New technologies at the service of education

To create a totally innovative e-learning platform based directly on the Plan d'Etude Romand: that's the aim of Valais-based start-up Edidact, based at the Swiss Digital Center in Sierre. This start-up, which has just joined TheArk Foundation's Incubator, uses artificial intelligence to offer students tailor-made follow-up and gamification to make exercises fun. The Edidact platform is available to students, their parents and teachers, and already includes over 2,000 exercises. In 2021, Edidact has secured the necessary resources to accelerate its development. Every week, hundreds of new exercises and features are added to the platform.

Edidact is the brainchild of Valais teacher Karim Trabelsi. "The idea of having a multi-subject, interactive platform was born when I was teaching, and came to fruition during my Master's degree at the University of Fribourg. I realized that the e-learning solutions available were not very applicable to primary grades". Edidact's challenge was to develop online exercises compatible with the Plan d'Étude Romand, enabling children to improve their academic skills in a fun, motivating and autonomous way.

8,000 exercises online by the end of 2021

Building on this idea, the first prototype exercises were created back in 2018, then tested in the classroom. One thing led to another, and the number of contents grew to over 2,000 today. "Our ambition is to have 8,000 online by the end of the year, to cover all school subjects for 5- to 15-year-olds. What's next? We will adapt our platform to other countries.

Edidact's online exercises guide students by providing them with resources (videos, memory aids...) to help them during exercises, reducing adult intervention. "According to Karim Trabelsi, "Encouraging children's autonomy is very important. "It's also vital to offer them learning paths adapted to their individual pace and needs. A class of 20 pupils is very heterogeneous, and it's complex for teachers and parents to adapt to each individuality."

This personalization of learning paths is made possible by artificial intelligence (AI). "AI, which we are developing at Edidact, analyzes the results of exercises completed by learners. Based on their progress through the program, the system shows each child's progress and suggests personalized exercises and pathways, for all school subjects". An interesting way of taking advantage of the potential of technology to enhance learning. Edidact.ch is aimed both at parents wishing to offer their children academic reinforcement, and at teachers wishing to provide their classrooms with a more fun and motivating resource.

Initial financing 

Since last year, Edidact has been able to count on the support of The Ark Foundation. After a grant, it is now supported via the Start-up Incubator. "This support enables us to better prepare our sales strategy, our business model and to launch market studies. The financing of our start-up is also an important part of The Ark's support". In 2020, new funds were raised by the start-up. "Thanks to its structure and selection process, The Ark gives investors confidence," says Karim Trabelsi.

The Edidact team currently consists of five employees at the helm and some fifteen gaming and web developers. The Valais-based start-up also benefits from close support from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zurich.

Source : The Ark