Interview with Albena Spasova, Co-founder of EdTech Bulgaria and Academic Lead of the TechWell Erasmus+ Project
The 2025 Empowering European EdTech Summit marked an important milestone for the European EdTech community. Bringing together innovators, educators, policymakers and researchers from across Europe, the Summit provided a space not only to showcase solutions, but to reflect on the direction, responsibilities and shared challenges of digital education in Europe.
In this retrospective interview, Albena Spasova, Co-founder of EdTech Bulgaria, member of the European EdTech Alliance, and Academic Lead of the TechWell Erasmus+ project, looks back on the key messages of the 2025 Summit, reflects on lessons learned, and shares her perspective on the future of European EdTech with digital wellbeing at its core.
The 2025 Empowering European EdTech Summit was co-organised by the European EdTech Alliance together with several European partners, bringing together stakeholders from across the EdTech ecosystem.
You are active in several roles within the European EdTech space: as a national association leader, a member of a European network, and an Erasmus+ project academic lead. How do these roles complement each other in your daily work?
For me, these roles are not separate – they are deeply interconnected. At national level, we work closely with schools, startups and policymakers, which gives us a very realistic understanding of everyday challenges. At European level, these experiences are shared, compared and strengthened through collaboration. Erasmus+ projects then provide the structure and long-term framework to transform ideas into practical, scalable solutions. Together, these levels enable real and lasting impact.
How would you define the core mission of the Empowering European EdTech Summit, especially when reflecting on the 2025 edition?
The 2025 Summit reinforced the idea that European EdTech must be built on collaboration and responsibility. It was not only about innovation, but about creating a shared understanding of how technology can support education systems in a sustainable and human-centred way. The Summit served as a space where different perspectives could meet and align.
What were the most important lessons and outcomes emerging from the EmpowerED project and the discussions held at the 2025 Summit?
One of the clearest lessons was that EdTech solutions cannot succeed in isolation. Pedagogical relevance, institutional readiness and learner wellbeing are just as important as technological advancement. The Summit also highlighted the growing need for stronger cooperation between national ecosystems and European initiatives.
Looking back, what do you see as the biggest challenge to the unified development of the European EdTech sector today?
Fragmentation remains the main obstacle. In many cases, excellent initiatives across Europe still operate independently, which limits their long-term impact. The 2025 Summit made it clear that shared frameworks, knowledge exchange and long-term strategic alignment are essential if we want to move forward together.
Based on the 2025 Summit, what role can initiatives like the Empowering European EdTech Summit play in shaping national education policies?
They help create a shared European perspective. By connecting national challenges with European experiences, such initiatives enable policymakers to learn from one another and adapt proven approaches rather than reinventing solutions.
In your view, how can national EdTech associations add real value at European level beyond project implementation?
By acting as connectors and translators. Associations ensure that European strategies are grounded in local realities and that innovation responds to genuine educational needs.
How does the diversity of EdTech actors influence the development of sustainable partnerships?
Diversity brings innovation, but it also requires trust and a shared vision. The 2025 Summit highlighted that sustainable partnerships depend on long-term commitment, not just short-term collaboration.
How do you see the role of the Erasmus+ programme in ensuring that EdTech innovations directly support school practice and student outcomes?
From our experience, Erasmus+ plays a crucial role by allowing innovations to be tested in real educational environments. It supports cross-country learning and adaptation, ensuring that solutions are practical, inclusive and grounded in everyday school realities rather than remaining theoretical concepts.
What synergies became visible between the TechWell project and the objectives of the 2025 Empowering European EdTech Summit?
Both initiatives place people at the centre of digital transformation. TechWell focuses on integrating digital wellbeing into everyday school life, while the Summit amplifies these discussions at European level. Together, they help ensure that wellbeing-focused approaches are not marginal, but central to EdTech innovation.
What distinguishes TechWell’s approach to digital wellbeing from more traditional “digital child protection” narratives?
TechWell moves away from fear-based or restrictive approaches. Instead, it promotes balance, awareness and age-appropriate use. The goal is not to exclude digital tools, but to support their healthy and meaningful integration into teaching and learning.
How could insights from Erasmus+ projects be more effectively integrated into future European EdTech events?
Future events should increasingly function as learning and exchange spaces. Workshops, case studies and policy-oriented discussions can help translate project results into actionable knowledge for a wider audience, building on what was initiated at the 2025 Summit.
Which trend or technological direction do you believe will shape European EdTech most strongly after 2025 and into 2026?
The responsible integration of AI with a strong focus on digital wellbeing. The future of EdTech is not about faster or more complex technology. It is about more conscious, ethical and learner-centred use.
What can EdTech associations do to encourage more schools and local stakeholders to actively engage in the EdTech ecosystem?
Trust-building is key. When schools feel that technology responds to their real challenges and supports their pedagogical goals, engagement follows naturally.
If you could share one key message with the European EdTech community after the 2025 Summit, what would it be?
We need courage to collaborate. The future of education will not be shaped by individual organisations or countries, but by shared responsibility and long-term cooperation.
