The DIRECTIONS (Data Protection Certification for Educational Information Systems) research project, funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), has reached an important milestone: in May 2025, the first voluntary commitment to protect students' personal data will be published.
More transparency in digital education – an important contribution to the education system
The DIRECTIONS research project provides guidance in the growing market for digital education solutions. With the new voluntary commitment, providers demonstrate that they take the protection of students' personal data seriously. Schools and school authorities can now see at a glance which school information systems handle sensitive information responsibly. The declaration thus promotes comparability, creates trust and contributes to a secure digital learning environment.
First provider publishes declaration – more to follow, a register shows all
SBE network solutions GmbH is the first company to publish the voluntary commitment with its school server solution LogoDIDACT. Other providers such as Landesinitiative n-21: Schulen in Niedersachsen online e. V. with moin.schule and SMART Technologies (Germany) GmbH with the Lumio learning system are completing the trial phase together with the consortium and will therefore follow suit shortly.
All voluntary commitments submitted are documented in the public register: www.sve.trusted-cloud.de. The register is managed by the Trusted Cloud Competence Network.
“With this voluntary commitment, we are creating a new level of transparency and trust in the market for digital education solutions. Especially in the sensitive area of student data, it is crucial to set comprehensible and uniform standards – an important step towards digital self-determination in education,” says Andreas Weiss, Managing Director of eco – Association of the Internet Industry, welcoming the initiative.
The voluntary commitment is open to all system providers. It is based on a criteria catalogue (https://directions-cert.de/ergebnisse) that addresses data protection requirements for school information systems. This has been extensively tested and revised. In order to cover the wide range of school information systems, a diverse group of providers have undergone the funded trial phase: providers of an identity management system, a learning management system, a video conferencing system for schools, a school server solution and a content platform or learning platform for teaching. This diversity ensures that the criteria catalogue is practical and widely applicable. All documents are available on the project homepage: https://directions-cert.de/ergebnisse/
Next step: article 42 of the GDPR certification
The voluntary commitment is a first, voluntary step. In the next step, DIRECTIONS will develop a formal certification procedure in accordance with Article 42 of the GDPR – legally compliant and verifiable by an independent body. Testing will start in summer 2025. The certification procedure will then be submitted to the German Accreditation Body and the relevant data protection supervisory authorities for approval. Depending on the outcome and duration of this approval process, the project consortium hopes that DIRECTIONS will be available on the market in 2026.
Working together for greater data protection in digital education
DIRECTIONS is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and managed by the DLR Project Management Agency. The project strengthens trust in digital education solutions and makes an important contribution to a modern and secure education system.
