Top 10 Best Educational Platforms to follow in 2022

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Chief Editor

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Nilesh Sabe

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From the

EDITOR T

he concept of traditional education has changed dramatically over the past two years. Physical presence in the classroom is no longer the only option for learning - at least with the advent of the Internet and new technologies. These days, as long as you can communicate, you can get a good education whenever and wherever you want. We are now entering a new era - the online education revolution.

No need to ignore skepticism about online education. The concept of leaving an ordinary classroom is difficult to understand, especially when dealing with a large space called the Internet.

However, this is not a sufficient reason to avoid this alternative, which has been proven to be viable and beneficial for many students.

According to the latest research from Babson Research Group, more than 30% of higher education students in the United States attend at least one distance learning course. Online education is a wise choice for teens and adults

alike. As a student, this can be a useful educational way to strengthen your skills in a difficult subject or to learn a new skill.

An educational platform or an academic platform, is a virtual program whose function is to create virtual spaces to share information. It is intended for teachers and students. It is widely used at universities and schools, both face-to-face and online learning. With an education platform you can organize, visualize and respond immediately to questions without limiting the room or physical hours. It is ideal for making rooms for discussing students and teachers, research groups, and even virtual communities with the same common interest.

Virtual lessons are available wherever you have an internet connection, and a good way to take advantage of them is to travel.

For example, if you are studying in your home country and want to find a job, online education is the best choice. There is no reason to give up work and study to explore new and exotic places.

In our edition of Top 10 Best Education Platforms to Follow in 2022, on the cover page, we have Alexander SO, Founder of ABC EDTECH Group Limited. This education firm was created, out of curiosity, to increase the accessibility of learning for every child sitting in any corner of the world.

SwiftNLifts is not just a business magazine.

We aim to cover all other topics which With online education, you can study and account for the betterment of our society. We teach from anywhere in the world. This always try to come up with articles covering means you don’t have to move from one the latest trends and essential topics. We as place to another or follow a strict schedule. In a team have worked hard for our readers and addition, you can save not only time but also introduced to you this edition. I hope you the money you can spend on other priorities. enjoy reading this piece of our efforts!

- Nilesh Sabe Nilesh Sabe Chief Editor

CONTENTS Cover Story

10 ABC EDTECH Group Limited Profiles

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Capstone Prep Education Center

20

Stamford American School Hong Kong

22

FifthWisdom Technology

Articles Skill you must learn for the future

32 Pandemic and Education

How long will digital Education help?

24 26

40 28

Armor Capital

Synergy Education Provider Co Ltd

34

CXA Group

30

Mind Rock Education Centre

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38

Ardent Search Ltd

Dew-Point International Ltd

ALEXANDER SO Founder of ABC EdTech Group Ltd.

ABC EdTech

Our goal is to be the means for children to have wings to dream.

Lt

d.

Al ex an de

r So

- Fo u

EdT nder of ABC

ec

ro G h

up

ABC EdTech How did you get the idea of founding ABC EdTech?

was like outside my own walls, and further introspection into my upbringing, I decided to forge a career path for myself that focused on increasing the accessibility In 2015, I had the privilege to travel to Fiji as a volunteer of education and career-related information so that to help build schools and teach English and Math to parents and children can co-explore academic and underprivileged children in the Nasivikoso village. professional career options that best serve them.

This was an eye-opening trip for me as a 17-year-old kid from Hong Kong. Though my family started from humble beginnings, my parents’ hard work provided What were the initial challenges? a privileged life for me, emphasizing education and Besides convincing others to trust a 17-year-old, mentorship. I realized that not all children in the world balancing work and my academics has been one of have these same privileges. Through me seeing what life the biggest initial challenges. ABC’s started during my

sophomore year of high school. My business plan was accepted

by Cyberport, Hong Kong Government’s start-up accelerator space, and I was given resources to help grow my idea. Achieving this was not easy. Juggling university entrance exams, applications, and the venture was a great learning experience that allowed me to balance my academic and professional lives. Throughout my undergraduate studies at University College London (UCL), coordinating global teams and attending meetings and events came with a steep learning curve. However, with strong teamwork and passion, our team could pull it off and continuously grow to what we are today.

As a graduate student at the University of Cambridge, I have matured into my role. I have pursued my academic and professional passions together, allowing me to incorporate my learnings into the company and vice versa.

