Stuck in a financing backlog and still relying on chalkboards: Heinekingmedia CEO Heike Discher sees Germany’s schools falling behind digitally — and explains why lack of funding, too much tech-driven thinking, and too little user focus are slowing progress.
Heinekingmedia: “Many Things Still Don’t Work in German Classrooms”
Heike Discher has a clear-eyed view of the state of digital education in Germany — both as CEO of Heinekingmedia and as the mother of a 17-year-old. What she sees from these two perspectives is, in part, sobering. “By international standards, many things still don’t work in German classrooms,” she says in an interview with invidis.
When it comes to digitizing schools in the German-speaking world, Heinekingmedia is one of the market leaders. Its digital whiteboards are installed in around 11,000 schools. The company has also developed its own digital signage concept for education, including a digital notice board and a career monitor that integrates job listings and training opportunities into a news-style format.
Full-service partners still rare in education
According to Discher, one key factor behind Heinekingmedia’s strong position in the education sector is its full-service approach — combining hardware, software, content, and support. “A true one-stop solution is still rare in this market,” she says. Schools today are looking for partners who can make digital transformation as simple and seamless as possible.
At the same time, many teachers and students in Germany are still working with analog methods or outdated technology. The Digital Pact 1.0, which provided €6.5 billion to public school authorities, did boost the number of digitalized classrooms — from 53,000 in 2019 to 77,000 in 2023 — but coverage remains uneven across regions. While the next funding phase, Digital Pact 2.0, has in principle been secured, it has yet to be fully approved in all public budgets. Until that happens, Discher warns, the rollout of many projects will remain slow.
Major corporate restructuring in 2025
To better meet the evolving needs of education providers, Discher initiated a major internal overhaul in 2025. The company streamlined processes, tightened structures, and reduced staff. These changes, she says, were necessary to improve efficiency and customer support: “We’re now operating at a completely different level in terms of service performance.”
Her strong focus on service is no coincidence. Before entering the AV industry, Discher held leadership roles in a retail group for footwear, sportswear, and leather goods. There, she learned how crucial service and emotional engagement are for building customer loyalty. “If a customer walks into a store and isn’t properly served, they won’t come back.” Truly putting yourself in the user’s shoes, she adds, is still less common in the AV industry.
Schools want simple and reliable
This service mindset is increasingly reflected in public tenders, too. School authorities now often require detailed service concepts — for example, specifying response times for support requests. Alongside fast response, reliability and ease of use are critical. While many teachers have become more confident with digital whiteboards, technology is rarely their core expertise. That’s why Heinekingmedia has developed a new Android-free display, the Novos One.
Thinking from the user’s perspective
Discher believes that this focus on user-friendliness is still often missing in the AV industry. Part of the reason is historical: “Many providers come from a purely technical perspective. The industry is also still very male-dominated.” Yet diverse perspectives, she argues, are essential to creating products that truly work in everyday practice.
However, Discher is not a proponent of fixed gender quotas. What matters more to her are team spirit, social skills, and a shared focus: “Achieving the best possible outcome requires close collaboration across departments.” She also brings fresh perspectives into the company by deliberately building new capabilities — particularly in the software field.
AI often prohibited, not embraced
One issue that particularly concerns Discher is the integration of artificial intelligence into Heinekingmedia’s offering. At the same time, she is critical of how the education system is dealing with the topic. Preventing the use of AI in schools instead of meaningfully incorporating it into curricula, she argues, is a missed opportunity. A more forward-looking approach would be to teach the next generation how to work with AI from an early stage.
The technologies needed to prepare students for the working world of the future already exist. What is now required are clear political decisions, stable funding, and above all the will to make education truly future-ready. Heike Discher and Heinekingmedia intend to play an active role in shaping this next phase of digitalization.
