EdTech Insights December 2025
It’s good to be back in your inbox. The past few months have been very busy, with lots going on, so this newsletter took a little longer than planned to land. We are looking forward to reconnecting and telling you all about our latest projects, interesting discoveries and much more. Let's begin!
🔹 Past Events: Learning Impact Europe, the yearly rendez-vous for promoters of open standards in education, was hosted by Delft University of Technology and SURF in September, and we participated in a roundtable discussion. On 1 October, we jointly organised with Syn2cat the Open Source Luxembourg Conference; on November 15 and 16, we held our first DigiEduHack on the topic of 'Inclusive Education and Training in Luxembourg'. Finally, our fifth Workshop EdTech Speed Dating with AI Reloaded took place on 4 December.
🔹 News: There have been some exciting internal developments, such as the inauguration of our permanent office in October and the arrival of our new colleague, Nooshin Shoojae. We are also underlining a few completed projects, one with the General Directorate for Tourism of the Ministry of the Economy (Tourism Academy), another with SCRIPT (Euroskills), and a third with the University of Luxembourg (Augmented Artwork Analysis).
🔹 Science, Policy, and Business Corner: In this cross-thematic section, you will find: an interesting report by the European Commission's European Digital Education Hub on security and safety in digital education; the online series "Digital Skills Talks" featuring short, "straight to the point" discussions from industry experts and thought leaders; two European success stories; the international news website "University World News", which focuses on higher education and research around the world, with a dedicated section on EdTech and AI.
🔹 Exploration Zone: Discover Alice, an open-source private chatbot generator for education. We have installed it on skilltech.tools, so feel free to try it - it is very user-friendly!
🔹 Ecosystem: We draw your attention to the Global EdTech Alliance of Alliances, a new initiative spearheaded by the European EdTech Alliance to connect regional ecosystems with multilateral partners and policymakers.
Enjoy the read!
Events
Learning Impact Europe 2025 in the Netherlands
🔥 As a proud member of the 1EdTech Consortium, the world’s largest and most forward-thinking collaboration between the public and private sectors in educational technology, the LMDDC was not going to miss Learning Impact Europe 2025!
👥👥 This annual meeting place for promoters of open standards in education was hosted by Delft University of Technology and SURF, the IT cooperative of education and research in the Netherlands. The event gathered a mix of leaders from education, public organisations, technology, and workforce development to explore the latest trends in building interoperable, trusted, and connected digital learning ecosystems, thereby tackling a significant challenge in education.
🥽 Take immersive learning as an example: as tools such as VR headsets in classrooms and AR apps for science labs become more commonplace, educators are faced with a growing problem: most of these systems don’t "speak the same language".
📢 A dedicated roundtable on "Interoperability for Immersive Learning" took place on 24 September, featuring Gira Szakmar and Pierre de La Celle from the LMDDC, alongside Thierry Koscielniak (President of France Immersive Learning, and Executive Advisor of Arts et Métiers Paris Tech) and Alexandre Ibanez (Co-founder and President of Inversive XR).
🤔 Together, they discussed real-world roadblocks such as siloed content, closed ecosystems, and the absence of shared standards, and attempted to answer the question: how can we address these gaps and transition to more connected, learner-centred systems from technical and pedagogical perspectives?
✍ Read our LinkedIn post here.
🔓 Following the success of the inaugural Open Source Conference, held alongside the global LibreOffice Conference and attended by over 200 participants, we decided to co-organise the Luxembourg's Open Source Conference 2025 with Paolo Vecchi and a group of partners and open source enthusiasts. Our goal was to create a balanced conference where technical and non-technical individuals could meet to discuss the real-world impact of open source software.
🕐 In less than three months, the Open Source Conference Luxembourg 2025 was established, and its speakers sent a powerful message that the Grand Duchy is accelerating progress in areas such as cybersecurity, AI, the public sector and education.
🚀 The main track of the 1 October event was dedicated to high-level discussions, while the afternoon was comprised of four parallel sessions, including the EdTech track. We wanted to bring together local and international EdTech advocates and organisations who share our same passion for open source tools and software. The following contributors accepted our invitation, creating a complementary and high-level line-up: Jonas Bäckelin, Patrick Plichart, Emmanuel Zimmert, Cédric Renzi and Sam Kafai, Pierre de la Celle, François Lange, Robert Reuter, and Gill Ferrell. Their commitment to advancing open source in education, and their dedication in sharing their expertise, were instrumental in making the EdTech track a success.
