Estonia, with 1.3 million inhabitants in an area as large as Denmark, is considered to be the most digitalized country in the world. Tallinn, the capital, is the economic and cultural center of the country and home to 430,000 inhabitants. It is also where the country's digital heart beats: „e-Estonia“. The „e“ is for electronic, which has become the go to tag to describe Estonia's immensely successful love affair with all things networked and digitized.
The highly interconnected society can be found in administration, education and economy. With their e-identity, Estonians file their tax returns online, vote, digitally renew their driver’s license, start a business, receive a prescription and sign contracts with each other.
Estonia’s digitalization started in the mid-90s with the „Tiigrihüpe“, the Tiger Leap. Soon after the administrative sector, it extended into Estonia´s educational system. The digitalization is also shaping many industries; pioneers are, for example, the information communication technology (ICT), mechanical engineering and metal working as well as the electronic industry. Over 120 countries use ICT solutions from Estonia.
The Tiger Leap was also an initial impulse for the Europe-wide highest density of Estonian start-up companies. Four so-called unicorn technology companies are based or were founded in Estonia – e.g. Hotmail, video and voice service Skype, or TransferWise (an online payment service). Unicorn companies are characterized as start-up companies which developed a market value of over 1 billion US dollars.
European countries such as Finland, Sweden, Russia and Germany are Estonia’s leading trading partners. Cooperation takes place in various industries such as automotive, energy, mechanical engineering, pharma, transport and logistics. The cultural and geographical proximity with almost the same time zone simplifies cooperation significantly. Delivery times are short, and as a full member of the EU, Estonia also applies its laws with their full legal certainty, eg. GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation). Estonian companies provide high quality, competitive costs and low-risk solutions with BPO (Business Process Outsourcing).
The foundation for digital strength is already formed in school: Calculating with a child-friendly learning robot, building of a Lego robot or safety on the internet are on the curriculum. (source: Enterprise Estonia)
Intergenerational and interdisciplinary connectivity
The foundation for digital strength is already formed in school: Every educational institution has internet access and is equipped with computers and fiber-optic connection, and programming is a mandatory subject. Grades and homework can be viewed digitally. Children are playfully introduced to digital technologies as early as primary school: Calculating with a child-friendly learning robot, building of a Lego robot or safety on the internet are on the curriculum.
Public-Private Partnerships as well as high tech consortiums bridge the gap between schools, economy, and science for the development of ideas and to discover the possibility of the digitalization.
Triin Ploompuu, member of the board of the Federation of Estonian Engineering Industry. (source: Enterprise Estonia)
“Every 10th student in Estonia signs up for ICT”, says Triin Ploompuu, member of the board of the Federation of Estonian Engineering Industry. This ensures a future-oriented approach and stands for the enthusiasm for modern technology and the attitude and mentality to find new solutions.
„e-Estonia“: The „e“ is for electronic, which has become the go to tag to describe Estonia's immensely successful love affair with all things networked and digitized. In addition, it stands for building bridges between economy, science and school. Pictured is a student at Tallinn University of Technology (TalTech), which is a partner of several centers dealing with digitalization and digital manufacturing. There, the coming generations can also get excited about IT & mechanical engineering and pursue their ideas with scientific support. (source: Enterprise Estonia)
In Ülemiste City alone, the Estonian Silicon Valley, there are hundreds of start-ups and established IT companies with 6,000 employees in total. On the 36 ha area of the business center and technology campus in Tallinn, there is also the e-Estonia innovation center, the contact point for business delegations where Estonia’s digital development is presented.
Estonia belongs to the countries with the highest level of education and is among the leading countries in mathematics, science and ICT. Estonian students regularly achieve leading ranks in the international PISA studies. 85 % of all employees speak at least one foreign language.
„In Estonia, ICT stands for modernization”, says Triin Ploompuu, “and it is a value driver in almost all manufacturing industries. In our country, it is not all about technology, but also about enthusiasm driving technology. So ICT also leads to a change in mentality.”
