When AI-driven impact innovation steps up: reinventing education in Europe

Part 2: Building Inclusive Pathways to Work

Following the series’ first part, which explored how AI-driven innovation enhances learning outcomes and inclusion within classrooms, this section shifts the focus to what happens next: how those same values of ethics, personalisation, and empowerment translate into preparing learners for the world of work. It connects the transformation within the educational system to the wider challenge of creating inclusive, future-ready career pathways.

The current challenges in the labor market, when viewed against the broad and complex landscape of our educational systems, are profound: employers increasingly demand adaptability, digital fluency, and a commitment to lifelong learning - yet schools, universities, and higher education institutions have yet to establish enduring frameworks that effectively cultivate these essential competencies.

Mission-driven founders are working to bridge this gap and prepare learners for future education and work pathways. At Social Tides, we’ve supported many of these entrepreneurs, helping them fill critical gaps and actively shape the future of the broader European education system.

Career Pathways & Women’s Inclusion

While the educational system currently faces challenges in fully meeting today’s market demands for skills, achieving sustainable progress requires more than innovative tools alone; it calls for lasting and systemic solutions rather than isolated initiatives.

For Talenti, a Poland-based platform that offers access to multiple services (including an AI-career assistant) that support career development for women, the central key ingredient is integrity and a user-centered approach: “Our responsibility is to build tools, including those that use AI, so that they serve people for their benefit but do not ignore their concerns, doubts, and fears - and as it turns out, there are many of those”. 

They also emphasised the importance of long-term support, personalised guidance, and community engagement to help users build sustainable skills, confidence, and career paths over time. A common theme in what AI-driven innovation offers is indeed personalisation, meeting the needs of each individual rather than applying one-size-fits-all solutions.

Their platform combines expert guidance, community support, and an AI assistant named ZOE, to help women - from migrants to mothers returning to work - navigate careers with confidence. Agnieszka Czmyr-Kaczanowska, Founder & CEO of Talenti, highlights: “These successes are not always about finding a job right away, as in the case of Joanna, who had been working as a freelancer since the summer. She used Talenti when she felt that she no longer wanted to work independently, that she wanted to join a team and work with others, preferably in an organisation with a mission. She quickly found herself on the shortlist for one of our recruitments and joined the company's team”.

“I remember many stories of women like Ewa, Katarzyna, Barbara and many others who, in order to spread their wings, only needed a few good questions asked at the right moment to dare to apply for a new position or request a promotion or raise on their own”. Success is defined not only as employment but also as building clarity, agency, resilience, and the ability to thrive despite systemic inequities.

Insights for the Ecosystem

The core insights from our founders emphasize the importance of deeply understanding foundational challenges, fostering effective collaboration within the ecosystem, and building trust and inclusivity with end beneficiaries to achieve lasting impact. To empower founders in these efforts, key enablers include longer grant cycles, procurement-friendly pilot designs, independently funded evaluations, and educator-focused capacity-building. Below, we’ve gathered reflections from the founders featured in this blog post (read part 1 here!), offering valuable guidance for stakeholders across the ecosystem to consider.

• GIOS: Education systems must harness AI not as a trend, but as a necessary infrastructure for equity, resilience, and future-ready skills.

• Elicėjus: Patience with public systems pays off. Innovation that works with ministries and municipalities, not against them, is what scales.

• Develop-Players: Research cannot be rushed. Education technology needs humility, a willingness to make mistakes, and cultural sensitivity. “The integration of AI in education is not only a technical challenge; it is a cultural one".

• Talenti: Responsibility is non-negotiable. AI must support people, not override their doubts and fears.

Closing the series

These insights capture the essence of impact-driven EdTech: the power of AI is maximized when guided by strong ethical principles, inclusivity, and a commitment to long-term impact. To maximize impact, AI integration requires that educational ecosystems not only adopt the technology but also critically recognize its limitations, ensuring it supports individuality, fosters personal growth, and builds inclusive pathways that serve diverse learners equitably.

At Social Tides, we recognize that achieving this vision depends on deeper collaboration, transparent sharing of lessons, and robust support for founders bridging gaps where traditional education systems and market forces fall short. Our founders’ experiences underscore that building a truly impact-first AI EdTech venture requires balancing innovative technology with ethical rigor and genuine responsiveness to user needs, ensuring AI enhances learning without causing unintended harm.

Funders, educational institutions, and ecosystem partners must appreciate that meaningful, lasting impact stems from patience, sustained support, and authentic partnership with educators and learners, not from chasing short-term performance metrics. When thoughtfully deployed, AI has the potential to empower teachers, personalize learning experiences, support diverse student populations, and prepare learners for future-ready skills, all while respecting individuality and maintaining human guidance.

Together, we have the opportunity to shape an inclusive education system that fully embraces each learner’s potential, equips every future professional for success, and harnesses AI responsibly to serve the common good.