Tailor-made for the creators of tomorrow: The TalentsLounge

Comparing a digital learning platform to playing the flute — this might be something that’s never been done before. But for Anna Gawin, CEO and co-founder of DaVinciLab, it’s a fantastic analogy, and we’ll soon explain why. For the past seven years, the EdTech pioneer has been at the forefront of shaping digital education in Austria and has developed numerous learning resources to foster digital skills in children and young people. This year, she’s introducing a brand-new offering for schools: the TalentsLounge, which makes teaching the subject of digital literacy straightforward and customizable.

Digital education needs career orientation

The statistics speak for themselves: In Austria, out of around 100,000 apprentices, only about 3,000 are girls in a STEM program, Anna says. “This means 90 percent of girls in apprenticeships will not end up working in a STEM field.” For her, this highlights a problem in career orientation, one that she hopes to tackle with the TalentsLounge. “It’s like learning to play the flute — almost all students try it out to see if they have a talent or an interest in music.” The TalentsLounge works similarly, helping students explore through developing mini-games.

Following a successful pilot phase with 100 classes, 2,000 students, and an 85 percent completion rate, the platform is now moving into broader use. “Our goal for this school year is 500 classes and 10,000 students.” The program is free of charge, thanks to support from companies that want to invest in nurturing the next generation of skilled workers — particularly girls in STEM fields.

Three interactive foundational courses for digital literacy

The TalentsLounge primarily targets middle schools and vocational training programs to cultivate young talent, but it is also suitable for high schools. In general, it supports the subject of digital literacy starting from lower secondary education. The learning content is organized into three foundational courses and is accessible through two web-based interfaces: one for students and one for teachers.

Students sign in using an anonymized code that complies with GDPR requirements, then begin playing their first notes: they work independently and at their own pace through lessons on digital safety and practical coding units. Along the way, they face programming challenges that equip them with the necessary skills to design their own game — like figuring out which commands to use to guide game characters along a specific path or how to enable their players to collect points. The lessons consist of interactive videos and quizzes, providing students with an engaging, well-rounded learning experience. The TalentsLounge is designed to be accessible for all learning levels; pre-programmed elements and cheat sheets are available for those who need extra support. In the end, all students should be able to develop their own game and will receive a certificate for completing the courses. “We’ve also set up a competition where they can submit their games and get well-deserved recognition for their achievements,” says Anna.

Future-Oriented Teaching and Learning

Teachers can always track students’ learning progress and, by using the platform, they particularly support individualized learning. The TalentsLounge team also provides additional recommendations through regular live online office hours on how to effectively integrate the lessons into the classroom. “In this way, teachers become mentors, supporting students who find coding easy as well as those who need more help,” Anna explains. “One student, for example, discovered her talent for design, while another found his affinity for coding.” This creates a flexible and practical approach to digital education for everyone — one that not only strikes a harmonious chord but also plays a bright tune for the future. By the way, teachers interested in trying it out can still sign up for free on the platform for this school year!

Short Interview:

The TalentsLounge is a new offering from DaVinciLab. Why are you introducing a new format now?

After seven years of fieldwork with DaVinciLab and Apprentigo — through which we run the apprentice hackathon in Austria as a separate company — we have gained enough experience to truly understand what schools need to foster digital skills in line with the demands of the modern job market. As a result, we’ve refined our offerings to focus on the most critical market needs, while also considering the scalability of our company.

Speaking of modern learning — the TalentsLounge emphasizes project-based learning. Why is that?

Just like New Work, New Learning is an enormous area for the future. It’s all about creating meaningful experiences and enabling individualized learning and exploration. Naturally, it’s a significant challenge for teachers to provide this kind of instruction to an entire class of students. With the TalentsLounge, this is possible because it’s based on self-directed, project-based learning. Additionally, we have managed to empower non-specialist teachers — those now responsible for teaching digital literacy at schools — to effectively deliver both theoretical and practical skills using the platform.