EBCONT Sets New Standards: Innovative Design Solution for the Styria Children's Portal
EBCONT recently made its mark on a groundbreaking project that is making waves in the industry: the children's portal for the state of Styria. From now on, children in the green federal state will be registered for daycare and kindergarten places exclusively through an online system, with the EBCONT team responsible for the design.
The project focused on designing the front-end using modern UI/UX principles for both the children's and maintainer portals. This portal allows kindergartens to register, maintain their profiles, and efficiently manage their availability. The project was further enhanced by the creation of a new logo and matching icons.
What’s particularly remarkable is that the EBCONT team was able to realize this user-friendly design in an impressively short time. With a small but highly specialized team of just three UI/UX design experts, the project was executed with exceptional efficiency and success.
The newly developed portal is considered a beacon in the design landscape, as it is the first to showcase the comprehensive integration of Oracle APEX low-code solutions in this form. Oracle APEX enables the development of powerful and flexible applications with minimal coding effort.
Präsentierten das neue Kinderportal des Landes: SP-Klubobmann Hannes Schwarz, die technische Projektverantwortliche Vesna Krnjic, Bildungslandesrat Werner Amon (ÖVP), Geschäftsführerin Brigitte Schafarik (Volkshilfe Steiermark) und WIKI-Obmann Günther Ruprecht (v.l.)
Foto: Land Steiermark/Fischer
New Children's Portal Styria: Find and Reserve Childcare Places Online
Currently, the timing for kindergarten and nursery registrations varies from one municipality to another, and there is no general overview of available places or waiting lists. This has often been a source of criticism, but that is set to change. Starting from the 2025/26 childcare year, registrations for childcare places will be handled for the first time through a single platform: the Kinderportal of the state. This innovation was anchored in the new Children's Education Act passed last year and is now ready to be implemented.
Through the new Children's Portal of Styria, parents and guardians can access all information about the 1,130 child education and care facilities in Styria—including kindergartens, nurseries, after-school care centers, and children's houses. The portal includes all facilities for children from zero to 14 years old, as well as the contact details of all providers and sponsors of day care services.
With the help of a comprehensive filter function—such as by location, sponsoring organization, care hours, accessibility, and available places—parents can search for a suitable facility for their child. The facilities that meet their criteria can be added to a shopping cart. The facilities, in turn, manage these reservations online. In the future, parents will also be able to see at a glance which facilities still have available places.
Starting in January 2025, pre-registration for places for the 2025/26 kindergarten year will be possible through the system, making the use of the portal mandatory in Styria.
Booking.com – that’s the first association that might come to mind when accessing the new Styrian children’s portal. And indeed, the platform works similarly to an online shopping format for parents. “That was the intention behind it,” says Vesna Krnjic, Chief IT Project Manager for the State of Styria, with a smile during the portal's presentation. “We are proud to have achieved the goal of modernizing childcare in Styria together with EBCONT, accomplishing groundbreaking results with our IT partner in the shortest time possible. The portal will eventually provide an overview of where there are shortages of spaces and where action is needed.”
Martina Edelhofer, UX/UI Designer at EBCONT, adds: “We are proud to have significantly improved the registration process for kindergartens and the management of available spaces in collaboration with the State of Styria. The trusting partnership, marked by communication at eye level, enabled us to create an efficient and sustainable solution that ensures seamless management and oversight for all parties involved.”