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This interview series highlights the thinking, priorities, and experiences of thought leaders in publishing and education. Each conversation introduces readers to the people shaping learning materials today, and offers insight into how they approach quality, pedagogy, and technology in practice.
The series opens with a conversation with Gyldendal Education. The timing is particularly relevant following the recent BETT Awards, where Gyldendal Education and Ludenso were named finalists in the Safeguarding Solutions category, recognising a shared approach to responsible and trustworthy use of AI in education.
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The first interview features Hanne-Mari Eide Bennett, Publishing Director at Gyldendal Education.
In this blog post, you can expect reflections on the role of publishers in 2026, shifts in the educational landscape, decision-making around AI, and what it takes to develop AI-supported digital learning materials that genuinely support learning.
“I’m an out-moved Lofoten native,” Hanne-Mari smiles. “I don’t think there’s a single northerner who doesn’t start by saying where they’re from.”
She once imagined a future in tourism in Lofoten. Life took her elsewhere. After nearly 30 years in Oslo, her path has woven through media, academia, and commercial roles, experiences which have now come together in her leadership of Gyldendal Education.
What unites her journey is a deep respect for knowledge and those who come after us.
“Working with educational publishing is something I didn’t even know was a profession when I was young. I really hope it continues to be one for generations to come, because it’s such an important way of supporting how knowledge is built.
For Hanne-Mari, publishing is not just a job. It’s a responsibility.
“It may sound pretentious, but it feels like an honourable mission: to put forward knowledge and help students learn. Teaching materials are not just tools for learning. They are fundamental building blocks of any healthy democracy.”
Hanne-Mari doesn’t claim to have a crystal ball, but she’s clear about one thing: 2026 will be a direction-setting year for education. In the conversation, she highlights four key shifts publishers need to prepare for:
AI cannot become a shortcut that replaces practice, struggle and repetition; some of the fundamentals of learning. Schools will be challenged to redesign how students train, practise, and truly learn with AI-tools at hand.
“Maybe this is the death of the take-home exam.”
With AI making it impossible to ensure fair assessment at home, Hanne-Mari expects more emphasis on oral and in-person evaluation.
The committee’s report, due in 2026, will heavily influence political priorities and long-term educational reform.
Poor international test results and a growing reading crisis have moved learning to the centre of public debate.
“I hope we can move the screen debate toward a more calibrated and nuanced discussion. One that recognizes our shared concern for children while also distinguishing between social media-platforms and the purposeful use of pedagogical materials. Paper books are returning, and that’s important on several levels, especially in addressing the ongoing reading crisis. But paper alone is not enough."
“There are things paper books can’t do. Students need a balanced combination of analogue and digital support, just like we do.”
“That we can agree, across political parties, that learning materials are not a luxury.”
“If I ever got a tattoo,” she adds, “it would say exactly that.” And adds: “I find it troubling that something so essential to the future of our society is consistently underfunded.”
Hanne-Mari is equally clear that the coming year will be defining for the publishing industry itself. In the conversation, she points to four key forces that will shape how publishers prioritise and take responsibility in 2026:
In a world where truth is harder to distinguish from falsehood, publishers play a vital role.
“Some things must be allowed to be true, curated, quality-assured, and trustworthy.”
2026 will demand strong focus on compliance and regulatory responsibility.
Hanne-Mari expects a stronger focus on foundational skills and curriculum discussions to move from broad competence goals toward clearer knowledge goals, while still safeguarding digital skills as a core part of education.
“If curriculum doesn't include digital literacy, we leave it to big tech. That’s too important to outsource.”
Hanne-Mari is openly critical of Norway’s new payment model pilot for digital learning materials. Under this system, schools are given access to all approved digital resources without purchasing licences in advance, and instead pay providers based on actual use, most often measured by frequency of logins.
While well intentioned, she warns that this model risks incentivising the wrong behaviours.
“If you reward clicks, you risk optimising for clicks, not learning.”
When revenue is tied to high-frequency usage, providers may feel pressured to design for engagement metrics rather than for deep, durable learning. For Hanne-Mari, this creates a dangerous mismatch between what is pedagogically sound and what is financially rewarded, especially in a sector where learning quality should always come first.
“Yes,” Hanne-Mari says, without hesitation. “I didn’t think so five years ago.” Reading, she believes, has unique cognitive and human value. And research shows that paper-based reading has distinct advantages.
“There’s something about the minds of people who read.”
In the future, books may come with digital twins: seamless transitions between paper, audio, and digital. But reading itself will endure. And it must remain affordable.
“Books must not become a luxury item again. Cost matters for democracy and equality.”
Learning itself.
“We talk far too much about efficiency and too little about learning.” She shares an example from her own daughter, a student who used AI to generate a series of new practice-exams, receive feedback, and improve iteratively. “She became much better prepared than I can imagine she would have managed on her own.” This is where AI really shines: not by handing out answers, but by helping students practise, get feedback, and work through challenges.
“Standing in the discomfort of not understanding and mastering, that’s where learning can truly happen. And that’s exactly where AI should be a powerful support.”
She laughs.
“This may sound like flattery, but we have something very exciting launching with Ludenso for school start. And I genuinely can’t wait.”
“Without hesitation, Tim Oates.” Hanne-Mari says.
Good news: he’ll be joining us very soon!