Learning through the internet is like reading a dictionary or encyclopedia to learn English; we do not learn English by reading such books. We use them as references to further our understanding. Learning can be extremely inefficient and frustrating without knowing what to look for and how to find it online. Our algorithm will look to draw inspiration from the field of personalized medicine. Like personalized medicine, where treatments are created based on the patient’s DNA, we want to utilize psychometric, multimodal, and competency data to design educational journeys for our users that are adaptive and personalized. Creating such an algorithm would give context for information and serve as a curriculum where learners could decide where to start. This would help tailor our future library of educational offerings to each student, ensuring that all students can utilize our resources to fit their needs no matter their educational foundation

Tell us about one of your products

I look forward to the challenges ahead of us and am ABC is developing into an online compendium of confident that our team at ABC will overcome them educational resources, offering books, homework worksheets, online tutoring, exam prep, psychometric together no matter what. testing, online mentorship, and online cv creation. We are looking to become the Netflix of education and What are the Goals and Vision of career development.

your company?

Our services are based on our founding principles: excellence, honesty, integrity, and the right to pursue knowledge. We are passionate about our mission to educate and increase opportunities for all. We will curate and collaborate with like-minded and passionate firms to ensure that everything on our platform remains market leading. We are constantly striving to learn and improve with what we do. Although we aim to reach the masses, our people-centric philosophy grounds us in remembering that each individual is unique and distinctive. As such, our primary and most immediate focus is always to create quality products with the utmost attention to detail that will lead individuals to discover and develop their unique traits – traits that make them truly remarkable.

The ultimate vision for ABC is to provide a comprehensive and holistic education that is accessible and affordable. This means helping students build a solid academic foundation and educating parents on how best to support their children in exploring their passions, setting goals, and ultimately reaching them. Many parents in lower-income families lack the knowledge or resources to mentor children after school, and much of our work aims to solve this problem. An important aspect of our approach to student empowerment for lower-income communities recognizes that parents often have not had the opportunity to obtain higher education themselves, so generational gaps in this regard may be greater. As such, I want to target these communities with lower intergenerational mobility ☐ Why did you create Resume- Page? and help strengthen educational infrastructure Currently, ABC’s priority is to develop its career through ABC. preparation services, titled Resume-Page.

Another of ABC’s goals is to design a neural network Resume-Page has identified that the main value algorithm that helps personalize education for our of its services is to help students present users. The internet is organized like a compendium, themselves in a way that helps them find containing the bulk of human recorded information.

a job. Students need to be employed to afford other aspects of their lives. Students are looking for skill sets to better present and prepare themselves for future careers.

capitalize on future changes. By partnering with well-developed educational institutions and new technological start-ups, we can constantly help shape the educational landscape and act as the common ground for pedagogical foundations and innovative solutions. We hope to expand our technology team and implement new data science concepts to make general learning more efficient and identify education areas that need change.

As ABC’s team and products have developed, I thought about issues I saw during my time at University: many students lacked the research and soft skills to prepare for and successfully land careers of their choice. Many students are ill-prepared for job applications and do not have access to quality ☐ What makes Resume Page unique, and how resources to help guide them through the process does Resume Page help students in the job at their tertiary institution and online. Even at application process? universities with a dedicated careers center, the Resume-Page is an online careers service website career services were understaffed and could not that provides automated resume building services, support everyone. a digital library of industry & company research, Resume Page aims to solve this issue by delivering a careers A-Z, psychometric testing, and one-on-one resume-building website that offers in-depth research mentorship. Resume -Page currently provides three into job requirements, companies, and industries; main services: resume building; research on jobs, verbal, numerical, and psychometric interview companies, and industries; and practice employer preparation; and online mentorship. Resume Page interview assessments. researched and designed very industry-specific We will continue to create more content to guide resume templates. Providing prompts, employment students through this journey. Most importantly, links, practice assessments, and resources that can our pricing will always stay low as we focus on assist students in creating tailored resumes and cover increasing accessibility. letters tailored for each industry and position gives them a better chance of being hired. We hope to inspire students to explore more careers and find the What is unique about your company that right path for them.

makes it a better player in the competition?

☐ Due to the fast-paced nature of technology, how does Resume- Page use technology to help and Since there has been a lack of one-stop niche educational products, ABC’s new market is emerging. To date, there support Job Seekers’ needs? has not been a so-called Robin-hood of education: we Resume-Page provides automated resume-building plan to be the first. The affordability and social goal of services, digital libraries of industry and company the firm give a significant advantage. Lower economic research, psychometric aptitude testing, and one- conditions would facilitate families to pursue more on-one mentorship. We believe that we can bring affordable alternatives. a premium career consultancy market to a wider audience by charging a more affordable price by ABC’s business model is viable with an affordable providing these resources. Resume-Page is in subscription model that offers products and services a unique position to compete with online CV for everyone from primary school to graduates builders and career consultancies as it provides the entering employment. market with a comprehensive product line that is more affordable and customizable. Competitive Covid19 badly impacted every industry, advantage is sustained by building partnerships with educational institutions and governments to reach a especially education. How did it affect ABC EdTech Group? wider audience.

