (e.g.
driverless cars) and the environment (e.g. smart energy consumption). It is up to educational institu-
tions to make sure that students, who will take part in a changing future labour market, will be able
to compete in a world where AI is one of the biggest threats of existing jobs.
Figure 3: The number of patents in artificial intelligence technologies between 1991 - 2015
(OECD, 2017)
Regarding the use of technology in education in Flanders, minister Crevits states: "In Flanders, seve-
ral schools have taken a step towards one-to-one computing, meaning that every pupil has their ICT
device. This device can be a tablet, a (mini) laptop or a smartphone. Other schools provide mobile
‘tablet or laptop classes' in which a computer and internet access accompany teaching moments."
The government has been investing in ICT in education for more than two decades. Tangible pro-
ducts, ICT projects, professional development and ICT coordination, take up the most substantial
14amount of the budget. Since 2017, there is a formal curriculum regarding ICT for schools in Flanders.
It is expected of the schools to adopt ICT as a part of their general policy (Heymans & Godaert, 2018).
Since the publication of the policy note of the Flemish government in 2014, the digital environment
has changed significantly. What are the significant changes to the global environment and what in-
centives have the Flemish government offered to counter these?
5.1 Immersive tech
APPLICATIONS BASED ON THE USE OF VIRTUAL REALITY OR AUGMENTED REALITY
There has been extensive research on the use of immersive tech in the classroom, but it seems that,
although the use of Virtual, Augmented and Mixed Realities are to make a substantial impact on edu-
cation (Dede, Jacobsen & Richards, 2017), there are little to no incentives offered by the Flemish
government regarding VR and AR. Using immersive tech in schools and colleges requires a high fi-
nancial cost as well as time and resources to train teachers in deploying it usefully. It is critical that
both instructional designers and public authorities carefully guide schools and colleges in the use of
VR and AR (Merchant, Goets, Cifuentes, Keeney-Kennicutt & Davis, 2014).
In a written question to the Flemish government about the application of Virtual and Augmented Re-
ality in education (Van Den Heuvel, 2017), Liesbeth Homans, the deputy minister-president of Flan-
ders, wrote that the Department of Education focuses on artificial intelligence and visual and aug-
mented reality within the innovation and ICT governance and the STEM policy. A systematic overview
of the incentives taken by the Flemish government does not exist as of today. The department of
education is also looking into the possibilities of virtual reality for educational purposes by attending
demos and programmes. To conclude, min. Homans stated that "Virtual and Augmented Reality are
specific for a designated area. For now, there has been no demand for a coordinated and centralised
policy."
5.2 Early childhood learning
APPLICATIONS DEVELOPED TO ACCOMMODATE THE LEARNING NEEDS OF 3 TO 5-YEAR-OLDS
Technologies developed to accommodate early childhood learning are gaining importance. Not only
is the use of it getting more popular in kindergarten, but also the use of digital technologies at home
for pedagogical goals for children under the age of five is typical. Online encyclopedias and social
networks are shaping the way of finding information and communicating. In the classroom, teachers
are shifting the idea of educating young children from passive recipients of information towards
knowledge co-constructors (Palaiologou, 2016). At home, even though parents and educators are
well aware of the efficacy of teaching reading, counting and topics like healthy eating early on, and
government and policy-makers are shifting their focus towards preschoolers, technology literacy
has been neglected (Plowman, Stevenson, Stephen & McPake, 2011).
In Flanders, nursery school is not compulsory (Vlaams Ministerie van Onderwijs en Vorming). Howe-
ver, most children undertake it. Because it is non-compulsory, no stringent end terms are set for
nursery schools, but development goals (Kerckaert, 2012). These development goals have been in-
troduced to determine some essential competencies for preschoolers. Six areas of education have
15been set up by the Flemish government: physical education, musical formation, Dutch, people and
society, science and technique and mathematical initiation. There have been no separate goals in-
troduced for ICT. The reason for this is the ‘global' and ‘integrated' character in nursery education. In
some other areas (like musical formation and science and technique) ICT is mentioned, explicitly or
implicitly. Only in primary school (starting from the age of six), a cross-field discipline of ICT is set up.
