Connectivity and digital equipment for education and training
Connecting to high-speed internet offers many advantages to schools, including access to a variety of online resources, platforms for collaboration and tools for inquiry-based pedagogies.
However, the results of the ‘2nd Survey of Schools: ICT in education’ (ESSIE2) show that many schools in the European Union (EU) are still far away from achieving their digital capacity and being equipped with high-speed internet.
Furthermore, the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted that infrastructure gaps, for example concerning the availability of broadband and the adoption of digital technology, continue to persist in Europe.
Objectives
To help reduce disparities and address the uneven deployment of high-speed internet access in schools, the European Commission, through the Connecting Europe Facility Digital programme, supports gigabit and 5G connectivity for smart communities, where socio-economic drivers such as schools are located.
This action promotes 5G connectivity best practices in local communities and schools, alongside other education and training institutions.
It also intends to encourage Member States to make the most out of the support available from the EU through various funding programmes for enhancing access to the internet and purchasing digital technology, e-learning applications and platforms, including the Recovery and Resilience Facility.
Timeline
- January to April 2022 – First call for 5G for smart communities - completed
- October 2022 – Second call for 5G for smart communities
- 2023 – Third call for 5G for smart communities
Get in touch
To find out more about this action, get in touch with us by email at EAC-DIGITALEDUCATION@ec.europa.eu.
Follow EUDigitalEducation on Twitter for latest news and developments on this action and the whole Digital Education Action Plan. Follow Connectivity EU on Twitter for the latest on connectivity.