Due to the technology frontier’s ever-changing Covid 19 has brought opportunities to learn and grow landscape, it is important to stay ahead of the for ABC’s education sector. The majority are waking curve to ensure our students can best learn and up to the inflexibility of current education systems and

ABC EdTech Group is the best provider for learning resources that can help your child thrive and grow for a better future

are exploring alternative education methods. This has increased awareness of the EdTech field and has led to many technological and pedagogical advancements.

ABC has benefited from this and has been able to conduct market research better, identify customer strongholds, and garner significantly more investment and media traction. As such, we hope to leverage these benefits to quickly launch our services to a larger demographic, allowing us to improve our offerings.

What will you say about your team?

We are blessed to have a global team spanning every continent. Their talents play a pivotal role in the business. They explore new ideas for our company and keep it fresh and alive by providing unique and broader perspectives. Everyone in our team is extremely passionate about providing high-quality, affordable education and believes in the potential impact. Their talents play a pivotal role in the business. They explore new ideas for our company and keep it fresh and alive by providing unique and broader perspectives. We have been fortunate enough to have government-subsidized start-up office space in Cyberport Hong Kong and headquartered there. With this team that passionately believes in our vision and strive to produce excellence daily, we will grow to become a model business that promotes educational equality and inspires others to do so as well.

At ABC, we believe that education is a right, not a privilege, and we believe that using the internet, we will be able to reach people in areas that were not previously as accessible. Our mission is to give children, students, and graduates access to the best resources available, allowing them to understand themselves and make full use of their talents.

ABC hopes to gradually develop into an online compendium of educational resources, offering books, homework worksheets, online tutoring, exam prep, psychometric testing, mentorship, online industry research, and resume creation for very specific industry jobs.

Our services are based on our founding principles: excellence, honesty, integrity, and the right to pursue knowledge. We are passionate about our mission to educate and increase opportunities for as many individuals as possible and continually advance our educational assessments and books to ensure that they remain market-leading.

We are constantly striving to learn and improve with what we do. Although we aim to reach the masses, our people-centric philosophy grounds us in remembering that everyone is unique and distinctive. As such, our primary and most immediate focus is always to create quality products with the utmost attention to detail that will lead individuals to discover and develop their unique traits – traits that make them truly remarkable.

What are your future goals? How & Where will you expand?

We look to partner with tertiary and vocational institutions in these communities to increase educational infrastructure. We are looking to target Hong Kong, China, Canada, Australia, the USA, and the UK. We will later shift our focus towards ASEAN, African, Central, and South American countries moving forward. We believe that by first working with educational institutions with strongly established educational infrastructures, we can absorb and implement frameworks that apply to developing communities.

Please introduce the scope of business and core value (business philosophy) of the company.

☐ Year of Founding: 2020 ☐ Founding Members: Alexander So ☐ Office Locations: China & Hong Kong ☐ Company Strength: 15 ☐ Website: www.resume-page.com & www.abcgroup.org.cn

Building a Better Way

Managing risk is hard. Finding solutions to help doesn’t have to be. Exiger was launched to create a more sustainable path forward. https://www.exiger.com/

Ronald Founder

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Capstone Prep Education Center

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apstone was founded with the core mission of admissions consulting services for boarding school fostering tomorrow’s leaders by preparing them and university admissions in the US and the UK. to succeed in both an increasingly competitive academic environment and an ever-changing ■ Mentorship: In addition to cultivating skills, Capstone offers a range of courses to begin developing professional world. In an increasingly competitive students’ higher education and professional interests. landscape, they believe that it is essential for students to develop key skills to create a strong foundation in critical ■ Test Prep: By providing a range of resources and thinking and communication. With enrichment courses tailored attention, Capstone works to improve centered on writing and presentation, mentorship student performance over a range of tests such as the programs, test prep resources, and a robust academic SSAT, SAT, ACT, and more. consulting service, Capstone pioneers’ leadership, and long-term skill development.

The driving force behind Capstone is its students.

