How do we give every child in Denmark the chance not just to keep up with, but to shape the digital world of tomorrow? That’s the driving question behind the new ultra:bit – a new nationwide initiative to strengthen children’s understanding of technology and their digital confidence. 

Backed by DKK 50 million from the Novo Nordisk Foundation and the Villum Foundation, researchers from the Centre for Computational Thinking and Design (CCTD) at Aarhus University are joining forces with DR (Danish Broadcasting Corporation), the Centre for Teaching Materials, and the LIFE Foundation. Together, they aim to put cutting-edge research straight into the classroom.  

“Digital technology is such a fundamental part of our society that technological understanding is crucial to democratic education in 2025. Children must not only be able to understand new digital technologies, but they must also be capable of constructing them and of asking critical questions about them. We want to contribute to this by bringing the latest research directly into schools, so that children are given the opportunity to actively take part in developing the society they are part of,” says Professor Ole Sejer Iversen, CCTD, Aarhus University. 

CCTD develops research-based teaching materials and learning technologies that give children and young people the tools to both create digital technologies and ask critical questions about, for example, artificial intelligence and algorithms. 

“Children, teachers and parents should have the opportunity to explore together the complex digital technologies that shape our lives and our society. We open up the engine room of AI, giving children and young people the chance to investigate and create digital technologies themselves, so they gain the sense that they can help shape their own digital future,” says Professor Marianne Graves Petersen, CCTD, Aarhus University. 

When disciplines meet, change happens 

CCTD brings together expertise from both the humanities and natural sciences. Researchers from the Department of Computer Science contribute deep knowledge of digital technologies, while researchers from the Department of Communication and Culture bring expertise in how technologies can be meaningfully integrated into everyday life, and how we can cultivate a critical and reflective approach to digital technology. 

The new ultra:bit is an example of how interdisciplinary research can help solve major societal challenges - in this case, the lack of digital competences among children and young people - and of how strong partnerships ensure that research findings can quickly be put into practice. 

“As researchers, we must be concerned with how our knowledge affects the world. If we want to help address the societal challenges we face, it is vital that we dare to talk across disciplinary boundaries, even if this sometimes takes place in a language we don’t fully understand. To develop technological understanding, we must understand both technology and people,” explains Ole Sejer Iversen. 

Dean of the Faculty of Arts, Maja Horst, stresses that strong partnerships and interdisciplinary collaboration are essential if research is to make a clear impact on society. 

“It is a great pleasure to see collaboration between the humanities and the natural sciences unfold and take root right in the classroom. This demonstrates what is possible when we succeed with interdisciplinary research – and that is the direction we want to strengthen. The major societal challenges cut across disciplines, which is why interdisciplinarity is not just desirable but necessary,” she says. 

With technological understanding now a mandatory element in Danish primary and lower secondary education, there’s a clear need for research-based materials that prepare the youngest generation to become confident digital citizens. 

“At Aarhus University we are strong in digital technology and artificial intelligence. With the new ultra:bit we have a unique opportunity to bring the latest research into classrooms and spark interest in science and IT among the next generation. This is knowledge that can bring about real societal change – for the benefit of children and young people across the country,” says Kristine Kilså, Vice-Dean for Education at the Faculty of Natural Sciences, Aarhus University. 

Building on experience 

The new ultra:bit project builds on the ultra:bit initiative, which since 2018 has engaged more than 100,000 Danish children in technology education. With the new ultra:bit, the programme is being expanded to cover Years 1–6, with at least 70,000 children expected to take part through teaching, learning events, and resource kits for both schools and families.

Read more about the project here and find it on CCTD's website here.