The Danish government has allocated 40 million Danish crowns (DKK) for 2015 and 2016 to support the development of new, innovative digital educational aids, including games. The support is earmarked for either concept or market development of digital educational aids for public schools.
“We know that digital educational aids promote student learning. At the same time, they motivate the students to use the same tools as they do outside of school. That is why we need to develop more educational aids that utilise the digital opportunities,” says the Danish minister of education, Christine Antorini.
The first round of applications has just ended, and 19 different projects have been granted a total of eight million DKK. According to the Danish Ministry of Education, the interest in applying for support has been huge, with 85 projects submitted prior to the deadline.
Minister of Education Christine Antorini, Denmark
In choosing the 19 supported projects, the grant committee focused on five primary criteria: originality, creative collaboration, academic quality, market potential and themes that support the implementation of the “new public school” – a reference to the sweeping public school reforms that Denmark rolled out last year, including more hours in Danish and maths, daily physical activity and a stronger focus on foreign languages.
Among the projects granted funds are educational games themed around the issues of the Arctic, learning the sound and pronunciation of letters, world building, food production in Denmark, storytelling and writing.
The next application round is slated for this fall. Learn more about the program and application process on the Danish Ministry of Education website here (in Danish).