5.3 Coding & technology
LEARNING PLATFORMS DESIGNED TO TEACH STUDENTS ABOUT CODING AND ROBOTICS
In a survey of 21 European countries, conducted by European Schoolnet, 16 states were already in-
cluding coding into their curriculum: Austria, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, France,
Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Lithuania, Malta, Spain, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia and the UK (Balanskat &
Engelhardt, 2015). Flanders was also part of this survey and were mentioned to have plans of integra-
ting coding into the curriculum. Flanders was said to plan on incorporating coding in primary and lo-
wer secondary (general and vocational) schools. Interesting to state is that Wallonia, the Nether-
lands and Norway do not have plans to integrate coding into their curriculum.
A debate in autumn 2015 had to clarify the issue of coding and programming in Flemish schools. In a
press statement of the department of education (Vlaams Ministerie van Onderwijs en Vorming, 2016),
minister Crevits announced a new campaign about coding and programming in primary and se-
condary school. The incentive for this campaign was the European Code Week from 15-23 October. A
project, named Code Festival, was set up to stimulate as many schools as possible to take part in a
programming project. This initiative served as an inspiration for schools and future teachers. The
schools received a starter package, the possibility for refresher courses for teachers and teaching
resources.
Additionally, the Flemish minister of Innovation, Philippe Muyters, designed an ICT-impulse pro-
gramme, to support existing STEM-academies. In the STEM-framework, coding and programming
were stated to absolutely take part in STEM. Precise integration of coding and programming in the
curriculum of both primary and secondary education are, as of today, absent.
BeCode is another initiative backed by the government, more specifically Digital Belgium, that wants
to make coding and programming more accessible to a broader public of a younger age. The pro-
gramme provides a course of roughly six months in which the trainee learns about both front-end
and back-end development. It is entirely free and takes place in Flanders (Ghent, Genk, Antwerp) and
Brussels.
5.4 STEM
TEACHING SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING AND MATHEMATICS THROUGH LEARNING APPLICATIONS
STEM (short for science, technology, engineering and mathematics) is gaining increasing attention
due to the rising importance of STEM jobs. STEM education is a range of schooling and courses spe-
cialised on all four previously mentioned areas. The opinions on the effectiveness of STEM education
are divided. Some authors advocate a more balanced focus on the disciplines and claim that some of
the fields, like mathematics and engineering, remain underrepresented (English, 2016).
16Over the years, the Flemish government has developed a meticulous STEM action plan (Scheys,
2015). As has been discussed in min. Crevits' policy note (2014), Belgium is mainly a knowledge-based
economy. With little to no natural resources, Belgium has to focus on technological advancement
based on Research & Development (Rigo, 2010). To accommodate these needs and to counter defi-
cits in the labour market, the plan is designed to "nudge pupils in a STEM direction and eventually to
choose a STEM job". The STEM action plan continuously updates in consultation with a platform of
experts from the IT world, the media, universities and colleges and various industries. The goals of
the program are eightfold and to be realised in 2020:
- Offer attractive STEM education.
- Reinforce teachers, educators and supervisors.
- Improve the process of education and job choices.
- More girls in STEM areas and jobs.
- The wager for excellence.
- Adapt the supply of courses and education.
- Stimulate sectors, companies and knowledge-based institutions.
- Lift the societal opinion of technical professions.
5.5 Learning management systems
SYSTEMS DESIGNED TO SERVE THE ADMINISTRATION OF EDUCATIONAL COURSES
A Learning Management System (LMS) (often referred to as an E-Learning platform) is a software
that provides a central platform for course documentation, administration and e-tutoring (EduTech
Wiki, 2019). Some typical features of LMS:
- Course management
- Teaching materials
- Self-assessment quizzes
- Lessons tools
- Communication tools
- Student tools
- Student management tools
- Learner feedback
Examples of LMSs are Minerva (UGent), Toledo (KU Leuven), Dokeos and SmartSchool (frequently
used in K-12 education).
There seems to be no previous research on E-learning platforms and the incentives offered by the
Flemish government. A more extensive overview of LMSs in Flanders will be provided in the next
chapter.