🙌 We are also grateful to Minister Stéphanie Obertin for her inspiring opening speech, to the entire local open source community, of which we are proud members, and to the Digital Learning Hub Luxembourg for hosting the event. The LMDDC will be back next year to co-organise the next edition and help increase its reach.
DigiEduHack: Luxembourg had its own EdTech Hackathon in November!
🇪🇺 From 7 to 16 November 2025, the European Commission's DigiEduHack initiative invited students, educators, and entrepreneurs to co-create technology solutions for eight key challenges in digital education during a 24-hour hackathon. This year's topic was "Reimagining education in the age of digital skills".
🤝 Motivated by our shared commitment to nurturing digital proficiency and harnessing the potential of new technologies, particularly artificial intelligence, we joined forces with the Digital Learning Hub Luxembourg to organise a local edition on 15 and 16 November. Exploring the theme of 'AI and Emerging Technologies in Education', DigiEduHack Luxembourg provided a valuable platform for collaboration, creativity, and real-world problem-solving. Participants explored ways in which AI could enhance the inclusivity of education and training in Luxembourg, taking into account the country's multicultural and multilingual context.
🏅 Seven skilled teams competed fiercely, and the winners were the SuGar cOdErS: Maria Diederich, an IT consultant and software engineering student at 42 Luxembourg, and our very own Nathan Lenas. They impressed the jury the most with their project, afterClass, which is designed for secondary school pupils and combines generative AI and pedagogical analysis tools to create homework, content, and self-learning activities tailored to each pupil's level and preferences. In a multilingual context such as Luxembourg's, afterClass could improve educational equity while enabling young learners struggling to progress at their own pace.
⌛ afterClass is currently being assessed by a Steering Group, who will select a total of twelve local winning solutions in total to compete in the Global Awards. The results are expected in February, so keep your fingers crossed for them!
🔎 You can view all the submitted solutions here.
EdTech Speed Dating with AI Reloaded
✨ On 4 December 2025, we held our fifth hands-on workshop. For the first time, we organised the event in our new office (see the next entry for more information).
🤖 Two years after our inaugural "EdTech Speed Dating" workshop on AI, we held an updated version of the event. Building on what we explored last time, and our accumulated expertise, as well as the specific requirements of education professionals - which we aim to address through our free, open-source digital toolbox for teachers and trainers skilltech.tools - we took a deeper dive into the role of AI in education, especially within the Luxembourg context. We offered updated tools and insights while reflecting the rapid evolution of GenAI.
👥👥 In line with our belief that the best innovations occur when the community shares its own solutions and best practices, we invited four special guests to showcase their own AI-based products. The Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology (LIST) introduced DS4Skills, an ESCO skills annotation service harnessing Generative AI, as well as Chat4EFL, a user-friendly AI chatbot designed to help people learn English. Happy Kids Academy S.I.S. | Happykids.ai unveiled four different modules, including Lulu, an expat onboarding companion that speaks Luxembourgish. neon internet presented LetzAI, a groundbreaking AI platform that can generate images reflective of our local communities and personal experiences. Last but not least, KI-Léierbud is a recently launched free platform supported by the Ministère de la Digitalisation, dedicated to teaching AI to everyone, at their own pace, with no prerequisites.
🤩 Thank you to everyone who brought their curiosity, questions, and ideas, and to our special guests!
🔥 Our flagship platform, skilltech.tools, now boasts three new AI-based open source features: Alice, an educational chatbot that can be integrated into learning platforms; GPT, a ChatGPT alternative to test and compare different open-source AI models; and Draw, a collaborative whiteboard that uses AI to automatically create diagrams. We strongly encourage you to explore them!
💡 We will publish a recap containing rich material on our official blog https://skilltech.cafe/ in the coming days, so stay tuned.
News
We have a new home!
🏆 After months of intense preparation, we finally have our own offices in the Luxmill building in Belval. Spanning two floors, they are modern, colourful and forward-looking. On 8 October, we had the honour of inaugurating them in a ceremony opened by Minister Stéphanie Obertin and Romain Martin, chairman of the board.
💬 In her speech, Minister Obertin emphasised the unique role of the LMDDC as an accelerator of digital technology and skill development. It complements the Luxembourg ecosystem with its pedagogical and technological expertise. In this context, the LMDDC has been designated as an EdTech Research and Technology infrastructure, serving all the country’s research institutions and strengthening collaboration in this field.
