nder The Radar is a special series and newsletter offering from Diplomatic Courier bringing you compelling, under–the–radar stories from around the world over the past month. This month in Europe: debate over the place of smartphones in the classroom, students face back–to–school challenges in Ukraine, and a look at the future of AI in Germany.
Smartphones contentious in European schools
Across Europe, a long–running debate over smartphones in the classroom is heating up again. In Hungary, Madách Imre High School’s former principal, Csaba Mészáros, was fired by the Hungarian government for refusing to comply with its nationwide phone ban. His former school’s website argues, “The pedagogical goal of our school is to educate students on the proper use of digital culture, not to impose bans.” After Mészáros’s firing, thousands protested the nation’s phone ban.
A similar backlash is ongoing in France, where the nation is implementing a trial phone ban. However, some French teachers are concerned about the ban, arguing that it puts more pressure on teachers who would have to spend time collecting and returning phones. Some are also concerned about the moral implications of potentially searching students for phones they might hide to avoid the ban. The French police are worried about possible expenses if phones are lost or damaged.
In the Czech Republic, people are also protesting school phone bans, arguing that the government should not have the power to mandate a ban in all schools. Some parents also believe these bans infringe on students’ rights in the classroom.
While the intention of school phone bans is to prevent digital distractions and possibly cyberbullying during school hours, many believe that schools need to teach students to be responsible digital citizens. A “scoping review” done by LSE suggests that the results of school phone bans are mixed and that the best approach would be to leave the decision to individual schools.
Back to school in Ukraine
In Zaporizhzhia, young Ukrainian students took part in a back–to–school celebration mere hours after air raid alarms blared throughout the city. This marks the city’s return to its tradition since the Russian invasion of Ukraine led to Zaporizhzhia schools’ destruction. Despite the grim backdrop to the celebrations, educators, parents, and students alike were optimistic about the new school year, showing determination and resilience in receiving education despite the geopolitical conflict.
Zaporizhzhia is 25 miles away from the front line of the war and home to Europe’s largest nuclear plant, which Russia quickly took control of after its invasion. The Russian invasion has damaged more than 3,500 schools in Ukraine, and schools in Zaporizhzhia have been destroyed. In an attempt to return to normalcy, construction of underground bunker schools in Zaporizhzhia began in July 2024 so that children could attend classes safely. The goal is for ten underground schools to be built, with five currently under construction.
Now, students in Zaporizhzhia are starting the new school year with a hybrid learning structure. In addition to online videos that continue to stay an essential means of continuing education during the war, more than 500 students will attend classes in the renovated bomb shelters on a rotating schedule. While first graders attend class every week, the other students alternate attending in-person classes, as is necessary to fit in the shelters. The renovated bomb shelters themselves highlight the students and educators’ incredible resiliency, as they are designed to “[provide] a sense of comfort for little learners” amidst the war.
Is AI Germany’s new success story?
Germany’s automotive manufacturing has long been a leader in the global automobile industry, but recent stock trends indicate it could be in decline. Fortunately, the German government has for several years been positioning Germany to become a pioneer in AI—and lately those efforts appear to be bearing fruit.
The German government first released an AI development strategy in 2018, focusing on increasing investment for AI companies. Then in November 2023, the Federal Ministry for Education and Research announced the Artificial Intelligence Action Plan which invests €1.6 billion to expand the industry. This focus has served Germany well, as in January 2024 the IMF ranked Germany as “third in the world [for] AI readiness.”
Where Germany particularly excels is the integration of business AI. As of July 2024, “27% of [German] companies use AI,” up from the 13.3% of companies in 2023. Germany’s SAP, which has been around for 50 years, now “embeds Business AI across its enterprise solutions” and is seeing great success in the stock market, a convincing argument for others to follow. An even more stark illustration of how strong the AI industry seems to be in Germany right now is the relative success of its AI startups, with a better than 90% survival rate of AI startups in Germany from 2023-2024.
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Under The Radar: Classroom smartphone bans in Europe?
