Smart Future
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Smart Future Foundation story

Smart Future Foundation is an independent foundation created in 2024 by Swedbank to strengthen the long-term development of education in Estonia. The foundation was established with a 10-million-euro endowment, which allows us to support impactful initiatives in general education for many years to come.

Our mission is to help every student in Estonia shape their future consciously and wisely. We support bold, evidence-based and forward-looking ideas that address real needs in schools and have the potential for broad and lasting impact.

Vision & Core Values

Impact

We aim that every grant creates value for a student.
We support and initiate projects that generate demonstrably positive change in general education.
We encourage applicants to be bold experimenters, while demanding clear goals and evidence-based solutions.

Openness

We share openly information about how the foundation operates and how decisions are made.
We explain our decisions and, if needed, offer advisory and mentoring support to initiatives and projects.
We disclose how we invest the foundation’s capital and strive to be exemplary in our investment strategy.

Viability

Through professional management and investment strategy, we ensure the foundation’s capacity to adapt to changing environments and needs — enabling long-term self-sustainability.
We prioritise projects with measurable long-term impact and scalability.
We emphasise the need for evidence-based planning and, where appropriate, allocate resources for evaluating and proving project effectiveness.

Collaboration

We make open information exchange and cooperation a priority at all levels.
We initiate and participate in networks and actively contribute to the discourse on the development of general education.
We involve partners, experts, co-thinkers, and volunteers — fostering an open environment for exchanging ideas and developing solutions together.

What We Value in Projects

A strong project should:

Improve Estonian general education in a meaningful way
Support students on their learning path or in their learning environment
Show clear, measurable outcomes
Have potential to scale widely
Bring together different partners and stakeholders
Be led by trustworthy teams with strong expertise and integrity

For us, supported projects are true partners. We work with them regularly, share ideas, face challenges together and look for opportunities to grow their impact.

We help ideas grow into effective, working solutions

The Smart Future Foundation is led by a five-member supervisory board and a managing director, who is responsible for the foundation’s day-to-day operations. The foundation is supported by a think tank made up of volunteer members, representing the perspectives, ideas and proposals of employers, entrepreneurs, parents, EdTech organisations, general-education institutions and policy-makers.

We fund initiatives that help improve general education in Estonia. Our support includes both financial grants and non-financial assistance.

Financial Support: we provide grants for projects that are ambitious, research-based and capable of driving systemic change in education.

Grant size typically ranges from €5,000 to €200,000
Support may be one-off or long-term
Follow-up funding is possible when a project shows strong results and further potential

Non-Financial Support: in addition to funding, we work closely with the project teams:

Strategic guidance and mentoring
Support in planning impact and evaluation
Access to networks, partnerships and peer learning
Regular meetings and collaborative sessions with other supported projects

Supported Projects

Here is an overview of the projects supported by the Smart Future Foundation since 2025.

HK Unicorn Squad Technology Modules

A programme that brings modern, hands-on technology learning modules to schools, designed to spark students’ curiosity in science, technology and engineering.

Healthy and Safe Relationships

An initiative that helps schools prevent relationship violence by raising awareness, building social and emotional skills and strengthening respectful school culture.

Innovative Collaboration Between Students and Companies

A project that connects upper-secondary students with Estonian companies, enabling real-world problem-solving, teamwork and meaningful cooperation between youth and employers.

Lesson Study in Estonian Schools

A method where teachers collaboratively plan, observe and analyse lessons to improve the quality of teaching. The project supports schools in adopting and spreading this approach.

AI Leap – The Next Major Development Leap for Estonian Society

A programme that helps schools implement research-based improvements in teaching and learning. It provides professional development for teachers and supports schools in making long-term changes.

EdTech Hack 2025

The goal of the hackathon is to develop innovative solutions that support the transition to Estonian-language education — ranging from language technologies and digital tools to solutions that help reduce teachers’ workload.

Safe School Culture Through Restorative Practices

The project takes a holistic approach to developing restorative practices in schools as part of everyday school life. It aims to strengthen school culture, relationships, responsibility and a sense of safety.

Number Talks methodology in Estonia

The aim of the project is to bring more discussion into lower secondary (grades 4–6) mathematics lessons about mathematical ideas and their validity, in order to develop students’ problem-solving skills and enrich their repertoire of solution strategies.

Artists Are Present – Estonian Language and Culture in Narva Schools

“Artists Are Present” is a project of the Narva Art Residency that brings professional Estonian artists to schools in Narva and Ida-Viru County. The project gives young people the opportunity to engage directly with contemporary art, practise the Estonian language, and, through creativity, find their own voice and self-confidence.

Mathematical Thinking Clubs for Lower Upper Secondary Level

Mathematical Thinking Clubs operating across Estonia offer students in grades 7–9 the opportunity to explore mathematics both theoretically and practically. The clubs focus on mathematical thinking, creativity, and the joy of discovery, helping to build a strong foundation for further studies.

Contact

If you are interested in cooperation, have questions about funding opportunities or would like to support the foundation’s work, feel free to get in touch.

Smart Future Foundation (SA Targa Tuleviku Fond)
Address: Narva mnt 4, 10117 Tallinn, Estonia
General email: tark.tulevik@targatulevikufond.ee

Annika Räim – Member of the Management Board
Email: annika.raim@targatulevikufond.ee
Phone: +372 5561 1518