"We are building nothing less than the future": Q and A about education projects with ESTDEV's head of Education, Gertha Teidla-Kunitsõn

Why is education one of ESTDEV’s priority areas? 

Teidla-Kunitsõn: It is almost impossible to overestimate the impact of education on our lives. Education prepares us for adulthood; it should give us the opportunities to realise our full potential and navigate life in the best possible way. 

Broadly speaking, we can think of ourselves as the sum of what we have learned throughout our lives, whether that involves a specific skill, acquired knowledge, or the attitudes and convictions we have adopted and shaped through various experiences. What we learn and how we learn it shapes and defines all of this. 

By supporting education, we support the educational experience of everyone and, in turn, influence the way their lives unfold. If education equips us with the skills, knowledge, opportunities and experiences that today's society requires, we are well-positioned to thrive in our future lives. However, if the education we receive fails to support us in adult life or equip us with essential skills, such as critical thinking or the social abilities needed to function within a team, we will face significant difficulties coping in the future. This is especially true in times rife with crises and challenges. 

That is why education is a priority area for ESTDEV's development cooperation. By investing in education, we invest in future generations and ensure that everyone's educational experience is meaningful and serves as a vital foundation for meeting future challenges. We are building nothing less than the future for millions of people. 

What are the biggest educational challenges currently facing ESTDEV’s partner countries? 

Teidla-Kunitsõn: In the case of Ukraine, we continue to face infrastructure challenges, ranging from Russian attacks on the power grid to direct strikes on school buildings, which force all learning activities into shelters. In areas near the front line, all instruction remains online, as attending school in person is simply too dangerous. And when one considers that vocational training, which focuses on specialised skills and practical experience, must largely take place online, the question immediately arises: how can we provide the best possible training under such circumstances? Some schools have teachers work two shifts because shelters in some schools cannot accommodate all students at once. They use a two-shift system to ensure everyone can fit into the shelter if needed. This is the everyday reality of education in Ukraine. 

Beyond Ukraine, we see challenges in both teacher training and the need to reinforce specific skills. For instance, while training courses and programmes that foster digital competence remain highly valued, there is also a need to support knowledge and skills related to modern pedagogical approaches. 

Schools also vary in terms of resources and teaching conditions. There are universities where hundreds of students attend lectures simultaneously—a scenario that seems quite strange from the Estonian perspective. Schools also differ significantly in their capacity regarding educational resources, resulting in vastly different levels of preparation for learners. 

In Africa, several ESTDEV projects focus on teacher training and digital skills. How does the knowledge acquired during teacher training reach the classroom, and what role does this play in society in the long run? 

Teidla-Kunitsõn: One of the greatest assets of any country's education system is its teachers. Teachers stand at the front of the classroom, supporting and nurturing our learners. Here, it is worth considering the kind of educational experience we wish to offer: do we want teachers at the front of the class who have received the best possible professional training, who feel supported and valued in their schools, and who have the freedom to be creative and flexible in their teaching while utilising a variety of educational tools? Or what happens to a learner when the teacher lacks up-to-date knowledge of learning and teaching, lacks resources, and has no opportunities for professional development or access to diverse teaching aids? And what happens when a single teacher must reach hundreds of learners at once? These are two vastly different scenarios, resulting in two very different learning experiences from the student's perspective. It is difficult to overstate the impact and role of high-quality, modern education in our lives. And I am not sure we can afford to let future generations—whether here or elsewhere in Europe—experience an education system characterised by exhaustion, overload and inadequacy. 

What opportunities does the digitalisation of education create in African countries and Moldova, and what problems does it help to solve? 

Teidla-Kunitsõn: The opportunities that the digitalisation of education creates are versatile and flexible, but certainly not a magic bullet. On one hand, the digitalisation of education helps create reliable, functional and easily accessible systems, both for managing education and for the learning process itself. Digitalisation excellently supports educational accessibility, whether by enabling participation in online learning or by bringing the best teachers from remote areas directly to one's home screen. We may no longer recall physically delivering paper applications to an educational institution, yet in some regions this remains a daily reality, and it’s a challenge digitalisation could quickly resolve. However, it must be noted that any digitalisation effort must not overlook those who require assistance and support, whether due to accessibility issues (such as lacking a computer), a lack of skills (having a computer but not knowing how to use it effectively), or a need to understand how to derive the greatest personal benefit from digital education (recognising the specific advantages or improvements to quality of life it offers). 

