Academic Profiles for EdTech Needs – an Analysis of Researcher Profiles

In an era where collaboration between academia and the EdTech industry is crucial for innovation, this study explores how academic profiles align with industry needs. In this study we examine the professional profiles available online of educational researchers from the Tallinn University School of Educational Sciences across the international LinkedIn, national ETIS and institutional TLU platforms, to identify how researchers market their skills that are relevant to the EdTech sector. Our findings indicate that some of the key areas such as instructional design, project management and technical proficiency that are vital for EdTech industry remain often underrepresented in academic profiles. While LinkedIn facilitates networking, it may not necessarily reach the depth needed for comprehensive representation, whereas the Estonian national research database ETIS provides rich academic details with limited industry appeal. Our suggestions call for strategic improvements in how researchers can present their expertise online, in order to improve industry-academia collaboration. By creating more precise and strategically targeted professional profiles, researchers will stand better chances to attract EdTech industry’s attention.