Estonia funds AI tools to reduce teacher grading time and improve school data use
Estonia's President's Education Hackathon distributed €20,000 to five AI-based tools designed to cut teacher workload, personalize learning, and help school leaders make data-driven decisions. The two-day event brought together 135 teachers, students, developers, and education experts across 30 teams.
Three projects each received €6,000 grand prizes: Punane Pastakas (Red Pen), AITA, and Integrated Workstations. Two additional projects won smaller awards.
Grading tool targets 378 hours of annual teacher marking
Punane Pastakas built an AI system that grades handwritten math work and flags learning gaps. The team started by asking a teacher how many hours she spent grading each year. The answer was 378 hours.
"The trick was not making teachers learn anything new," said Elias Teikari, an AI engineer at Rapidata.ai and computer science student at the University of Tartu. The tool works on tablets with styluses that teachers already use, automating only the marking itself while keeping teachers in control of feedback.
The system uses multiple AI agents working in parallel. One searches math textbook content, another identifies errors and checks whether subsequent work remains consistent. Teachers review the AI's output before finalizing grades.
Andrius Matšenas, the team's product designer and a former high school math teacher, said grading consumed twice as much time as classroom instruction. The tool analyzes conceptual understanding rather than just marking right or wrong answers. The team plans to launch with Estonian math and science teachers by fall 2025.
Other winners address curriculum and school operations
AITA helps teachers create and adapt Estonian-as-a-foreign-language materials while aligning with Estonia's curriculum. Integrated Workstations allows teachers to design cross-curricular assignments that students complete at their own pace with step-by-step guidance.
DIQU won €2,000 for an analytics tool that consolidates school data from multiple systems into a single dashboard for administrators. MATx received a special award for its platform that identifies student learning gaps and recommends targeted exercises.
President frames tools as response to staffing pressures
President Alar Karis, who initiated the hackathon, linked the winning projects to staffing shortages and burnout in Estonian schools. "I thank everyone who contributed to reducing teacher burnout, making students' lessons more interesting, and making schools' educational decisions more data-based," he said.
Markus Villig, CEO of Bolt and jury chair, said the next phase requires schools and investors to adopt the tools. "It is now important that these solutions do not remain in a drawer, but find their way into schools," he said.
The three grand prize winners will present at Latitude59, an international business festival, to seek investment and school partnerships. Participating schools will provide all grade 10-11 students access to an Estonian learning application by the end of 2025.
The hackathon was organized by Estonia's Office of the President with the TI-Hüpe education program, EdTech Estonia, and Skaala Impact. Sponsors included Bolt, the Smart Future Foundation, and OpenAI.
Educators interested in AI applications for schools can explore AI for Education resources or consider the AI Learning Path for Teachers.
Your membership also unlocks:
