While countries like England are tightening restrictions on smartphones in schools, Estonia is embracing technology as a central pillar of its education system. The Baltic nation, now considered a leader in digital learning in Europe, is preparing to roll out personal AI accounts for students, marking a bold new chapter in AI in education.

Estonia, with a population of 1.4 million, has quietly risen to the top of Europe’s education charts. According to the OECD’s 2022 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), Estonia's education system ranked first in Europe in mathematics, science, and creative thinking, and came second only to Ireland in reading. Despite its modest size and resources, the country is outperforming much larger nations.

According to The Guardian, a key factor in its success is its early and widespread adoption of digital tools in classrooms. Unlike governments that restrict device usage due to concerns over distraction or mental health, Estonia views smartphones as essential educational instruments.

AI tools for students: The ‘AI Leap’ initiative

This September, Estonia will launch the first phase of its national “AI Leap” initiative. The program aims to provide AI tools for students and educators across the country. In partnership with OpenAI, the government plans to offer free access to advanced AI platforms to 58,000 students and 5,000 teachers by 2027, starting with those aged 16 and 17.

The initiative also includes professional development for teachers, covering digital ethics, equitable access to AI, and techniques for encouraging self-directed learning. The broader objective is to position Estonia as not just tech-savvy but as one of the most intelligent adopters of AI worldwide.

Estonia’s education policy contrasts sharply with the growing trend of mobile phone bans in schools elsewhere in Europe. According to Kristina Kallas, Estonia’s Minister of Education and Research, society at large, and by extension, the school system, is more accepting of digital tools.

“I know the scepticism and carefulness of most of the European countries regarding screens, mobile phones and technology,” Kallas said at the Education World Forum in London. “The thing is that in the Estonian case, society in general is much more open and prone to using digital tools and services. Teachers are no different.”

In Estonian schools, mobile phone use is typically guided by age-specific regulations and local-level policies. While younger students face more structured guidelines, older students frequently use phones during lessons for academic tasks. During breaks, their use is limited.

Estonia’s digital learning vision

Kallas emphasized that 16-year-olds in Estonia can already vote in local elections using their phones, highlighting the inconsistency of banning phones for learning while encouraging civic participation via digital platforms.

“So we want them to use mobile phones to do their civic duty, to participate in an election, to get the information, to analyse the political platforms,” she said. “It’s a little bit strange if we would not allow them to use them in school, in an educational setting. That would be a very confusing message to 16-year-olds – vote online, vote on a mobile, but don’t use ChatGPT on your phone to do education learning.”

Estonia’s forward-thinking stance on education technology is not new. In 1997, the country introduced the Tiigrihüpe (Tiger Leap) program, laying the foundation for its high-speed internet infrastructure and school-based digital systems. Now, with AI, Estonia is poised to enter a new era of digital learning.

Looking ahead, Kallas predicts that AI will shift traditional classroom dynamics, marking the “end of essays for homework” and a movement toward oral assessments and higher-order cognitive skills.

“It’s a matter of urgency,” she stated. “We are facing this evolutionary, developmental challenge now. We either evolve into faster-thinking and higher-level-thinking creatures, or the technology will take over our consciousness.”

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