5.6 Social-emotional learning
APPLICATIONS DESIGNED TO TRACK AND FACILITATE THE WELLBEING AND MENTAL HEALTH OF USERS
17The field of social-emotional learning (SEL) in EdTech embodies the application of new technologies
in teaching students about the knowledge and skills necessary to manage emotions and socially in-
teract responsibly. Many new technologies are focusing on prioritising life-long skills rather than
stimulating the absorption of information. By changing the way of learning and integrating empathy,
relationship building and social-emotional goal setting, SEL helps students to develop emotional in-
telligence and prepares them for creating an impact outside of the classroom (Cariker, 2018). Rather
than being a particular category, social-emotional learning is often a goal that is achieved by various
means. For example, SEL can be the desired result in the use of immersive tech or online courses.
There is no ‘all-inclusive’ statement regarding the use of technology for SEL from the Flemish
government as of today. However, as previously mentioned, social-emotional learning can be stimu-
lated by the use of other techniques. For example, in the STEM action plan, one of the goals is to en-
courage working in teams and acquire problem-solving skills in the STEM field in groups rather than
as an individual.
5.7 Language learning
PLATFORMS DEVELOPED FOR THE TEACHING OF ONE OR MULTIPLE LANGUAGES
In Belgium, a trilingual country, language learning has always been an essential part of the educatio-
nal curriculum. Although there are no official bilingual schools, learning a second language is com-
pulsory in all communities. Learning French is mandatory in the Flemish Community from the fifth
year of secondary school (at the age of 10), in the Flemish schools in Brussels-Capital Region from
the third year (at the age of 8). In the French-speaking Community, learning a second language is
also compulsory from the fifth year, and in the third year in the Brussels-Capital Region. The diffe-
rence is that here, students have a choice between Dutch, English and German. The German-spea-
king Community has a more advanced language programme. Here, some activities in kindergarten
are taught in French, and some classes in secondary school (e.g. physical education, arts) are taught
in French as well.
Technology for language learning is gaining much importance. One of the most significant trends in
this field is the use of gamification. For example, a popular app is Duolingo, a free language-learning
platform from the US, that claims to make the process of understanding a new language more fun
than any other game. Through machine learning, the app provides a ‘private tutor' for every pupil.
The Flemish government does not yet use gamification in the field of language education. In a more
recent policy note (Crevits, 2017), the minister of education in Flanders promised to provide a stron-
ger emphasis in supplying supporting (digital) material for language education and the whole third
grade in secondary school, via the enforcement of the VIAA (Flemish Institute for Archiving). The
VIAA provides digital audiovisual content from Flemish archives, which Flemish schools can, in turn,
use.
5.8 Online courses
OFTEN REFERRED TO AS MOOCS (MASSIVE ONLINE OPEN COURSES)
18In a press statement in 2016, Filip Raes, PhD associate professor at the Faculty of Psychology and
Educational Sciences at the Catholic University of Leuven talked about the launch of his first MOOC
(Massive Online Open Course) about e-psychology. "The online course was not just about filming lec-
tures. There had to be multiple videos, instruction clips, several assignments and peer assessments.
Creating a MOOC is expensive. For example, the videos need to have subtitles; you have to pay for the
scientific articles you want to use and so forth,`` Raes stated (Kubben, 2016). Nowadays, most univer-
sities in Flanders are offering MOOCs that are publicly accessible.
The minister of education has discussed the use of MOOCs in school at a committee meeting for
education (24/04/2015). As a response to a question about the incentives for online courses in post-
secondary education, the minister replied that it is up to the institutions to offer such courses. The
minister emphasised that the cost of providing MOOCs often outweighs the return. For now, the mi-
nistry of education was not planning on setting up promotional campaigns or other instruments. The
institutions that offered such online courses for working students, however, received financial com-
pensation (Vlaams Parlement, 2015).
6. The EdTech landscape in Flanders
Often, the world of educational institutions is deemed to be a walled enclosure. However, most of
those institutions seem to be experimenting with (or at least exploring possibilities in) digitisation
and educational technology.
As can be concluded from the paragraphs above, the Flemish government is not the most significant
driver behind the EdTech revolution in Flanders. Therefore, the most critical parties in changing the
educational landscape, by diving into the complex world of educational technology, are both the in-
stitutions themselves (with all stakeholders involved) and the EdTech companies.
In this next section, a broad overview of the overall EdTech market today will be given. Next, the sec-
tion will provide a deeper dive into some of the most influential players of the EdTech landscape in
Flanders (i.e. companies founded or currently based in Flanders).
