Digital education is in the forefront of attention during the pandemic. Online schooling has created an entirely new life situation for teachers, students and parents alike. In the past few months, many institutions and families were forced to set up the technical infrastructure necessary for remote education including high-quality Internet access and digital devices. Many of them have overcome the initial difficulties, but some deprived communities across the country still suffer from lack of devices and training required for their use.
In response to the above, the Hungarian Reformed Charity Service and Telenor HiperSuli have announced a joint program named ‘Digital Springboard’ for eight-grade primary schools in socio-economically and infrastructurally deprived communities affected by high unemployment. They are inviting applications from schools where the conditions for digital education can be established if devices are available and staff is open to integrating new ways of knowledge and information sharing into their teaching practices. Schools can apply for the necessary number of tablets and notebooks at a value of up to HUF 2 million. The winners can enrol in a 30-hour accredited HiperSuli Digital Methodology Course to acquire the skills necessary for digital teaching free of charge.
“The Hungarian Reformed Charity Service aims to take technology innovation and IT devices to schools where teachers and students need them the most to make progress. Leveraging the experience of our charity service’s Crossroads (Válaszút) complex digital program, we are well aware of the challenges faced by students and their teachers in the transition to digital education, especially in deprived communities. For this reason, we targeted our program implemented in partnership with Telenor at schools based in socio-economically and infrastructurally deprived communities. It is part of our mission to help provide schools with the advanced technology necessary for digital education which is why we are very pleased to play an active part in this joint initiative”, said Balázs Lutár, Deputy Director and Head of Social Development and Donation Coordination of the Hungarian Reformed Church Charity Service.
“We’re in touch with more than 600 teachers and thousands of students through our HiperSuli digital education program. Our experience gained with them and the virus situation have made it clear that teacher training is key to high-quality digital education. During the pandemic, HiperSuli provided support to schools and families in many ways including a useful information package targeting teachers and parents and free access to educational websites in agreement with the Ministry of Innovation and Technology. Building on our good relationship with the Hungarian Reformed Charity Service, we hope to take our program to the most deprived communities currently suffering from lack of devices for digital education”, said Attila Mészáros, Corporate Communication Director of Telenor.
Applications should be submitted before 12:00 midnight on 16 February 2021. For more details please visit the HiperSuli website or jobbadni.hu.