In order to develop a federal technical infrastructure for the establishment of a digital education space, the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) is funding the development of prototypes for a digital education platform as part of the Digital Education Initiative. This education platform is intended to act as a hub and to integrate education platforms and offerings nationwide via interfaces, establish common standards, and facilitate access to education in all phases of lifelong learning. The first prototype for such a platform is being developed by a network that began its work on April 1, 2021, and of which the GWDG is a member, in the “Bildungsraum Digital” project, or BIRD for short. The project, which involves the GWDG, the University of Potsdam as project coordinator, the TU Berlin, and the University of Magdeburg, as well as the German Academic Exchange Service and other institutional and commercial players, will be funded by the BMBF with around 7.3 million euros over the next three years.
