T@BookNews

The Minister's Choice: Tabook - Innovation in Education

Bucharest, Romania, 02/10/2024.

By Aronescu Adia and Bota Alexandra

Tabook, the pioneering library application, was honored with the Innovation in Education Award at the Entrepreneur Day Gala, organized by the Ministry of Economy, Entrepreneurship, and Tourism. This recognition validates the team’s efforts to create an educational platform that makes reading more accessible and engaging.

"The reason I am here today is because, from a young age, I had a deep love for reading. I had two favorite types of books - Jules Verne and Romanian Fairy Tales. You know that in fairy tales the hero never goes on a mission alone, he has friends, animals, various magical objects. Like the heroes of fairy tales, entrepreneurs must confront dragons every day. These dragons no longer breathe fire or strike fear into us as before; today, they take the form of market uncertainties, lack of funding or rapidly evolving technologies that we struggle to keep pace with. Our role as entrepreneurs is to find allies, to form a team or to help it move forward and break out, and the magical tool that we discovered at Tabook is technology.” said Florentin Bota, the CEO of Tabook.

Making reading accessible and engaging using gamification and AI integration is the main mission of Tabook - “We want to build together a world where every child, regardless of where they come from, has access to education. A world where technology and innovation bring us closer to a future where anyone can succeed.”

Their mission to improve the current education system and facilitate access to information and books is also achieved through the EduReads+ project. "With the help of artificial intelligence, we can offer personalized audiobooks for every child, in any language, in any corner of the world.”

Tabook integrates modern technology with the love of reading, offering personalized book suggestions and tailored reading experiences. It connects readers with authors through both in-person and online meetings, while also providing AI-driven narrations of books in various languages. These features are designed to help reduce illiteracy and promote a culture of reading.

“Of course, it is not very easy to do this, and I believe that entrepreneurship is not for those who give up at the first attempt. Entrepreneurship is for those who have the courage to stand up every time, to go through the challenge and change the world ” concludes Florentin Bota.

It was an honor for Tabook to stand alongside leading startups that are at the forefront of innovation and technology, such as dotLumen. Their groundbreaking work, led by CEO Cornel Amariei, has transformed the lives of the visually impaired through smart glasses that enhance autonomy and safety. We were also inspired by impactful initiatives like KINDERPEDIA, a digital platform simplifying communication between schools and parents.

The event signaled the importance of public-private partnerships, with Minister Ștefan- Radu Oprea pointing out the need for collaboration between the government and businesses for sustainable development.

This award reinforces the determination of the Tabook team to continue to innovate and have a lasting impact on education in Romania and beyond.

“ We would like to extend our heartfelt gratitude to Adela Condurache-Fedorca, Counselor at the Ministry of Economy, Entrepreneurship, and Tourism, for her outstanding support in organizing and facilitating our participation in the event. Her professionalism and attention to detail were key to ensuring everything ran seamlessly, and we are deeply appreciative of her efforts.“ - Tabook team