The project “Bildungsraum Digital”, or BIRD for short, is a research project tasked with the development of a reference prototype for a future “National Education Platform” (NBP) on behalf of the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF).

BIRD aims to explore the digital education space by showcasing how a NBP could interconnect existing digital learning services and e-learning tools in Germany. Through the insights gained with this project, the BMBF can learn, based on concrete development achievements and in dialog with the education community, which requirements are important when procuring for the developement and implementation of the NBP.

As a link between educational platforms and other learning services, BIRD does not compete, but interconnects them. 

In doing so, BIRD offers three central functions:

A Shared Metadata Management
BIRD links all connected content and systems through a shared metadata principle that makes all contents accessible for users through a single search.

Data Wallet
Instead of storing personal data in service-based accounts, BIRD users manage their personal data themselves via their personal data wallet. This allows them to keep control and track important learning progress, credentials, and other information, as well as to decide with whom to share personal information.

Single Sign-On (SSO)
 In BIRD, users can access every connected service via one single account. This allows users to navigate seamlessly between services and continue their personal learning journey in a concentrated manner across many stations.

With the development of the National Education Platform (NBP), the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) is seeking to interconnect digital educational services through a federated infrastructure.

In order to achieve this goal, the BMBF is funding the development of a prototype called BIRD which is ought to be used as a validation environment for future NBP developments.
BIRD is on of four NBP prototypes but differs in that it serves as a validation platform as well as in that its a research-only project and doesn’t apply for the later development and maintenance of the NBP.

You can learn more about this project here (in German).

Learn more about BMBF’s funding guidelines for the NBP initiative here:

Announcement for the development of a digital education platform - BMBF (in German)

First pilot project for National Education Platform has started - BMBF (in German)

You can find more information on the Digital Education Initiative here:

All information on digital teaching and learning - BMBF (in German)

The “National Education Platform” (NBP) is a project of the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) for the develeopment of a nationwide, cross-sectoral network of interconnected digital education services.

In order to develop such a massive infrastructure, the BMBF started a research project, namely BIRD, with the purpose to explore important requirements beforehand by gathering structured empirical data, which will be useful for the NBP´s subsequent procurement process and implementation.

BIRD also allows other projects within the BMBF's funding scheme to connect with it on a trial basis in order to implement user scenarios. In this sense, BIRD serves as a test environment for the procurement and future development of the NBP. Its findings should help the BMBF to know exactly what needs to be procured in the future.

Learn more about BMBF’s funding guidelines for the NBP initiative here:

Announcement for the development of a digital education platform - BMBF (in German)

First pilot project for National Education Platform has started - BMBF (in German)

You can find more information on the Digital Education Initiative here:

All information on digital teaching and learning - BMBF (in German)

The National Education Platform (NBP) is a funding project of the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). It is a central field of action of the government’s "Digital Education Initiative".

You can learn more about the funding project on the project page of the project management agency VDI/VDE.

Learn more about BMBF’s funding guidelines for the NBP initiative here:

Announcement for the development of a digital education platform - BMBF (in German)

First pilot project for National Education Platform has started - BMBF (in German)

You can find more information on the Digital Education Initiative here:

All information on digital teaching and learning - BMBF (in German)

BIRD is managed by a strong alliance of university, civil society and business actors.

The BIRD consortium partners and their responsibilities in the project:

• University of Potsdam ► Project coordination, portal and architecture competence, educational technology and media didactic expertise.
• German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) ► Internationalization, architectural expertise, affiliated project Digital Campus, stakeholder management and dissemination.
• Technische Universität Berlin ► Development of the technology and the infrastructure. 
• Gesellschaft für Wissenschaftliche Datenverarbeitung mbH Göttingen ► Integration of OER platforms.
• Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg ► Testing lab for  the digital education space (BIRD-Lab).
• Gesellschaft für akademische Studienvorbereitung und Testentwicklung e.V. (g.a.s.t.) ► Development of the technology and the infrastructure.
• edu-sharing e.V. ► Integration (open) educational content & educational networks, content infrastructure.
• Bündnis für Bildung e.V. ► Dissemination.
• MathPlan GmbH ► Development of the technology and the infrastructure.

BIRD is tasked with developing a prototype for the National Education Platform (NBP). Its main goal is to explore its user requirements by gathering structured empirical data that will be useful for the NBP´s subsequent procurement process, development and implementation. BIRD is gathering such data by connecting other funding projects to its prototype, testing user and usage scenarios, and conduction dialogs with potential user groups.

This prototypical approach should enable the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) to find out what must be taken into account before an elaborate infrastructure is created and conceptual errors become much more serious.

As for its benefits: as a prototype that is agilely adapted to the requirements of its users, BIRD (and later on the NBP) offers a basic set of functions; i.e. data wallet, single sign-on, meta-data management, that enable users to navigate seamlessly and securely in the digital education space.

BIRD is a research project and as such, its success lies in providing a practical and prototypical testing environment serving as the foundation for usage scenarios and stress tests. 

The primary goal is to interconnect the “objective 1 and 2 projects” funded in the framework of the National Education Platform (NBP), so that their digital learning platforms and services, which represent a wide range from all educational sectors, can be made visible and accessible. In doing so, the research project will also be able to identify challenges and hopefully avoid conceptual errors during implementation.

BIRD should also provide the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) with concrete experience for the procurement process for the development and operation of the future NBP.

This is the official online presence of the BIRD project since June 2022.

Information material and further project documentation can be found here: Information corner - DAAD.

