May 31, 2025, 2:34 pm | Read time: 4 minutes
What Does the School of the Future Look Like–and Who Will Lead the Way? While many educational institutions are still lagging in terms of digitalization, one initiative demonstrates how it can be done better. For several years now, particularly committed schools have been recognized as “Smart Schools.”
Since the COVID-19 pandemic, it has become clear: Schools need to change and become more digital. The time of lockdowns and homeschooling also highlighted that many schools are not yet prepared for this. That’s why the “Smart School” initiative was launched in 2017. TECHBOOK reached out to the initiators for more information.
What Defines “Smart Schools”
Since 2017, the “Smart School” initiative has been recognizing digital pioneer schools across Germany. The network now includes more than 130 schools–from elementary schools to comprehensive schools, high schools, and vocational schools. The initiative was launched by the digital association Bitkom, which aims to actively advance digital education in Germany. But how does the digital association define a “Smart School”?
“The concept is based on three pillars: digital infrastructure, the qualification of teachers and staff, and digital school and teaching concepts,” explains Lewis Erckenbrecht, the responsible advisor for the “Smart School” initiative.
Digital infrastructure refers to things like the school’s internet connection, existing comprehensive Wi-Fi, or the number of digital devices. Essentially, it’s about how well-equipped a school is in terms of digitalization.
Digital school and teaching concepts encompass all measures taken by the school to integrate the existing infrastructure into teaching. “In Germany overall, training teachers in digital competencies remains a major challenge,” Erckenbrecht notes. “It’s not even about age. There are just as many eager older teachers as there are younger technology refusers.”
Digitalization in Schools Rarely Happens with a Plan
Very often, digital projects in schools progress only through the personal commitment of individual teachers. The training of teaching staff at universities is still mostly more analog than digital. A systematic approach to making learning in schools more digital is still lacking.
“Sometimes digital projects also advance out of necessity,” the Bitkom advisor points out, referring to the existing teacher shortage. “Learning with digital devices can fill gaps when teaching staff is lacking.”
Erckenbrecht is critical of the previous political strategy to make schools in Germany more digitally adept. “In the past, schools were sometimes comprehensively equipped with digital devices, but then left to fend for themselves. This strategy is based on a completely wrong assumption.”
At the same time, there should be a specific focus on where the use of digital elements makes the most sense and how teachers can be supported in using digital devices to deliver quality teaching.
“Smart Schools” Learn from Each Other
This is exactly where the “Smart School” concept comes in. It’s about building a network of schools that are role models in digital education. This way, schools can learn from each other and avoid repeating mistakes that other institutions have already made.
“What has definitely proven effective in implementing digital projects is good collaboration between the school and the school authority, such as when municipalities, churches, or private sponsors support the digital concepts at their school,” emphasizes Erckenbrecht.
It also helps when parents are involved in digital school concepts. After all, the use of digital devices continues at home after school. “At some ‘Smart Schools,’ parents have participated in developing binding usage rules for smartphones,” reports the Bitkom expert.
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What Will Schools Look Like in 30 Years?
The school environment is changing. The way children and teenagers learn there is evolving. According to Bitkom, the pace of change could be faster. When asked what schools might look like in 20 or 30 years, Lewis Erckenbrecht responds: “The big lines remain the same. School remains a place students go to learn together. I just hope the overhead projector will finally be in a museum.”
He also believes that learning will become more individualized. Schools will no longer just have the task of preparing a large group for life but will also focus on promoting each individual student. Digital solutions are a good way to better tailor learning processes to the personal needs of children and teenagers.