Uk edtech sector could ‘explode’ as lockdown drives demand for virtual classes

Michael Cogley Technology Correspondent 25 May 2020 10:00am BST Lockdown is set to trigger a boom in demand for edtech products across the UK after the sector attracted £254bn in funding

last year.  Shuttered schools and universities have driven demand for both online courses and virtual classes and will dramatically increase the scale of the industry, according to data from

Dealroom, an Amsterdam-based data firm. The sector has more a thousand companies operating in the UK and is predicted to be valued at £3.4bn by 2021.  Dealroom founder Yoram Wijngaarde said

edtech was set for a significant “breakthrough”. “Existing institutions are going to use more technology to deliver education,” he said. “In terms of investment, edtech has only been a tiny

part and forgotten part of venture capital. But that’s totally changed and I expect that edtech could well explode this year.” Mr Wijngaarde said that certification provided by universities

will become less important to companies. Google, Apple, and Facebook have already dismissed the need for a university degree to get a job. Technology Intelligence newsletter - UK The

Dealroom founder added that investment in countries like India and China was still “way ahead”. However, separate figures from Tech Nation show that Britain’s edtech sector amounts for a

significant chunk of the investment across Europe – garnering 41pc of all investment in the region last year. A total of £690m have been invested in the UK sector since 2014. The Department

of Education has committed £100m to provide devices to access the internet for vulnerable and disadvantaged children, as well as providing access to Google for Education or Microsoft’s

Office 365 Education. Suzanne Ashman, a partner at Saul Klein’s investment house LocalGlobe, said that remote learning “will remain an important component of education for all age groups”

once universities and schools reopen. Digital minister Caroline Dinenage said the change the sector was undergoing will “pave the way” for the future of education in Britain. “Over the last

six weeks the UK’s world-leading edtech sector has used its expertise to develop practical solutions and online learning tools for schools, parents and pupils during this challenging time,”

she said.