🇱🇺 The LMDDC covers a broad range of technologies applied to education, including VR, AR, XR, IoT, games, video, web and mobile, as well as AI. Recognising the growing importance of AI, Minister Obertin presented the LMDDC as a leading organisation in the provision of AI for education and training, as part of an extension of our remit. She emphasised the importance of using local, sovereign and open platforms and AI models to maintain full control of services. This approach aligns perfectly with the National AI, Data and Quantum Technologies Strategy, in which the Centre will participate in two flagship projects focusing on skills and education.
✨ The opening of our new office is a significant milestone for us, and we are truly thankful to the many stakeholders who made it possible.
👐 If you are ever in Belval, please feel free to drop by - our doors are always open!
Team growth!
🎉 We are delighted to introduce Nooshin Shojaee, who has just joined the instructional design team. Nooshin will be responsible for designing and implementing e-learning experiences supported by an AI chatbot acting as a virtual assistant for the Horizon Europe TRUSTex project.
🎓 Nooshin holds a Bachelor's degree in Electronic Engineering from Shiraz University and a Master's degree in Computer Sciences, specialising in artificial intelligence, from the University of Luxembourg. During her studies, she became interested in how technology can support education and make learning more effective and engaging.
🤝 After graduating, she developed inclusive trainings to make STEM and AI more accessible and understandable for adults and young people for different public organisations, including the Digital Learning Hub Luxembourg, the Ministry for Gender Equality and Diversity, and Université Populaire Luxembourg.
✨ It was her passion for designing inclusive and engaging learning experiences that inspired her to explore learning experience design frameworks and guided her into the field of instructional design.
🚀 Nooshin continues to explore how technology can open new pathways for sharing knowledge and supporting lifelong learning.
🏊🎹🎨 Outside of work, she enjoys swimming, playing the piano, and painting.
👏 Welcome to the team Nooshin!
🔎 The LinkedIn post is available here.
Training platform and e-learnings for Luxembourg tourist guides
🇱🇺 We are pleased about our collaboration with the Direction générale du Tourisme within Luxembourg's Ministry of the Economy. The Directorate is responsible for defining the development strategy for the destination of Luxembourg as a leisure and business tourism destination. In November 2025, they launched its new training programme for future certified tourist guides. Against this backdrop, they commissioned the LMDDC to host, adapt, and customise an installation of Moodle into the digital learning platform ‘Tourism Academy’, through which the training can be accessed.
🏗️ The programme combines self-paced e-learning with in-person courses. The first five basic modules were designed and developed by the LMDDC in collaboration with numerous subject-matter experts. These modules cover topics such as Luxembourg's geography, geology, history, culture and economy. Additional training modules for all tourism stakeholders will be added over time, covering subjects including sustainability, communication, and digital tools in active tourism.
💡 The platform and training courses are available in four languages: Luxembourgish, German, French and English. Anyone interested can enrol via the House of Training website.
🔎 Read the official press release here and the RTL article here. We have also prepared an introductory video about the project, which you can watch here.
Euroskills
🏅 Our second highlight is Euroskills, the largest vocational education and skills excellence event in Europe. Taking place every two years and organised by WorldSkills Europe together with 34 Member countries, including Luxembourg, the event brings together hundreds of young people from across the continent, all under the age of 25, to compete for the chance to become the best in Europe in their chosen skill or profession.
🇱🇺 The 2025 edition took place from 9 to 13 September in Herning, Denmark. With 19 participants out of a total of 600, Luxembourg achieved historic success by earning one silver medal in landscape gardening and four Medallions of Excellence in the categories of automobile technology, web development, hotel reception, and plumbing and heating.
🕹️ Following a request from the SCRIPT, the LMDDC proudly contributed to Euroskills, by developing an arcade machine featuring a gamified RIASEC test to help identify career interests and select an appropriate educational path. The machine travelled with the delegation to Denmark and is now on permanent display in our office.
💡 Luxembourg will co-host the 2027 edition in Düsseldorf. We look forward to being involved again!
© SCRIPT
Augmented Artwork Analysis
🤖 Our third innovative project, entitled "Augmented Artwork Analysis" (AAA), contributed to the development of an application that enhances the visitor experience of a work of art when used in front of it in a museum. The AI-based application delivers an 'augmented' work of art and can help guided tours, educational meetings and research rediscover the art of observation, thereby creating an alternative, interactive museum experience.
