LIST spin-off OAT acquired by the Japanese company Uchida Yoko

Launched in 2013, Open Assessment Technologies S.A. (OAT) and its flagship software developed by the Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology (LIST) have just been acquired by Japanese company Uchida Yoko Co. LTD.

Uchida Yoko Co Ltd is a Japan-based company engaged in public-related businesses, office related businesses and information related businesses. 

Now a market leader in assessment innovation, OAT initially developed an open-source digital assessment solution for education and career advancement (called TAO) in LIST.

By acquiring OAT, Uchida Yoko, which has been involved in education since 1946, will continue to contribute to open-source assessment and learning solutions, and with a stable business foundation, both companies will continue to work together toward the future of education. 

The leading open-source digital assessment solution for education and career advancement

OAT is the publisher of TAO, the leading open-source assessment platform in the public education sector. The company works with education and assessment professionals around the world using a highly scalable, robust and secure platform.

In 2007, the OECD chose LIST and its computer-assisted testing solution, known as CAT, to conduct the PISA study (Programme for International Student Assessment). A year later, the solution was used for PIAAC (Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies). In 2013, OAT was launched as a company, receiving support from CITO, one of the world's leading testing and assessment companies, and LIST. With this support, the team was able to accelerate product development and offer commercial services worldwide.

With users in 194 countries, TAO has delivered over 100 million tests in more than 30 languages worldwide. Since 2020, the solution has been the official digital assessment solution for the Japanese Ministry of Educations national computer-based testing program, used in approximately 25,000 schools by 8,400,000 students from elementary to high school across all prefectures.

A tech solution made in Luxembourg

Initially, the concept of computer-based, flexible and free adaptive tests, based on web technologies, came from Luxembourg-based researchers at LIST and the University of Luxembourg. With the TAO Prototype having reached an operational technological level, LIST approached Marc Oswald, a visionary entrepreneur, to define its business strategy. OAT S.A. was subsequently created after extensive coordination between the stakeholders.

The relationship between LIST and OAT is to be continued through collaboration in the field of research, development, and technological innovation with its industrial partners.

Find out more about OAT.