6.1 Market overview
As part of mapping the 2018 Tech Landscape, Encoura published a general overview of the Higher
Education Technology Landscape (Wiley, 2018). As the study reports, it is a challenge to map all
companies focusing on EdTech. Since products' functionalities are overlapping, it is unclear what
minor differences to different product types mean.
The major limitation to Encoura's research is the exclusion of companies who are yet to have one
client in the US. When mapping the EdTech market in Flanders, it is evident that most companies
focus on the Flemish (or, more broadly, the Belgian or European) market. Therefore, the Higher Edu-
cation Technology Landscape is not at all complete for an extensive analysis of the EdTech market in
Flanders.
19Another important note is that the study includes products that focus both on ‘student success' and
other areas (e.g. Enterprise Resource Planning). Since it is not the main focus of this dissertation,
companies who have no focus on creating a better learning environment and improving performance
by implementing technological software or hardware in classrooms or other educational settings will
be excluded. Practically, this means the exclusion of Enterprise Content Management solutions, En-
terprise Mobile Application Development solutions, Forms Management systems, Enterprise Busi-
ness Intelligence & Analytics solutions, System Integration and Enterprise Resource Planning. Ap-
pendix 1 includes a schematic overview of The Higher Education Technology Landscape (2018).
6.2 Companies in Flanders
NACE (short for Nomenclature statistique des activités économiques dans la Communauté européen-
ne) is the statistical classification of economic activities in the European Community. It provides a
standard for the categorisation of all companies in the European Union. Although NACE is a
standard, and therefore entirely coherent and all-inclusive, it has some severe limitations as well
(FOD Economie, 2011).
In Belgium, there is no clear category for EdTech companies yet. For example, companies that have
developed an e-learning platform (e.g. Uni-Learning) are classified as management consultancy
firms (“adviesbureaus op het gebied van bedrijfsvoering”, NACE: M70.2.2). This nomenclature is not
inherently wrong. However, it provides no added value to the purpose of this dissertation. An "Ed-
Tech company" may have a common purpose with an enterprise management consultancy firm, the-
re is by any means no clear distinction in the classification between Uni-Learning, that has develo-
ped an e-learning platform, and a consultancy firm like Prophets, who specialises in brand activation,
marketing consultancy, internet strategy and web building. Therefore, in what follows, the EdTech
companies will be found by using third-party listings.
An important note to make is that from now on, the main focus will be on EdTech startups, scale-
ups, mature companies and spin-offs founded in Flanders. The reason for this is twofold. First and
foremost, comparisons are more likely to be accurate and relevant when the companies were foun-
ded and have been growing in a similar environment. Since EdTech companies in Flanders have a
clear link to the Flemish economic environment, those companies will be a good predictor for map-
ping the Flemish EdTech market. Second, major multinational companies (e.g. Google, Apple and Mi-
crosoft) are harder to analyse in terms of their efforts in EdTech. Not only is EdTech often not their
primary focus, finding an up-to-date customer database of large companies and therefore being
able to predict the trends and evolutions of the EdTech market in Flanders based on large companies
is troublesome.
De Tijd teamed up with Sirris, a technological centre of competence that closely monitors the Eu-
ropean startup scene, for its case Silicon Belgium, to map all tech starters in Belgium (Cockx, Fluit &
Roelens). Silicon Belgium reports about 50 startups and scaleups focusing on EdTech in Flanders. By
meticulously analysing the existing list, crossing out the deadpools and acquired companies and
looking at the main focus of the companies, a list of 34 companies remains. This data was double-
20checked with the rich database of StartupsBe. Appendix 2 contains the schematic overview of the
EdTech landscape in Flanders.
6.2.1 Startups
There are multiple definitions of a startup. These definitions, based on working capital, number of
employees, the company culture or more likely, the years a company is in business (Robehmed,
2013), are subject to much debate. In what follows, companies will be considered a startup if they are
either five, or less than five years old or currently employ less than ten people.
Table 1: Flemish EdTech startups
Academiclabs. Founded by Arne Smolders in 2015, Academiclabs is an online matchmaking platform
for research purposes. It provides a database for both researchers and research funds in order to set
up a collaboration. The platform is designed for both R&D oriented companies and University & Re-
search companies.
