The digital transformation in education remains a topic of high importance for the Swiss, as well as the global, society. To enhance visibility and support the digital transformation in education, the Swiss EdTech Collider, Switzerland’s leading hub and center for EdTech startups and innovations based at EPFL Lausanne and with a location also in Berne at BeLEARN, has established so-called «test-bed/test-lab» collaboration framework with a few schools (mostly private and/or professional education schools) in the past. In those testbeds schools could address their needs and based on those selected EdTech startups were able to test their solutions and innovations with the appropriate targeted group (teachers, students, administrators) in those schools. This has proven to be an effective and impactful added value, not only for the schools/test lab partners for having the opportunity to ‘field test’ EdTech innovations, but also for the EdTech startups themselves for being able to receive real world feedback for their innovations – a win/win scheme for both sides that also aims to push generally digital transformation in schools and educational institutions.
However, an overall Swiss wide EdTech Testbed Platform – especially addressing public schools – had been missing in the past. The Swiss EdTech Collider has closed this gap by establishing and launching the “Swiss National EdTech Testbed Program” end of 2022, which offers an environment and platform for Swiss Public Schools to test and experiment EdTech solutions in a real-world setting with the support of pedagogical specialists from the Swiss EdTech Collider Team. The aim of this «Test and Learn» model and framework in Switzerland is to allows fast testing and feedback loops of EdTech tools by offering public schools to test new educational tools. In those environments, educators and schools will be matched and brought together with EdTech startups based on their needs to rapidly test innovations and solutions in a real-world school setting accompanied by members of the Swiss EdTech Collider team. This helps schools to address the challenges they face as well as see, test, and learn about new innovative EdTech tools. Findings of Testbeds are summarized in ‘Good Practice Papers’, which are available to anyone via the official website. Also, the feedback generated from educators, schools is transmitted back to the startups, which provides them with crucial information for product design improvements. Finally, the Swiss EdTech Collider can identify possible/potential gaps in the EdTech market.

The Swiss National EdTech Testbed Program was officially launched in December 2022 with the support of the Gebert Rüf Stiftung and the Jacobs Foundation. Since the beginning of 2025, the program has also been supported by the Asuera Stiftung. To date, 722 testbeds have been conducted, involving 389 schools, 672 teachers and 13,285 studentsacross Switzerland. These results, together with the continued strong demand from schools, demonstrate the relevance of the Testbed Program as a practical approach to enabling schools and teachers to explore and evaluate innovative EdTech solutions under real-world conditions.
Since the launch of the program, five Good Practice Papers and two Testbed Magazines have been published and made available to the wider education community. The publications document experiences and lessons learned from the testbeds and highlight the potential added value of both the initiative itself and the individual EdTech solutions tested. The second Testbed Magazine, published in December 2025, focused specifically on AI in education and addressed emerging opportunities and challenges associated with the use of AI in educational contexts.
During the current project Phase II (2025–2026), the Testbed Program has continued to expand its reach, with a particular focus on strengthening its implementation and integration in the French-speaking part of Switzerland following its successful establishment in German-speaking Switzerland during Phase I (2023–2024).
Furthermore, the project continues to make the results and added value generated through the testbeds accessible to a broad audience and, in particular, to stakeholders and decision-makers in the Swiss education sector. Additional Good Practice Papers, Testbed Magazines and other communication formats contribute to disseminating the experiences and insights generated through the program and strengthening the exchange between EdTech innovation and educational practice.