Learning is part of our entire life. We learn, are educated or even teach others. Digital content and tools like language learning apps, online seminars or learning platforms, have long become an indispensable part of modern learning experience. However, the variety of  educational services often does not connect well to each other. Multiple accounts need to be created and documentation, like reports and certificates, cannot be managed centrally and are difficult to share. It is also challenging to find offers that suit the individual learning situation and to tailor them to specific needs. Information and media discontinuity are a common problem. We are working on an infrastructure that overcomes these hurdles and enables a seamless, lifelong, digital learning journey. Therefore, we provide access to numerous education providers and enable easy sharing of learning outcomes and certificates across institutions or educational levels. Further, we provide personalization of learning opportunities simplify administration tasks.

The networking infrastructure links existing platforms, learning management systems and digital education services. It focuses on users – learners and educators – as well as the  educational services themselves. By connecting all these parties, we create a digital learning space that bridges gaps in the individual learning journey and allows educational services to better adapt to the individual needs of users. We improve orientation by finding better education services and support finding learning peers with similar interests or preferences to foster cooperative learning. All of this is realised in compliance with data protection requirements, for connection within Europe with open standards and as an open-source project for the education community.

Announced as a national learning platform, the digital networking infrastructure for education is being established under the auspices of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). It is one of the 18 flagship projects of the federal government’s digital strategy (Digitalstrategie der Bundesregierung).

What we offer students and educators:

• Simplification: Single sign-on for various platforms and learning opportunities. 
• Orientation: A straightforward, systematic search function to locate learning content – with the option of individual recommendations.
• Collaboration: Collaboration between and within institutions through access to shared structures.
• Security: Storage of learning documentation and artefacts in compliance with data protection requirements for independent management of own information.

What we offer education providers:

• Coverage: Reaching new target groups and attracting users.
• Innovation: Participative development and support for open data formats and licenses.
• Collaboration: Use of common standards for collaborative programmes with the benefits of interoperability.
• Security: Digital identity verification and assurance of comprehensive data security.