👥👥 AAA was a multi-stakeholder initiative, involving the University of Luxembourg, the French CNRS, the Université Lyon 2, and the Université de Liège. It was funded by the ANR/FNR funding programme.
▶️ The application was launched at the Musée national d'archéologie, d'histoire et d'art (MNAHA) as part of the "Curating & Editing. Between Museums and Media" conference. This video from the University of Luxembourg provides an overview of AAA.
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Science, Policy and Business Corner
🇪🇺 In the same vein, another EDEH's squads worked on the topic of security and safety in digital education. The outcome is now available in a report, with recommendations for safer and more secure digital education environments.
🔎 The document provides insights to learners, educators, parents, and all users of digital technologies on four chosen topics:
- Communication: how to establish policies and a safe environment for digital communication?
- Safe use of smartphones: considerations concern both the smartphone users, but also the environment within which users act, including the role of schools and educators in teaching safe use of smartphones.
- Digital Games: what risks are associated with them, how these risks can be mitigated, and how to use digital games safely?
- GenAI: for an ethical use of artificial intelligence, based on trustworthiness and explainability.
Digital Skills Talks
📢 In January 2025, the Digital Skills and Jobs Platform launched the online series "Digital Skills Talks" featuring short, concise discussions on the digital world's most pressing topics from industry experts and thought leaders. The series places a strong emphasis on skills, the workforce and artificial intelligence. The first 17 episodes are now available.
🔎 The Digital Skills and Jobs Platform addresses the issue of how quickly our skills and knowledge can become outdated in the current era of rapid digital transformation. It helps Europeans advance their digital skills and knowledge, further their careers, and add value to their organisations. It provides open access to a wide variety of high-quality information and resources for anyone interested in digital skills and jobs. It is part of the European Commission's DIGITAL Europe Programme.
University World News
💡 University World News is an online global higher-education news publication that reports on global higher education news, developments, policies, research and trends affecting universities and higher education worldwide. It publishes independent news reports, features, and analysis by correspondents and academics from around the world, offering an international perspective on higher education issues, particularly in Asia and Africa.
🔎 We recently came across an engaging article entitled "Universities need AI sovereignty to protect free thought" and we thought you might want to read it and explore this source.
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Exploration Zone
🤩 Alice was recently added to skilltech.tools, as part of the platform's latest round of additions. Alice is an innovative chatbot generator designed for educational purposes. Like any other commercial equivalent, it first requires you to upload your files in multiple languages, which it then transforms into knowledge. It provides instant, on-demand learning materials, quizzes and tests, all while preserving your privacy because it operates using open source models on our servers. You can even connect it to a Moodle installation.
🙋 If you have a CGIE IAM account, you can try Alice right now. Otherwise, request an account on the skilltech.tools homepage.
Ecosystem
📌 In our last newsletter, we mentioned the European EdTech Alliance (EEA), a mission-driven non-profit network dedicated to advancing the thoughtful design, responsible use, and effective governance of digital learning across Europe that brings together over 2,600 EdTech organisations from nearly 30 European countries.
🗺️ The EEA recently initiated an ambitious, large-scale initiative: the Global EdTech Alliance of Alliances (AoA). This new collaboration connects regional ecosystems with multilateral partners and agencies, policymakers, and key ecosystem actors, ensuring that every region’s voice is heard in global dialogues on Sustainable Development Goal 4 - the United Nations' objective to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all by 2030 - and the future of digital education.
🤝 The purpose of the AoA is to co-create scalable frameworks, support global digital education policy, facilitate knowledge exchange, and promote collaborative initiatives grounded in evidence and equity.
🚀 Over the coming months, regional knowledge-exchange activities, evaluation templates, and governance guidelines will be developed that can be adapted by ministries and alliances. Working groups will also be created to translate insights into real change for learners and educators. An official meeting alongside the UNESCO Global Education Coalition is scheduled for March 2026.
🔎 Check out the video from the official launch of the AoA the report here.
Thank you!
🙌 We appreciate your support and your valuable time as we pursue our mission to share valuable knowledge. We welcome your feedback and thoughts at communication@lmddc.lu
👋 Until next time, keep learning and exploring, and we wish you a smooth start to 2026! We will be in touch again this spring for the fifth edition. In the meantime, stay up to date with the latest from the EdTech scene by following us on Linkedin, Mastodon and Facebook.
