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Growth is expected in 2024: representatives
Andrey Sizov emphasized that the online format continues to confidently integrate into the educational process. Growth is particularly noticeable in the field of supplementary education, where rates reach 40%. This demonstrates significant interest in distance learning and its effectiveness.
The private education market continues to grow, and demand for children's EdTech products is expected to increase significantly next year. This trend is driven by the growing need for innovative educational solutions that promote child development. Given changes in the educational environment and increased interest in individualized approaches, further investment in technologies aimed at teaching and developing children can be predicted.
The CEO of Foxford notes that in Russia, children's education has become a priority for parents. More and more families are focusing on receiving a high-quality basic education, which indicates a growing interest in educational services. This trend underscores the importance of investing in education and parents' desire to provide their children with the necessary knowledge and skills for a successful future.
Vitaly Altukhov predicts further growth in EdTech. He noted that in the first half of 2023, the children's EdTech segment, for the first time, surpassed the traditional segment—adult continuing professional education—in revenue growth. This underscores the relevance and potential of investing in educational technologies for children, opening up new opportunities for the development of this market.
Investing in children's education remains a priority for parents, especially in areas that facilitate career choices. According to a recent study, when choosing continuing education, parents focus on its usefulness for their child's professional development. However, there is a paradox: many parents and children do not have a clear idea of what profession to choose. This creates a demand for career guidance services that help with future planning and finding optimal professional development paths. Parents strive to support their children in their pursuit of a successful career and want to provide them with the best opportunities to succeed in life.
Dmitry Abramov also emphasizes that more and more families today are paying attention to their children's career paths and are beginning to prepare them for their future professions early on. This demonstrates the growing importance of early career guidance and a conscious approach to choosing a future specialty. Career preparation at an early stage can significantly increase the chances of successful employment and job satisfaction in the future.
The market is changing under the influence of diverse trends
The head of Skysmart identified key trends in the children's EdTech segment that are contributing to the growth of companies' revenues in this field. These trends include the active use of technology, adaptive educational platforms, and the introduction of interactive and game-based learning methods. In addition, there is a growing interest in the individualization of the educational process, which allows for the unique needs of each child to be taken into account. Companies are also beginning to use analytical tools to evaluate the effectiveness of learning and improve the user experience. These factors create favorable conditions for the growth and development of businesses in the field of educational technologies for children.
- The flow of the audience for additional education from the in-person format to distance learning. Parents are increasingly learning about the capabilities and advantages of online platforms, which is resulting in demand for specific niches - for example, children's programming and homeschooling according to the school curriculum. Moreover, according to Dmitry, the market is still far from saturated.
- A more cautious approach to educational spending by users. Russians have begun to focus more on the specific results their child will achieve rather than the number of lessons they complete. While subjects requiring special attention are still studied individually, parents who address minor gaps in knowledge prefer group lessons, as they are cheaper.
- The emergence of the online preschool education segment. Demand has arisen for programs for children under seven, both in large multi-subject online schools and in small specialized ones.
- Increased government support for the segment. There is a noticeable development of projects with state funding—for example, the online educational program "Code of the Future," which offers schoolchildren and college students free programming courses from leading IT companies.
Alexey Konobeev, Academic Director of the online school "Umskul Academy," identifies several key trends shaping the modern market. Currently, opposing trends are influencing the educational sector. These changes require careful analysis to understand how they may impact the future of education and training.
Currently, two opposing trends are observed in EdTech and education in Russia: a drive for standardization and control, and a move toward individualization of the educational process. Standardization is aimed at unifying educational programs and assessment systems, while individualization emphasizes the needs and characteristics of each student, allowing for the adaptation of education to their unique abilities and interests. These two areas actively influence the development of educational technologies and shape the future of education in the country.
In recent years, authorities have been actively working to standardize the educational sector, including EdTech technologies. In 2022, a federal list of electronic educational resources recommended for use in schools was created. To be included in this list, educational digital resources, such as Umskul, must undergo an assessment by the Russian Academy of Education. This process ensures high standards of quality and effectiveness for educational materials, which in turn contributes to improving the educational process in Russian schools.
The desire for individualization in education is manifested through the efforts of representatives Industries focused on creating flexible courses that meet the needs of each student. An ideal educational program should provide each student with the opportunity to acquire the skills and knowledge that will be useful in their daily lives and professional activities. This approach allows for tailoring learning to individual goals and interests, which in turn promotes more effective learning and increases student motivation. Individualization of learning is implemented at several levels. At the lesson level, students can choose between simpler and more complex exercises. At the course level, students can select the modules that best suit their needs and complete only those. At the level of the entire educational system, courses and modules are selected and recommended based on student preferences and needs, and automated recommendation systems are developed, making the learning process more effective and personalized. According to Alexey, two key trends in education are the implementation of neural networks in educational solutions and the use of an evidence-based approach to learning. An evidence-based approach involves measuring educational outcomes using various metrics, allowing for a more accurate assessment of the effectiveness of the educational process and its adaptation to student needs. The integration of neural networks into educational technologies opens new horizons for personalized learning, improving interaction between students and educational materials. These trends contribute to improving the quality of education and its compliance with modern requirements.
In 2023, companies experienced difficulties, but there are also positive changes
Andrey Sizov, CEO of the Foxford online school, noted that one of the main problems in online education in Russia is the wary attitude of some of the population toward this format of education. In his opinion, this situation was influenced by the pandemic and the negative experience of the transition to distance learning in traditional schools. Furthermore, there is a lack of established cooperation between public educational institutions and private online platforms. Sizov is confident that improved collaboration between these sectors can help address a number of pressing issues, such as the shortage of qualified personnel and the implementation of supplementary education programs in traditional schools. This underscores the importance of integrating online education into the existing educational system to improve its effectiveness. Andrey also highlighted the challenges associated with finding qualified specialists. Finding suitable employees is becoming increasingly difficult today, due to the highly competitive labor market and increasing demands on candidates. This creates additional challenges for companies seeking to build effective teams.
The weakening ruble is negatively impacting the competitiveness of Russian salaries. As a result, many specialists not residing in Russia are choosing to work abroad. This primarily applies to professions such as programmers, analysts, product managers, and digital marketing specialists. Working outside of Russia, they enjoy more favorable conditions and prospects.
Vitaly Altukhov, co-founder and director of development and research at the career guidance platform Profilum, emphasized that increased government regulation of online education hinders companies' access to target audiences. However, such regulation also brings positive changes, specifically, it contributes to improving the quality of educational products.
EdTech as an industry has reached significant maturity, which has led to increased regulation. An example is the law on the verification of digital educational resources, which came into force on January 1, 2023. This measure increases transparency in assessing the quality of educational content, despite complicating companies' access to target audiences. Such changes contribute to a more competitive environment and stimulate improvements in the quality of educational services.
Market players have outlined goals for 2024
The Academic Director of Umskul Academy notes that companies will pay more attention to creating intensive educational programs. This will improve the quality of education and enhance student outcomes. In the context of increasing competition in the educational services market, an emphasis on the effectiveness and intensity of training is becoming especially important.
The search for effective methods of rapid learning continues. This includes both intensive courses, where classes are held daily for several hours with an emphasis on supporting and motivating students, and the use of interactive assistants, such as applications with artificial intelligence. The solution to this problem will not be quick, since there are physiological limits to the speed of assimilation of new information. Nevertheless, every step, even the smallest, in this direction is of great importance.
The head of Foxford identifies three key areas that, in his opinion, participants in the children's EdTech segment will focus on. These areas will determine the future of educational technologies for children, promoting their development and learning. It is important to note that an emphasis on innovative approaches and adaptation to the needs of modern students will become the basis of a successful strategy in this area. Thus, EdTech representatives will strive to create more effective and attractive educational solutions for children, which will improve the quality of education and increase interest in the educational process.
- Secondary vocational education programs. He explained this by the fact that teenagers increasingly prefer to go to college after ninth grade than to high school.
- Development of affordable products. This is necessary to make high-quality basic school education accessible to the widest possible audience.
- Personalization of learning and the implementation of AI in operational processes. This will allow us to automate some of the work and offer the user affordable products.