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Proud, grateful and full of energy: my win at the Digital Darwin Awards 2025
The votes have been counted. The winners have been announced. And I can finally share it: I have been named winner of the Digital Darwin Awards 2025 in the AI Education category!
Honestly, it is a recognition that left me speechless for a moment. Because behind this moment lies not only my work with AI, but also the many conversations, experiments, successes and failures of the past three years that led to the projects I am now proud of.
Why this award feels so special
AI is everywhere, from our coffee machine to our meeting room. But in education, AI touches something even more fundamental: learning, growing and human contact.
That is exactly where I want to make a difference. I believe AI in education can be used in a smarter, safer and more human way. Not as a replacement for the teacher or student, but as a reinforcement. Tools that support, reflect and activate, without losing the human touch.
Receiving recognition in this particular category means to me that this vision is shared by many more people. And that gives me hope.
Projects that were mentioned
The jury and the public referred to projects I have worked on with passion, such as:
- Feedback Companion – an AI assistant that helps students understand and use feedback better (https://feedbackcompanion.eu/).
- Gezonde leefstijl Tutor (Healthy Lifestyle Tutor) – AI agents that help pupils choose healthy food and get enough exercise (https://gezondeleefstijltutor.eu/).
- AI Literacy tools – with which students and teachers can measure and increase their own AI literacy (https://ailiteracycompanion.eu/).
All developed with one goal: making education more human and more effective with the help of AI.
Thanks to Hogeschool Utrecht and my network
I also explicitly accept this award on behalf of Hogeschool Utrecht, where I work on educational innovation every day together with colleagues and students. Their critical questions, fresh perspectives and enthusiasm are a constant source of inspiration.
I am also grateful for all the collaborations outside the HU: partners, colleagues, fellow entrepreneurs and of course the community that keeps thinking along and giving feedback. Without this network, no project would have become this strong.
Looking ahead: building AI in education together
An award is lovely, but in the end it is about what we do with it together.
For me, this means:
- Sharing even more knowledge through Education Oracle and my YouTube channel.
- Starting new pilots and training courses to strengthen AI literacy broadly within educational organisations.
- Continuing to build safe, reliable and ethically responsible AI solutions for the classroom.
Closing
The Digital Darwin Awards call the winners “pioneers who help us not just survive in the AI era, but truly thrive in it.”
That is exactly the energy I hope to hold on to and pass on. 🙌
Thanks to everyone who voted and to all the wonderful winners with whom I get to share this stage. This is not an end point, but the starting signal for the next phase: AI that really makes a difference in learning and development.
🚀 On to a future in which education and AI strengthen each other.
