Learning for a test, not for life

Gabriel Sabah, Emma Blomqvist, Tiba Gate, Loris L’Abbate, Kenay Pathoumthong, Julien André

2026-04-23

Two students, Ana Silva and Louis Wampach, looking at career brochures at the SYV-torget, exploring their options for life after secondary school.

Schools in both Sweden and Luxembourg say they prepare students for the future. But students are starting to question whether either system is keeping a pace with reality.
- The school program is slow and we won’t learn about it for about 20 years, says Louis , 17, a student in Luxembourg, talking about how his school handles AI.

Sweden and Luxembourg take different approaches to education. In Luxembourg, studens follow a theoretical curriculum built around preparing them for university. In Sweden, schools offer both vocational programs and university-prepation tracks with more flexibility.

- Swedish education prepares students for immediate work. In Luxembourg, you learn more theory, you learn how to learn, says Louis Wampach.

His classmate Ana Silva, 16, agrees that the system is demanding but feels something is missing.

- We learn a lot, a lot, a lot, and the teachers are more strict, she says. If she could change one thing, her answer is direct, to try to work, instead of only learning.

Vilma Eriksson, 26, a study and career counsellor at Westerlundska gymnasiet, has a clear take about AI.

- You have to dare to use AI. If students are afraid of it and do not use it, there will be problems, she says.

Louis describes a different reality in Luxembourg. Teachers reprimand AI use rather than teaching students how to think about it.

- We are not really learning about the dangers of AI, he says.

Both systems share the same gap. Neither of them prepares students for a job market where AI is already changing what skills actually matter

Vilma’s wish for her students is simple.

- Dare to trust that students take their own responsibility, she says.

For Louise and Ana, the answer is the same: more practice, less theory.

Three voices, two countries, one shared conclusion. Schools are moving too slowly for the world their students are about to enter.