Capstone cultivates skills for a lifetime. Their students Founded on the belief that talented students thrive on learn to analyze issues and solve problems. Their a robust education that nurtures individual strengths, students learn to present with confidence and write Capstone has been the critical thinking and leading with clarity. Their students challenge their limits, pioneer in Hong Kong and Asia for over a decade. exceed in their respective fields, and lay the groundwork From the beginning, Capstone recognized the need to for future success. mentally prepare students for not only an increasingly Capstone’s team of instructors and consultants brings an amalgam of unique experiences and knowledge to their students. Their team is passionate about education and is constantly striving to develop new ways of engaging with student needs. As a testament to this devotion to education, many of their instructors have graduated from elite universities and hold multiple degrees.

Their instructors come from all walks of life, including academia, law, finance, technology, and consulting.

Their spaces are more than just classrooms. They are lecture halls, discussion tables, debate stages, and labs.

They are spaces where students challenge ideas, engage with instructors and peers, and ultimately grow as thinkers and leaders.

Services they provide:

competitive academic environment but an increasingly competitive world. Simply finding answers and memorizing information is no longer enough in an international landscape that prizes growth, flexibility, and innovation. They saw that their students needed to be able to ask questions and solve problems. They saw that their students needed to be able to analyze, defend, and present their ideas with confidence, poise, and grace. They saw that their students needed to find solutions – not just the kind that would get them a perfect SAT score, but the kind that would cultivate their professional growth as they pursue new possibilities for their future. Their students learn to make new strides, not follow in the footsteps of others.

Website- https://www.capstoneprep.com/

■ Academic Enrichment: Capstone provides a range of enrichment courses aimed at improving students’ critical thinking, writing, and debate skills across twelve grade levels.

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Stamford American School Hong Kong Ms. Karrie Dietz Head of School

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tamford American School Hong Kong offers an inspiring world of education for students aged 5 to 18 using an inquiry-based learning approach combined with rigorous American academic standards. Graduates receive an American diploma and the option of the IB Diploma, both offering access to top universities worldwide.

To prepare children for the future, starting from the age of 5, their pioneering STEMinn program (science, technology, engineering, math, and innovation) develops critical skills needed for the 21st century by combining innovative projects with the latest technology. In addition to core subjects, their broad and balanced curriculum includes athletics, the arts 20

and a daily world language program (Mandarin or Spanish) or a bilingual option (Mandarin/English) in lower elementary. They offer a wide variety of afterschool programs so every child can pursue their passion and interests.

The fourth academic year at Stamford American School Hong continues to showcase the strength of the experienced faculty. Stamford recently achieved another milestone in integrity by receiving full IBDP (International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme) authorization in addition to the recent CIS accreditation, ensuring all Stamford diplomas options translate into global opportunities for its students.

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Programs they offer: ■ Physical education ■ Arts program ■ English support program ■ Social-emotional program ■ Outdoor education ■ Accelerated Language Program (G4-G9)

What facilities does Stamford offer?

Stamford’s New Learning Spaces Their new learning spaces support their rigorous high school curriculum and a broad range of specialist courses. The high school science laboratories, special art spaces, and purpose-built collaboration areas allow their maturing students an environment to unleash their endless potential. All their students have the opportunity to enjoy three outdoor play spaces and access to bright new learning spaces as part of their new modern facade. Their community has been integral in developing their modern new look, and they are proud to unveil their additional facilities.

Their campus offers a heated 25m indoor swimming pool and over 10,000 sq. ft indoor sports hall, offering Website- https://www.sais.edu.hk/ their students the opportunity to practice in a range of sports, aiming to develop student-athletes with courage, integrity, responsibility, respect, and humility.

Their location in the heart of Kowloon also allows us opportunities to practice in nearby sporting fields such as King’s Park.

In addition to the physical education classes offered at Stamford, a variety of CCAs are also available related to athletics for students who want to dedicate more time to their passions. For students looking at something more serious they also offer the option of joining competitive teams such as basketball and swimming.

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FifthWisdom Technology

hey are an award-winning independent game developer specializing in educational game design and development in Hong Kong. They are a pioneer in educational game development in the region. Established in 2003, they have over 10 years of experience working with different local and overseas industry partners, educators, and educational institutes to create the perfect digital game-based learning solutions and products to meet their needs.

They provide Digital Game-Based Learning solutions to education institutions and other relevant organizations.

Their educational learning games platform delivers effective learning methodologies and techniques using the latest interactive game technology and optimum design principles. Their games engage learners with deep and rewarding learning in a highly motivating context.

how to use it, they rarely learn how it works. We should try to equip everyone with the skills to not just use the technology but to make it work for them. Everyone should have a basic understanding that will take them through the rest of their lives!

