e-Schools: Establishing a System for Developing Digitally Mature Schools (pilot project)

The e-Schools pilot project The coordinating body was the Croatian Academic and Research Network – CARNET. CARNET is authorized by the Ministry of Science, Education and Sports, which reports to the Government of the Republic of Croatia.

The full name of the project is “e-Schools: Establishing a System for Developing Digitally Mature Schools (pilot project)”. The abbreviated name of the project is the ‘e-Schools pilot project’.

The e-Schools project is part of a broader e-schools program, and it's important to distinguish between the two.

The e-Schools programme is being implemented through several projects focused on the integration of ICT into the school system from 2015 to 2022. The e-Schools programme includes a pilot project, scheduled for implementation between 2015 and 2018, and a large-scale project that will be carried out from 2019 to 2022, building upon the outcomes of the pilot project.

The full name of the entire program is “e-Schools: a comprehensive informatization of school operation processes and teaching processes aimed at the creation of digitally mature schools for the 21st century.”.

In digitally mature schools, the appropriate use of information and communications technologies (ICT) contributes to the following:

• an efficient and transparent management of the school (direct objective);
• the development of digitally competent teachers prepared for the application of innovations in their own pedagogical practices (direct objective);
• The development of digitally competent students who are prepared for further education and competitive in the labor market. (Indirect objective).

The overall objective of the e-schools program is to contribute to capacity building within the primary and secondary education systems so that students are prepared for the labor market, further education, and lifelong learning.

The purpose of the e-Schools pilot project is to establish a system for developing digitally mature schools through the pilot project and to evaluate the application of ICT (information and communications technologies) in the educational and operational processes of 10% schools in the Republic of Croatia.

The specific objective of the e-Schools pilot project is to pilot organizational, technological, and educational concepts for introducing ICT into educational and operational processes in selected schools over two school years. Based on the pilot project's experience, the goal is to develop a strategy for implementing a system of digitally mature schools throughout the primary and secondary education system in the Republic of Croatia, for application in the main project (2019-2022).

Experiences with similar European projects for the informatization of operational and teaching processes demonstrate that a coordinated implementation is indispensable, encompassing both infrastructure and education. This requires an understanding that the foundation of education is the teacher, and the primary focus is the student. Therefore, it is crucial that the support and training of teachers and school staff precede all other project activities, and then run concurrently with, and finally outlast, all other project components. Without empowered teachers and school staff, equipped and prepared for new technologies, services, and teaching approaches, the infrastructure will remain unused, and the services and content developed within the project will be discarded.

Both stages of the project are financed mostly (85% from the EU Structural Funds). Considering the specificity of the project objectives, its implementation has been separated into two strategic projects, which are financed and carried out through two different operational programs:

• Project Afinanced from the Operational Programme Competitiveness and Cohesion (OPCC), European Regional Development Fund (ERDF)
• Project Bfinanced from the Operational Programme Efficient Human Resources (OPEHR), European Social Fund (ESF)

The total value of the pilot project is HRK 306,851,518, of which HRK 193,688,730 is financed from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) HRK 67,135,060 from the European Social Fund (ESF) and HRK 46,027,727 from national resources.

The pilot project was carried out from March 1, 2015 to August 31, 2018.

More info about the project is available on its website.

The project was co-financed by the European Union from European Structural and Investment Funds.