Embracing Technology at the Institutional Level — The Techstitution Story Before and During the Pandemic

While currently facing the COVID-19 pandemic, the use of technology has increased tremendously and there has been a great shift towards online channels due to the restrictions in place. ODK, since its founding, has recognized the importance of digital transformation. Thus, to tackle the great impact of technology and the ICT related issues in the country, ODK designed the project ‘Techstitution’ which is supported by UNICEF and Austrian Development Agency since 2016. This project reflects ODK’s drive to implement civic-tech projects that help target the technology revolution in Kosovo. Specifically, Techstitution was inspired based on ODK’s collaboration with central and local level public institutions which pointed towards the need for digitalization and system interoperability.

To begin with, Techstitution as a project has 4 full editions in the timeframe of the past five years, namely: Techstitution 1.0, 2.0, 3.0, and 4.0. Recognizing the importance of ICT skills and the great demand in the labor market for such skills, the project aims to engage the local youth in learning about software engineering skills. Techstitution’s goal is to equip the local youth with such skills which will then contribute to the enhancement of the smart institutions in the country, with the increasing use of technology and open data. With the on-going 4th Edition (Techstitution 4.0) , 517 youngsters have been trained so far in learning new software skills.

Throughout the course of these four editions, the 517 trained youngsters were encouraged to work on their personal project ideas throughout these workshops. Some of these project ideas later turned out to be the 11 digital solutions developed so far by ODK. During the implementation process of these digital solutions, ODK has collaborated with the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Municipality of Prishtina, Ministry of Education and Science, CSR Network Kosovo, Regulatory Authority of Electric and Postal Communications, Civil Aviation Authority of Kosovo, amongst others.

The COVID-19 pandemic did not only bring a greater need for the development of online platforms like the Distance Learning for Children aged 0 to 6 and Connect-ed Kosova Tracking System, but the pandemic situation also brought a greater need for the usage of the previous online platforms such as the Open Contracts, Mentorship4Youth, as well as the rest of the digital solutions. In close collaboration with other stakeholders, ODK developed the following digital solutions as a response to the digital needs of citizens:

1. Distance Learning for Children aged 0 to 6 is the online learning platform developed for the Ministry of Education and Science addressing the pre-elementary school teachers, and the kids of those ages, as well as their parents/caregivers. It was launched in 2020 in the midst of the pandemic as a direct response to the online (home) schooling requirements and ever since it has been used extensively by the respective teachers and parents. The platform aims to be user-friendly for the teachers and parents at home to fit well with the needs of their kids who are unable to engage in a physical school environment for the time being. The sections included in this platform consist of the listed daily and monthly activities, which are explained through videos created through the respective Youtube channel: Distance Learning 0–6. The activities and videos are updated weekly and monthly in the platform and video-channel.
2. Connect-ed Kosova Tracking System is the latest digital platform developed by ODK. It launched in February of this year, as the next response to the COVID-19 situation, with the goal to bridge the digital divide among the school children of Kosovo. The platform as such has been developed to identify the cases where intervention is needed — the intervention consists of collecting computers/laptops, and distributing these assets to the children in need, in order for them to keep up with the online schooling. So far, up to 6,954 cases have been identified and 10 assets have been distributed already.

Open Data Kosovo (ODK) with its technical knowledge and experience is committed to assist in the digitization processes which aid the Kosovo public institutions and NGOs. ODK is not able to implement any of the ideas behind the digital solutions without the support of its donors. The support from UNICEF Programme in Kosovo and the Austrian Development Agency is key in the development of these digital solutions which have proven to assist considerably in the adaptability of the pandemic situation.

Author: Ariana Gjuli

*This article has been written as part of the “Techstitution 4.0” project financed by UNICEF Kosovo Program and Austrian Development Agency, and implemented by Open Data Kosovo.