Telenet : and YES.be bring laptops, internet and digital skills into the classroom

Our schools are facing an important challenge: giving digital resources and applications a central role in our education. International comparisons show that Flemish education has a lot of catching up to do in that context. The corona crisis has clearly exposed the need for ICT in the curriculum. The Flemish Government recently announced that it will invest 375 million euros in the digitalisation of education over the next two years. With their joint offer, Telenet and YES will help schools, teachers and pupils take that digital leap in the coming years easily and efficiently.

The right digital leap
For almost ten years, nine out of ten Flemish primary and secondary schools have had access to broadband internet via Telenet. EuroSys, the company behind YES.be, has been helping companies with their ICT challenges for more than thirty years and has been doing this for schools for more than ten years. With the new partnership between Telenet and YES, schools now have an ICT offer where they can find everything in one place: from a safe internet connection and network, through laptops and software, to extensive guarantees and 24/7 support.

ICT coordinators who have already mapped out the policy they wish to pursue in their school will find the products and services they need within the new offering. Schools which are not that advanced can call on a Digicoach from YES. He/she will help them make the right choices in their ICT policy plan.

Martine Tempels, Senior Vice President, Telenet Business: 'By offering Internet access to the majority of Flemish schools in recent years, we know very well where the pain points are and what education needs in terms of digitalisation. We also want to get everyone on board and believe in equal digital opportunities for every child. It is our mission to make the digital world accessible to all, because it does not stop at the school gate. With this partnership with YES.be we will help teachers, pupils, students and ICT-coordinators to make the digital leap but will always ensure this aligns with the school's pedagogical path.'

Support with lessons
With the YES Academy, teachers and pupils receive support and training through an online knowledge centre and platform. Anyone can use this to hone their digital skills and find answers to questions (such as how to deal with cyberbullying, sexting, installing Wi-Fi or laptop security). Parents who need support are also welcome on this platform.

Technical support too
With YES-365 on all devices, access to the laptop, software programmes and applications is easy. Pupils and teachers only log in once and then have secure access to all their applications: sending e-mails, creating documents and accessing all relevant school applications. It offers one digital workplace as a starting point. Everything is online and automatically backed up, users do not need to install anything and the laptops are always up-to-date.

Mark Aerts, CEO of YES.be: 'We want schools to be able to make a sustainable digital leap. Becoming digital means much more than just providing laptops. We have also noticed that schools have many questions about the Flemish Government's Digital Leap (Digisprong) and realise that it may correspond with a great deal of extra work. By providing a comprehensive offering, we unburden and support schools in digitalising their education, the goal of the Digital Leap.'

Second life for laptops in vulnerable families
Laptops that are written off at the end of their useful life are donated by Telenet and YES to 'Enterprises for a Warm Belgium'. This non-profit organisation ensures that the laptops are made ready for reuse. They are purged, checked, allocated a new mouse and up-to-date software is installed. The appliances are then given a second life with vulnerable families.

'Tailor-made offering from companies is positive'
With 375 million euros in a major Digital Leap for education, Flemish Minister of Education Ben Weyts is investing ten times more than the previous annual budget for ICT. He therefore finds it positive that private companies are developing customised offers for education.

Ben Weyts, Flemish Minister of Education: 'Until recently, schools have not been serious players in the digital market, because their ICT budgets were simply too low. But Flanders is now exploiting the corona crisis to turn our backlog in digital education into a lead. Schools can spend the extra funding in areas such as ICT equipment, infrastructure or digital teaching aids. So from now on, companies will be interested in targeting our schools as well. And that can only improve education for both teachers and students.'