Apprentus. Based in Merchtem in Flemish Brabant and founded in 2014, Apprentus designed a plat-
form to match private tutors with students. Their scope reaches from yoga to math classes. Their
core business includes school support (i.e. supporting courses in primary, secondary or tertiary edu-
cation), music lessons, language lessons and online lessons. Apprentus is active mostly in Belgium
but is one of the fastest growing marketplaces for private tutoring in France and Switzerland. Ap-
prentus recently moved to London. Therefore, no annual report will be available for financial perfor-
mance. However, since the startup only recently relocated, they are still included in this list.
Ava & Trix. Ava & Trix is an interactive game developed for children in primary school (6-12 years old).
The app aims to teach young pupils about STEM in a fun and easy way, by telling the story of two sis-
ters: Ava and Trix. Each episode ends with a scientific problem, which the students have to solve to-
gether with their classmates and the help of their teacher. Two hundred primary schools implemen-
ted Ava & Trix in their courses by the end of 2016, the year of launching.
Bookwidgets. Bookwidgets is a startup based in Hasselt, Limburg. The mission of the company is
replacing paper tests with interactive quizzes and worksheets on iPads, Chromebooks or other devi-
ces. These tests are automatically graded and therefore, ease the process of evaluating and provi-
ding feedback.
Campus Angels. Originally a spin-off of Crowd Angels, this startup based in Antwerp has developed a
matchmaking platform, which brings together students and alumni of various universities “to give
ideas wings”. In short, Campus Angels implements the concept of omnisourcing. Similar to the idea
of a business angel, Campus Angels matches investors with students wanting to market their idea.
D-Teach. D-Teach has assembled a multidisciplinary platform of pedagogues, teachers, linguistic
coaches, speech therapists and experts and reformed them through a unique D-Teach traineeship to
an online tutor. Students follow tracks which include try-outs, online courses, online exercises and
21feedback sessions. Their main goal is to teach (future) students how to learn and guide them with
specific courses for school support (including courses on maths and languages). All courses take
place online, therefore using digital technology to bridge the gap between Belgium and the rest of
the world.
Eduvik. Eduvik, formerly known as Bijleszoeker.be, is an online matchmaking platform to find tutors
in a particular neighbourhood. The platform focuses mainly on finding teachers for school courses
like mathematics, French, statistics, chemistry, geography, anatomy, biology and accounting. Eduvik
offers tutoring for primary school, secondary school, university, college and exam commission trai-
ning. The licensed tutors receive additional training and a certificate by Eduvik. These tutors, after
the matchmaking, give the courses at the house of the trainee.
Gimme. Gimme is an online application made for parental communication in education, sports clubs
and other youth organisations. Employees of primary schools and other organisations reach the pa-
rents in one joint app, where they share important letters, activities, photos and videos. There is a
robust environmental motivation at Gimme, as they want to get rid of paper notes and letters. The
startup from Rupelmonde, East Flanders, currently has more than 400 thousand parents using their
app.
Karaton. Karaton is an educational adventure game developed by Happs Development. The game is
developed for dyslexic children to deal with their learning disabilities. In Karaton, language is integra-
ted so that children with dyslexia and reading problems can practice playfully. The company is cur-
rently active in Belgium, but through crowdfunding via Kickstarter, they hope to force a break-
through abroad.
Mobietrain. Mobietrain is an online learning platform for retail companies. It teaches employees at
the company everything it needs to know how to keep up, lift and improve customer experience. The
company has been set up from the point-of-view that young shoppers still enjoy going to retail sto-
res. Mobietrain claims to be different from other e-learning services because their platform is pur-
pose-built to boost knowledge retention with personalised, mobile-first training.
Play It Safe. Founded in 2017 in Kortrijk, West Flanders, Play It Safe is an online learning platform for
businesses. The game-based platform teaches employees about safety, accident prevention and
security programmes. The company started two years ago but has since then reeled in large clients
like Brantano (one of the largest footwear dealers in Belgium), VRT (a public service broadcaster in
the Flemish region) and HoWest (the most significant college university from West Flanders). Their
method has been proven to be effective by the University of Ghent.
Quink. Quink is a business-oriented online learning application. It tries to bring serious subjects,
such as safety procedures, on-boarding and product knowledge, in a comfortable and digestible way.
The concept of Quink is to teach employees about subjects daily via a calendar. That means that va-
luable knowledge is brought to the user in bite-size reminders to ‘refresh' valuable content. The ap-
plication requires a personalised setup and can be sent out to the users in a randomised fashion or a
date-picked order.
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