If you don’t find the answers you were looking for here, please contact → bird@daad.de

Visit the website of the project management organisation VDI/VDE to find out more about the overall progress of the National Education Platform (NBP).

No. 

BIRD is solely a research project and sees itself as a prototypical testing ground for the National Education Platform (NBP).

Through BIRD, the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and the education community are able to learn what is technically and conceptually important for the procurement and development of the future NBP.

BIRD has no direct influence on the dynamic procurement process of the National Education Platform (NBP). Through its prototypical approach, BIRD aims to provide a body of knowledge for the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) to be able to carrie out a sustainable and optimal procurement. It should also enable the BMBF to find out what must be taken into account before an elaborate infrastructure is created and conceptual errors become much more serious.

Learn more about the procurement process here.

The BIRD project is developing a reference prototype for a future National Education Platform based on open source software solutions. In doing so, BIRD provides the technical backbone and the test field for a digital education space, which enables the integration of existing and new portal solutions as well as teaching-learning services within the framework of the funding competition. 

Additional funding projects have the chance to test next-generation technical possibilities on BIRD’s technical stage and prepare them for implementation in the platform. 

Moreover, BIRD does not formulate an approach that is to be enforced, but rather attempts to make a digital education space tangible and thereby give the education community the opportunity to shape it in a valuable way.

Read more about the reference prototype BIRD here (in German): First pilot project for National Education Platform has started - BMBF 

Shortly after BIRD’s launch in May 2021, the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) provided further funding for the establishment of a National Education Platform (NBP). Three different types of projects were eligible for funding: the so-called objective 1 projects, objective 2 projects and objective 3 projects. 

These projects are not BIRD’s sub-projects, but independent funding projects alongside BIRD. In other words: they are not in competition with BIRD. 

Basically, it can be said that BIRD as well as the objective 1, objective 2 and objective 3 projects are projects that are used to gather experience for the developement of a potential NBP and its corresponding procurement process.

This is how the three project categories differ:

Objective 1 projects: Digital educational services for learners

Whether teaching videos, online courses or databases for digital learning materials: The objective 1 projects develop concrete digital educational services for learners from primary school to adult education, which are to be accessible via a digital educational platform. They are not BIRD sub-projects. The aim is to test how digital educational services for learners can be connected to a platform or integrated into a platform such as BIRD. The projects can use BIRD to demonstrate how their connection to a meta-platform works and test usage scenarios. In the best case, this demonstrates the benefits  of integrating and networking previously unconnected educational services.

Objective 2 projects: Digital competence for teachers

According to the BMBF, the objective 2 projects are intended to "(further) develop services for teachers and make them accessible [on a digital education platform]". Digital teaching and learning scenarios are intended to create methodological knowledge and digital competence for teachers in all education systems. This could be, for example, qualification opportunities for school headmasters, real-time simulations in chemistry or materials for multilingual teaching, which can be accessed via a national education platform.

The objective 2 projects are also not sub-projects of BIRD. Nevertheless, the aim here is to test how such services can be connected or integrated to a platform such as BIRD.

Objective 3 projects: The Platform Projects - Prototypes for a NBP

Like BIRD, the objective 3 projects are also to develop prototypes for a NBP. There were a total of three funded objective 3 projects, so with BIRD there is a total of four prototypes for a digital education platform. 

One major difference between BIRD and the objective 3 projects: While the partners in BIRD are mainly from the university sector or from non-profit organisations, the objective 3 projects are mainly carried out by private-sector actors. In this way, experience is gained with different actors and development approaches.

No, BIRD is the reference prototype that gives the objectives 1 and 2 projects a playing field, but does not participate in the competition itself.

In addition to BIRD, there are three other platform prototypes represented by commercial consortia that are not in competition or exchange with BIRD.

Find out more about the other funded projects and the NBP funding competition on the VDI/VDE online presence.

Through additional platform concepts by commercial providers, the BMBF is aming to expand its expertise in preparation for the National Education Platform’s (NBP) implementation. 

You can find out more about all NBP projects here.

It is an integral part to think about the multiple perspectives and influencing factors on a project like the National Education Platform (NBP). Other large-scale development projects that could change the future of education play an important role in this.

As a research project, BIRD not only helps to explore the immediate status quo, but also to makes it possible to experience which different scenarios are conceivable in the future. Accordingly, thematically relevant development projects serve as a broadening of horizons and findings from other contexts can only help the research work in BIRD.

This is one of the central questions that the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) wants to address as part of the larger funding program and with the help of BIRD.

BIRD focuses on the implementation and testing of a technical prototype, its use cases and questions about the governance of a National Education Platform (NBP). BIRD itself does not explore the legal or political framework, but nevertheless serves the BMBF and its stakeholders as a concrete subject of investigation for the elaboration of these issues.

Learn more about the political-legal framework of the NBP here: Announcement for the development of a digital education platform - BMBF (in German)

Further information, short texts and presentation materials on BIRD can be found here: Information corner - DAAD

If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact us by e-mail: bird@daad.de

The BIRD prototype is not openly accessible. However, in line with the project approach, the project team regularly seeks dialogue with the public and the prospective users of the National Education Platform (NBP). 

You can get a first impression of BIRD and what is already possible with the prototype on a small scale in the video of the live demonstration of the meta-platform:

User journey through the first prototype of the digital education platform BIRD - YouTube (in German)

Further information, short texts and presentation materials on BIRD can be found here: Information corner - DAAD