Datorium organises the first EdTech conference at “RIGA COMM 2024”

On 4 October, education technology organisation Datorium, an official partner of “RIGA COMM 2024”, the Baltics’ largest business technology event, organised the event’s first education technology, or EdTech, conference at the Ķīpsala International Exhibition Centre. The EdTech stage organised by Datorium brought together industry experts, entrepreneurs, technology innovators and education professionals to explore the future of education and the role of technology in transforming it.

The conference highlighted the potential of education technology in today’s rapidly changing world, as every sector, including education, becomes increasingly digital. Datorium CEO Anžela Džafarova said: “To improve the quality of education and ensure that education in Latvia remains competitive, we must keep pace with the times and make smart use of education technology solutions. There is still much work to be done to improve the digital skills of both teachers and learners so that technology is used meaningfully in the learning process more often. I would be pleased to see regular EdTech events like this in Latvia, bringing together EdTech industry experts and fostering cooperation between specialists from state and municipal education institutions and EdTech entrepreneurs. Estonia’s example clearly demonstrates the mutual benefits of this kind of cooperation.”

The event was opened by Silvija Amatniece, Parliamentary Secretary at the Ministry of Education and Science, who informed the audience about the ministry’s planned activities to drive change in education. She also highlighted the potential and extensive opportunities offered by the responsible use of artificial intelligence. The use of Chromebook computers in schools as part of the “A Computer for Every Student” project was cited as a successful example, and ASUS representative Kaspars Kaniņš also shared his experience of the project in his presentation.

Paulius Nomgaudas, head of the Lithuanian company “Vextur” and a member of the EdTech Lithuania community, spoke on the EdTech stage. His company is an official Moodle partner and has provided outsourced Moodle maintenance services to numerous educational institutions around the world for more than 20 years.

Peter Fagerström, co-owner of “Educraftor” and an education innovator from Finland, shared his experience of the European Digital Education Accelerator programme, which identifies and supports Europe’s most promising EdTech start-ups.

Other speakers included “Microsoft” representative Aija Bumbure and “StartSchool” founder and head Anna Andersone. Datorium founder Elchins Džafarovs presented Datorium.AI, Latvia’s first artificial intelligence tool for teachers. It creates learning materials aligned with the Skola2030 curriculum and significantly reduces the time teachers spend preparing for lessons. Anžela Džafarova introduced the audience to Datorium’s technology-based hybrid learning model, which combines online and in-person teaching methods. The model is used by approximately 90 schools in Latvia, teaching around 5 000 students each week.

RIGA COMM is an annual IT and business event for entrepreneurs in the service and manufacturing sectors, leaders of public institutions and industry professionals. It brings together the latest solutions from digital service providers and product developers from the Baltic region and beyond, offering visitors the opportunity to consult knowledgeable specialists and jointly select the most suitable solutions for their business or organisation.