Estonia may not be large in terms of area. However, the Baltic country has an impressive development over the last 30 years and is one of the pioneers in the areas of digitalization and education. This is demonstrated by the Estonian education system, the extensive availability and use of the internet and Estonia as a digital state as a whole. And then there is Latitude59: this international start-up and technology event in the Estonian capital Tallinn offers exciting insights into the world's first digital society every year.

Education in Estonia has pioneering potential

In the Estonian school system, pupils are generally taught together from the first to the ninth grade. Only after this phase do they have to decide whether they want to continue going to school and obtain a secondary school leaving certificate. Those who decide to go to grammar school usually get a place, even if their average grades can be improved.

In the area digital classroom Estonia is an absolute pioneer in this area: as early as the mid-1990s, a program was initiated to provide all Estonian schools with Internet access and computers within five years.

Robotics projects already take place in kindergarten and programming is on the curriculum from the first grade. Even the smartphone is used in lessons and is not banned as a means of distraction. The Everyday school life is largely organized via an online platform that is used by almost all teachers, students and parents. This platform is used for a variety of purposes, such as

• Curricula and timetables
• Awarding of grades
• Homework
• Documentation of absences.

Teachers also use smartboards instead of blackboards. The aim is for all teaching materials to be available digitally by 2020.

The results are convincing: the small Baltic country moved up in the PISA ranking with its digital classroom. in first place in Europe before.

The problem with the school system, however, is that Estonians of Russian origin are still visit Russian schoolswhere Russian is the primary language and Estonian is only a school subject. The role of the private environment is also extremely important, especially if Estonian is not spoken there. More than 40,000 students live in this small country. There is a university and a technical university in Tallinn. The second largest city, Tartu, is a real student city - every fifth person there is a student.

Internet in "E-Estonia

Network coverage in Estonia is excellent in terms of availability and bandwidth, both in urban and rural areas. 4G Internet is available in 98 percent of the Estonian territory.

There is free Wi-Fi on trains, and many Estonians use not only smartphones but also their laptops while traveling. In more than 80 percent of cases, these were Apple devices, as I was able to observe.

Estonian technology companies

We have already seen from the teaching system that Estonia is fully committed to digitalization. One trigger for the digital euphoria was the success of the Skype software. Skype Technologies was founded by Swedish and Danish entrepreneurs. However, the software was developed by Estonians in the early 2000s. In the meantime, TransferWise and Bolt (formerly Taxify) are further successful examples of companies from Estonia that started out as start-ups and have since grown. now worth billions have become. The next hyped company is Starship Technologies, founded by two Skype co-founders, which manufactures delivery robots.

How a digital state can function

But not only in the The corporate sector is digitalization one topic: Estonia itself as a state relies on digitalization. For example, all Estonian citizens have an electronic identity. This enables access to their own central administration account on the one hand and the use of numerous private services on the other. This administrative account also provides access to all government services, from digital medical records to tax returns. Estonians can also take part in elections digitally.

The electronic tax system (e-tax) was introduced almost 20 years ago and is now used for around 95 percent of all tax returns. The basis for this is the login via a secure ID and forms that are filled out automatically: Users only make the necessary changes. With this system, the lengthy tax return process in Germany takes just three to five minutes.

e-Residency

Estonia is the first country to e-Residency a government-issued digital identity that is growing in popularity (see also below).

E-Residency enables digital entrepreneurs to manage their business from anywhere - completely online. The offer is primarily aimed at freelancers, digital nomads, digital entrepreneurs and start-ups in the technology sector.

Cyber security: A response to hacker attacks

It became clear in spring 2007 that problems can arise from this type of Internet usage: at that time, the city administration of Tallinn wanted to move the bronze soldier monument from the city center to the outskirts. This led to sometimes violent demonstrations by members of the Russian-speaking minority. At the same time hackers attacked the country. The main targets of the attacks were state bodies, including

• the Estonian Parliament
• the President of the Republic
• various ministries
• Banks
• Media.

In response, Estonia has founded the Cyber Defense Union. It is aimed at the Internet society in Estonia and explains the risks on the web.

Latitude59: Versatile international start-up and tech event

Latitude59 is a two-day annual international start-up and technology event in Tallinn. The event sees itself as a link between regional start-ups and markets, international investors and potential business partners.

Some of the focal points of this year's event were

• E-Residency
• the use of IT in medical technology
• Cyber Security
• Artificial intelligence.

There were also interesting presentations on developments in sub-Saharan Africa, such as the Bolt company's rollout project. Numerous companies from abroad were also represented. Noteworthy were the exhibitors "Startup City Fukuoka" from Japan, the fastest growing start-up hub in Japan, and RoboValley the Center for Robotics based in Delft, the Netherlands.

It was also announced at the event that other countries want to adopt the Estonian e-residency model, including the Netherlands.

Conclusion: There is a lot to learn from Estonia when it comes to digitalization

Estonia was at ground zero in 1991. In a unique feat of strength in Europe, the country managed to fulfill the requirements for EU accession in record time with a mixture of courageous politics and active entrepreneurs. Estonia is now a digital role model and host of an active, transnational digital community.

If you want to find out about the latest trends in digitalization, education, mobility and society, Estonia is the place where you can not only get information, but also experience it. That was also one of my intentions when I traveled to Estonia. The country and Latitude59 once again gave us some new content for our toolbox trend2ability - It was definitely a visit that was worthwhile.

(Cover image: Opening of Latitude59 in the Estonian capital Tallinn; Image: © Patrick Müller / TCI GmbH)