Echoes of Bett UK 2026 (or, They Met Near London)

January in London is traditionally the world’s largest educational technology fair, Bett UK. This year's event attracted 37,000 visitors, including a record-breaking Czech delegation of 160 educators, ICT coordinators and company representatives.

On Thursday, February 12, GUG.CZ organized an online meeting of teachers and representatives of companies in cooperation with the NPI CR (National Recovery Plan 3.1) and the Union of School Informatics. Those present shared their specific observations, both laudatory and critical, on what they had experienced in London this year. Czech conferences and meetings on digital education – Computer at school, UčFEST, BUMmeeting. The whole meeting is recorded, we recommend you to listen even without a picture. Links and tips on news, projects and interesting products we have seen in London can be found in the video below.

Moderators Pavel Hodál (IT guru of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports) and Petr Naske (NPI CR) then invited some participants to discuss what they saw and experienced at the fair.

AI as an assistant, not a teacher's replacement

The theme of many of this year's exhibitions was artificial intelligence. Martin Krynický (realistically.cz) went to the fair as a healthy skeptic, but he appreciated Google's approach. In her presentation, she emphasised that the interaction between teacher and pupil remains the most important element of teaching; Technology should only be used by teachers to ‘release hands’ from the administration.

Lucie Drimlová described Google Interactive Experience in detail, where participants used AI tools (Gemini, NotebookLM) to solve pedagogical tasks. Thanks to these tools, a group of teachers saved a cumulative 24 hours of net time in their preparation. For Czech schools, it is a major novelty that premium AI features have been available in free Google Workspace for Education licenses since January.

Concrete technology for the modern class

Speakers highlighted several innovations that stood out from normal production:

TeachScribe: A programme introduced by Martin Krynický that uses a microphone to record teacher's notes within an hour. AI then overwrites the audio and automatically sorts the observations for each pupil.
Wacom digital paper:Petr Zafka (AI kids) highlighted a testing solution that combines classic writing on paper with instant digital evaluation using a chatbot.
Magic Touch Projector:Iva Jelínková (iSEN.cz) described a projector at an ultra-short distance that creates an interactive area from any table or floor, which is key for special pedagogy, where it is necessary to approach the stimuli directly to the pupil.
Space Repetition:Martin Krynický in cooperation with Tech Ambition develops software for mathematics, which on the principle of interval repetition (similar to the Anky application) helps pupils to effectively consolidate knowledge at the beginning of the lesson.

A critical perspective on robotics and ethics

Pavel Hodál warned against uncritical enthusiasm for ‘AI for everything’. He pointed out the need to check who owns the pupils' data in systems that promise complete school administration. Together with Iva Jelínková, they agreed on the decline of virtual reality (VR), which was in decline this year.

The big theme was humanoid robots. Chinese companies performed amazing dancing machines here, but after in-depth questioning, it became clear that these were just ‘overpriced demos’ without a ready-made methodology for regular teaching. However, Iva Jelínková sees a huge potential in this technology for future prosthetics and assistance to people with physical limitations.

Hardware and sustainability

David Plešinger from Acer presented the trends in hardware. Reparability and modular design (e.g. self-replaceable ports and keyboards) dominated, prolonging the life of school notebooks. At the same time, however, he warned of a ‘memory crisis’ that could lead to an increase in technology prices due to the massive build-up of AI infrastructures.

Access to mobile phones was also an interesting observation. While some companies offered lockable cases for mobile restrictions, others, such as František Bican (iHRISTE.cz), opt for hybrid use. Their project motivates children to move using a mobile application and outdoor games, where pupils can run up to 4 kilometres as part of their lessons.

Czech footprint and vision for 2027

The speeches were closed by business representatives. David Doležel (Skolaris) described the difficulty of exhibiting at Betta (the price of a small stand starts at 10,000 pounds) and mentioned the possibilities of state subsidies for marketing.

Everyone was excited about the idea that the Czech community of companies, start-ups and schools could meet in London in a year, even at a common stand or some common part of the program. Check out the tips and experiences of already exhibiting companies at the end of the video and if you are also excited about the idea, write to us at digikoalice@npi.cz. We will be happy to connect all actors and interested parties.

In conclusion, we will add some tips and links that have been mentioned in the online broadcast. The full list of links from performers can be found ONLINE

TEACHSCRIBE.COM – you learn, the lesson is recorded and AI helps
TANGIBLE CODING - programme board game and jigsaw
Google in the classroom – scenarios to familiarise yourself with app options
ANTON.APP - online exercises and exercises
MUSICON - creativity and music without limits
Intel® Skills for Innovation – online inspiration for the digital world – use “AcerSFI” when registering
iHRISTE.CZ - outdoor movement games with their own mobile or tablet