Digital Institutes

The digital divide

Inequality in access to the internet and ICTs is known as the digital divide and affects 52% of women and 42% of men worldwide. This divide is even deeper when we talk about regions, the data shows the technological difference between one area and another. This inequality can be seen in many aspects of everyday life, and the fact that the gap prevents the most disadvantaged students from continuing in the education system leads us to think that it is not just a technological problem, but a social, educational and equity problem.

The improvement of the teaching-learning process, access to digital content and enabling students to learn in a more inclusive way, encouraging students and teachers to move forward on this long digital path and be protagonists of a new learning model. Ultimately, the technology used needs to respond to the educational needs of students and teachers.

What is the Digital Institutes project?

Digital Institutes is a social project of the Fundación Universidad Europea, Universidad Europea (Spain) and Universidade Europeia (Portugal), which aims to reduce the educational, social and technological gap widened by the Covid-19 pandemic in secondary schools.

Project objectives

To favour the reduction of the digital divide and its effects on the teaching-learning process in secondary schools
Accompany teachers and students in the process of improving their digital competence
Provide centres with sufficient infrastructure and/or technological resources to reduce the digital divide in access

For each participating secondary school, a diagnosis of the situation and needs of the school, teachers, students and families is carried out. As a result, a technical-pedagogical plan will be drawn up to meet the objectives set to combat the digital divide. In addition to donating the technology needed to equip the centre and to ensure that students have the necessary resources to access the digital educational resources provided by the centre, training in digital skills will be provided to teachers and students. Teacher training in online and hybrid teaching methodologies will also be reinforced.

In addition, those who request them will be assigned a personal mentor to solve any doubts related to the use of new technologies. In the case of high school teachers, their mentors will be volunteer university teachers and volunteer master's students in the field of education. In the case of high school students, the mentors will be undergraduate student volunteers.

Our donations

IES Vallecas Magerit (Madrid)

Technological equipment for 3 classrooms of 1st ESO. Training in the use of donated resources and support for the teaching team.

IES Julio Verne (Bargas, Toledo)

Technological equipment for 7 high school classrooms. Training on the use of donated resources and support for the teaching team.

Ecola do Bairro Padre Cruz (Portugal)

Technological equipment for 3 classrooms in the 7th grade, 3rd Cycle.

Training in the use of donated resources, support for the teaching staff and student training.