Photo by Gaelle Marcel on Unsplash
October 2, 2024
Diplomatic Courier staff writer Stephanie Gull brings you three under–the–radar stories from Europe in September: debate over the place of smartphones in the classroom, students face back–to–school challenges in Ukraine, and a look at the future of AI in Germany.
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nder The Radar is a special series and newsletter offering from Diplomatic Courier bringing you compelling, under–the–radar stories from around the world over the past month. This month in Europe: debate over the place of smartphones in the classroom, students face back–to–school challenges in Ukraine, and a look at the future of AI in Germany.
Smartphones contentious in European schools
Across Europe, a long–running debate over smartphones in the classroom is heating up again. In Hungary, Madách Imre High School’s former principal, Csaba Mészáros, was fired by the Hungarian government for refusing to comply with its nationwide phone ban. His former school’s website argues, “The pedagogical goal of our school is to educate students on the proper use of digital culture, not to impose bans.” After Mészáros’s firing, thousands protested the nation’s phone ban.
A similar backlash is ongoing in France, where the nation is implementing a trial phone ban. However, some French teachers are concerned about the ban, arguing that it puts more pressure on teachers who would have to spend time collecting and returning phones. Some are also concerned about the moral implications of potentially searching students for phones they might hide to avoid the ban. The French police are worried about possible expenses if phones are lost or damaged.
In the Czech Republic, people are also protesting school phone bans, arguing that the government should not have the power to mandate a ban in all schools. Some parents also believe these bans infringe on students’ rights in the classroom.
While the intention of school phone bans is to prevent digital distractions and possibly cyberbullying during school hours, many believe that schools need to teach students to be responsible digital citizens. A “scoping review” done by LSE suggests that the results of school phone bans are mixed and that the best approach would be to leave the decision to individual schools.
Back to school in Ukraine
In Zaporizhzhia, young Ukrainian students took part in a back–to–school celebration mere hours after air raid alarms blared throughout the city. This marks the city’s return to its tradition since the Russian invasion of Ukraine led to Zaporizhzhia schools’ destruction. Despite the grim backdrop to the celebrations, educators, parents, and students alike were optimistic about the new school year, showing determination and resilience in receiving education despite the geopolitical conflict.
Zaporizhzhia is 25 miles away from the front line of the war and home to Europe’s largest nuclear plant, which Russia quickly took control of after its invasion. The Russian invasion has damaged more than 3,500 schools in Ukraine, and schools in Zaporizhzhia have been destroyed. In an attempt to return to normalcy, construction of underground bunker schools in Zaporizhzhia began in July 2024 so that children could attend classes safely. The goal is for ten underground schools to be built, with five currently under construction.
Now, students in Zaporizhzhia are starting the new school year with a hybrid learning structure. In addition to online videos that continue to stay an essential means of continuing education during the war, more than 500 students will attend classes in the renovated bomb shelters on a rotating schedule. While first graders attend class every week, the other students alternate attending in-person classes, as is necessary to fit in the shelters. The renovated bomb shelters themselves highlight the students and educators’ incredible resiliency, as they are designed to “[provide] a sense of comfort for little learners” amidst the war.
Is AI Germany’s new success story?
Germany’s automotive manufacturing has long been a leader in the global automobile industry, but recent stock trends indicate it could be in decline. Fortunately, the German government has for several years been positioning Germany to become a pioneer in AI—and lately those efforts appear to be bearing fruit.
The German government first released an AI development strategy in 2018, focusing on increasing investment for AI companies. Then in November 2023, the Federal Ministry for Education and Research announced the Artificial Intelligence Action Plan which invests €1.6 billion to expand the industry. This focus has served Germany well, as in January 2024 the IMF ranked Germany as “third in the world [for] AI readiness.”
Where Germany particularly excels is the integration of business AI. As of July 2024, “27% of [German] companies use AI,” up from the 13.3% of companies in 2023. Germany’s SAP, which has been around for 50 years, now “embeds Business AI across its enterprise solutions” and is seeing great success in the stock market, a convincing argument for others to follow. An even more stark illustration of how strong the AI industry seems to be in Germany right now is the relative success of its AI startups, with a better than 90% survival rate of AI startups in Germany from 2023-2024.
