Digital Poland experts discuss digital education at the European Congress of Local Governments
Experts from the Digital Poland Association participated in the European Congress of Local Governments in Mikołajki, where together with local government representatives, public administration officials and members of the education community they discussed the future of digital education and the development of digital skills in Polish schools. During the congress, the Association organised two events dedicated to the digitalisation of education: a panel discussion and a closed expert roundtable.
The first was a debate devoted to the IT Fitness Test project, organised by the Digital Poland Association in partnership with iSpot. During the discussion, participants presented how the test can practically support schools and local governments in diagnosing the level of digital competencies among students and teachers.
The project is implemented in cooperation with local governments, and its honorary partners include the Ministry of Digital Affairs, the Ministry of National Education, the Ministry of Science and Higher Education, the Ministry of Economic Development and Technology, and NASK.
The results of previous editions of the test show that awareness of cybersecurity threats is increasing, however practical skills in using digital tools remain a challenge – particularly in the areas of data analysis and the use of spreadsheets. As a result, an increasing number of local governments treat the IT Fitness Test as a starting point for planning further educational activities, ranging from training programmes for teachers to more effective use of equipment provided to schools.
Participants in the debate included Deputy Minister of Education Paulina Piechna-Więckiewicz, Member of Parliament Jolanta Zięba-Gzik, Deputy Mayor of Rzeszów Marcin Deręgowski, Deputy Mayor of Olsztyn Sylwia Rembiszewska-Piątek, the Plenipotentiary of the Mayor of Kraków for Digital Transformation Jarosław Bułka, and Dariusz Stachecki, Director of Primary School No. 3 named after Feliks Szołdrski in Nowy Tomyśl.
How to invest in the digitalisation of schools?
The second event was a closed roundtable titled “Local investments in a digital school: how to spend funds wisely”, during which representatives of the government, local authorities, schools and civil society organisations jointly worked on recommendations for the further digitalisation of Polish education. Among the participants was Deputy Minister of Digital Affairs Rafał Rosiński.
Participants emphasised that the digital transformation of schools and preparing young people for the 21st-century labour market requires much more than one-off investments in equipment. A change in the approach to teaching is necessary, along with a long-term plan to support schools that takes into account their real needs and existing hardware and software ecosystems.
Among the key recommendations discussed were the need to strengthen the digital competencies of teachers and parents, grant schools greater autonomy in building their own technological ecosystems, and create a stable, multi-year strategy for financing the digitalisation of Polish education.
The conclusions from the discussion will be submitted to the Ministry of National Education and the Ministry of Digital Affairs as a contribution to further work on public policies in the field of digital education.
