In order to establish a new “Community of Practice” in the field of digital education at European level, the European Commission issued a “Call for Tenders” for supporting the Digital Education Hub last year. A consortium of eleven partners has now been selected and started its work in February 2022 under the leadership of the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD). Furthermore, the consortium includes the Stifterverband (DE), the European Association of the Distance Teaching Universities (NL), EDEN Digital Learning Europe (EE), UEFISCDI (RO), Educraftor (FI), HPI School of Design Thinking (DE); European Schoolnet (BE), the Knowledge Innovation Centre (MT), the Centre for Research and Interdisciplinarity (FR) and Open Evidence (IT).

The consortium supports the European Commission in the realisation of its overarching Digital Education Hub with a focus on an active, Europe-wide Community of Practice, according to the European Commission.

The focus is on sharing experiences and examples of good practice in order to jointly develop innovative solutions for digital education and providing advice on policy level. The first results of the work of the Community of Practice will be available via the European Education Area Portal from mid-2022.

The new Community of Practice and the Digital Education Hub are part of the current Digital Education Action Plan, which runs from 2021 to 2027.

In 2020, Hochschulforum Digitalisation, together with numerous European partners, proposed the establishment of a “European Digital Education Lab” as part of a consultation on the new Action Plan in order to support the collaboration of European initiatives in the field of digital education. Hochschulforum Digitalisierung plans to involve its higher education community in the exchange activities of the now realised Hub.