European Electronique learns the Swedish way

VAR wins deal to supply ICT infrastructure to Kunskapsskolan group of schools in the UK

VAR European Electronique has been selected to provide the overall ICT design for the Learning Schools Trust (LST).

LST is a group of academies in the UK that have been sponsored by the Swedish Kunskapsskolan charitable organisation.The UK head office, operating as the central HR and administration centre, opened in 2007 and is based on the Kunskapsskolan model, which offers personalised learning rather than a one-size-fits-all approach.

The first three academies - which cater for about 3,000 students - are located in Twickenham, Hampton and Ipswich, each of which is due to have new buildings in 2012 or 2013.

In total the organisation is planning to sponsor five academies across the UK. Under the terms of the deal, which is for an undisclosed sum, European Electronique will design and implement a central datacentre for the LST, enabling it to reduce the overall cost of IT through the provision of centralised services. It will also supply every student with a personal learning device such as a tablet computer.

Because the ICT architecture will be fully flexible and support Apple iOS and Android, schools will be able to choose their device type. European Electronique will also design and implement a trust-wide learning platform, giving pupils access to a wide range of resources.

Yolanta Gill, chief executive of European Electronique, said: "It is an honour to be chosen as the strategic ICT partner for LST. We have been engaged in the comprehensive bidding process with LST since the summer of last year and believe our solution will help LST achieve its vision and goals for education in the UK."