How can school development succeed in the digital age? This question was the focus of the first TOBIS network workshop, which took place on 18 September 2025 at the Ostfalia University of Applied Sciences on the Wolfsburg campus. School authorities, administrators, educational practitioners and academics discussed strategies for sustainable digital education. TOBIS (external link, opens in a new window) is a BMBF project scheduled to run until 2028, in which various school authorities will work together to develop sustainable concepts for the digital transformation of the education system.
"Digital education needs strong partners," said Ostfalia project manager Prof Björn Hermstein, summarising the key finding. Hermstein teaches at the Faculty of Commerce and Social Work at the Ostfalia Campus in Suderburg. Neither teachers nor school authorities can overcome the challenges alone - from the use of so-called open educational resources (OER) and learning offices to 1:1 equipment, licence models and AI.
Kick-off event at Ostfalia with all stakeholders
It became clear: Only transprofessional collaboration opens up solutions. IT specialists, school supervisors, administration and school management each contribute indispensable knowledge. "We must not lose sight of the colleagues who work with these challenges on a daily basis," emphasised workshop participant Antje Schröder from the Bautzen Media Education Centre (external link, opens in a new window).
The event day offered not only input, but above all space for dialogue and networking. Many participants emphasised the importance of understanding different logics of action and recognising institutional frameworks.
With this kick-off, TOBIS is sending a clear signal: the cooperation between the school authorities in the network should be consistently developed further - so that sustainable concepts for the digital transformation in the education system can be created.