To reap the full benefits of digitalisation, teachers, school administrators and education officials need comprehensive support. By any standard, merely purchasing equipment does not constitute the digitalisation of education. To achieve this, we need systemic decisions supported at the national level, competent training and ongoing support for the teachers standing in front of the class. 

Ukraine's education system is under immense pressure due to the war. What are the most critical educational needs right now, and how do they differ from Ukraine's long-term needs? 

Teidla-Kunitsõn: Today, Ukraine's primary need is to shore up its defences ahead of the approaching winter. This entails procuring generators, network equipment and other resources, and generally establishing the basic conditions necessary for learning and teaching to continue. These basic conditions include refurbishing and building bomb shelters; another example of winter preparedness is implementing learning management systems in schools, as not all Ukrainian schools have moved their administration online. 

Long-term needs relate more to the future direction of education in Ukraine—the goals it should meet and the methods used to achieve them. Examples include reforms, curriculum development and clear strategies with implementation plans and defined objectives. Yet, with winter approaching and attacks intensifying, Ukraine's immediate priority is understandably finding ways to deliver education at all under current circumstances. 

ESTDEV supports vocational education reform and the development of entrepreneurship education in Ukraine. How does education contribute to Ukraine's economic recovery and reconstruction? 

Teidla-Kunitsõn: Ukraine's vocational education system plays a major role in preparing a skilled workforce. This means learners acquiring a trade or pursuing further training should receive the best possible preparation from the vocational system to actively contribute to and participate in the Ukrainian labour market. Integrating entrepreneurship education into this framework offers learners the opportunity—beyond simply working as employees—to establish and successfully manage their own businesses. To put it simply: a student training to be a welder might graduate not only knowing they are highly sought after in the job market but also realising they can start their own company, create jobs and offer professional services through a business they lead themselves. 

ESTDEV's education projects do not focus solely on formal education. Why is it important to also support extracurricular activities, early childhood education and girls' access to technology education? 

Teidla-Kunitsõn: While supporting formal education is crucial, it is equally important to support areas that supplement it. Estonia's high-quality, world-class education system is globally renowned; however, our strong early childhood education system is less widely known as a key factor behind this success story. Extracurricular education, meanwhile, gives learners more opportunities to pursue their interests and study what they're passionate about, which can be anything from IT and music to chess! While formal education provides general knowledge through a curriculum, hobby education lets learners gain knowledge, experience and skills that—even with the best intentions in the world—could not fit into formal school curricula. Teamwork in soccer practice or dedication to playing the piano does not replace formal education, but it significantly complements it. Providing girls with access to technology education directly addresses gender stereotypes and labour shortages in certain sectors. Today, we no longer speak of fields designated for young women versus young men; instead, we focus on creating opportunities regardless of the learner's gender. Young men have traditionally dominated some fields, and this disparity has made it much harder for girls to enter STEM. However, we must ensure that by supporting girls' access to technology education, we do not inadvertently create barriers for young men entering those same fields. 

Why should Estonia contribute to the development of education outside Europe? How does the Estonian education system benefit from development cooperation? 

Teidla-Kunitsõn: The most important benefits are the experiences and lessons we can gather from partner countries, bring back to Estonia and apply here. Although bombs aren't falling from the sky and disrupting our schooling, our own educational processes benefit greatly from the ability to recognise anxiety in the classroom, find ways to alleviate it and support the learner's readiness to learn. We must also consider how education would continue if the internet and communication networks were cut off and the power went out. In sparsely populated areas, we could also benefit from the skilled online teaching methods many Ukrainian schools are currently forced to use. 

It is—and should be—in Estonia's interest (and here I mean our society as a whole) for our peers and partners outside Europe to thrive! In the long run, we all benefit when everyone can receive quality education, which in turn translates into strong economies and prosperity. 

How do we measure the actual impact of ESTDEV's education projects, and what kind of change do we wish to see in our partner countries in the long term? 

Teidla-Kunitsõn: Measuring impact is an incredibly difficult and thankless task, especially in education. The investments we make today in advancing education systems may only bear fruit decades from now. However, the impact can be observed in the well-being of teachers and students within schools, in the number of reforms implemented by partner countries, and in how well students fare after completing formal education—specifically, how effectively they navigate the world's daily challenges and complexities, and the paths they choose for their futures. 

The long-term change we at ESTDEV aim to see is a consistent, enduring shift toward higher-quality and more inclusive education, in environments where teachers are supported, students are eager to learn, and education itself holds increasing value within society.