They provide Digital Game-Based Learning solutions/learning games for education institutions and A broad understanding of computer other organizations. Their games science and the art of programming. are 100% safe for students of different ages. While More importantly, they will learn how to think having fun, students are learning the curriculum like computer scientists and get a glimpse knowledge in the games as well as acquiring into the science of problem-solving. They different 21st-century survival skills like will learn how to think algorithmically and critical thinking, problem-solving, be able to design solutions for complex interpersonal skills in the process. problems. The course will go through different concepts like abstraction, Planning, doing, reflecting, and algorithms, computer architecture, the linking is the process that a player internet, digital citizenship, robotics, and goes through when playing digital game development. games. Their game is designed based on the same learning model by Their aim is to introduce different concepts Garris, Ahlers, and Driskell (2002). of computer science and the art of programming and understand the basics of game design, development, and production Their mission is to empower teachers Why do students need to learn with a new way to engage learners of all ages to make learning more meaningful.

Computer Science?

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Website- http://fifthwisdom.com/ 23

Skill you must learn for the future

I

t is estimated that we, as millennials, will have at least 5 different careers in our lifetimes and many more jobs. So how can we even begin to prepare for a future that will no doubt be more mobile, autonomous and machine-driven than today?

If we want to achieve our career goals and make a real impact on the world, we will have to gain the skills and knowledge needed for the next generation of jobs. The high achievers of the future are likely to be smart, creative problem-solvers – graduates equipped to play their part in developing solutions to complex problems. The world faces challenges that are too big to be solved by people working in isolation, so we will also need to be able to work in teams and across global boundaries.

skill – hire for attitude. Also, when it comes to skills, we need to look way more at our attributes, build strong foundations and look for skills that can be universally applied.

What should we learn to stay relevant in 2022 and beyond?

It’s a tricky question to answer. Technologies change all the time, companies come and go and predictions turn out to be wrong. Still, it’s worth thinking about — both for the professional benefits and the sheer joy of learning something new.

I know there are so many skills that you can learn so here I like to mention some skills I am sure will be relevant for years to come:

There is an old saying which might be more important than ever when it comes to hiring ■ Self-Management: How to manage others is a valuable skill (especially as you advance in people but also educating people. Don’t hire for 24

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your career), but we often overlook the skill of self-management. Managing yourself is at the core of this website, and it’s what much of “productivity” advice is about.

■ Problem-solving: In the future, it will pay to think critically and creatively about your work — and to add unique skills, experiences, and connections to your professional toolkit. Your efforts to exist outside the box will not only help you come up with novel solutions but will give you the tools to communicate that you can solve new and exciting problems.

■ Data skills: The WEF predicts that data and AI will be one of the key drivers of future growth soon. We’ll touch on AI below, but for now, let’s focus on data skills. It’s almost a cliché to say we live in an age of big data. This doesn’t make it any less true, however. Data is being harvested at a never-before-seen scale – used for everything ■ Creativity: Creativity is regularly identified as a from improving industrial processes to key skill for the future. It’s important to note that keeping shelves stacked to accurately targeting this does not apply only to ‘creative’ professions digital ads. but is relevant across industries and functions.

Data skills can be a key asset to those looking Indeed, the quality of creativity has increased in to boost their employability in the future importance in all types of professions in recent jobs market. years, says Accenture. Indeed, it is argued that ■ Coding: Coding is more like a mindset and creativity is more important for more careers than will change the way you look at the world. It’s the often focussed upon STEM skills. no surprise that being able to code will give you an advantage in the future. Even if you have no plans to become a coder, learning how to Conclusion code will teach you so many things about how It’s so easy to learn almost anything for free online the world today works and how the future is if you simply dedicate a couple of hours of the being built. Every app, website, car, or piece of week to anything. I think being successful looks hardware that you use is powered by code. different to everyone. It comes in all shapes and

sizes, but one thing that most people can agree on is that it includes feeling content and secure. One of the ways to offer this security is by opening as many doors to opportunity as possible by learning valuable life skills.

- Amrin

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Synergy Education Provider Co Ltd Andy Wang CEO

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ynergy Education Provider Co Ltd Established in needs of different schools. They are experienced and Hong Kong in 2000, Synergy has been successfully highly capable in classroom education and assessment. and consistently providing professional course concepts and Native English Teachers for 20 years since Their teachers: its inception in educational support.

Synergy is one of the companies listed by the Education Bureau (EDB) that provides Native English Teachers to a local kindergarten, primary schools, and secondary schools. All teachers provided by them adhere to the requirements set by the EDB. Their team of native and local English instructors can work full-time or parttime at schools as native English teachers (NETs) and English language teaching assistants (ELTAs). Synergy recommends appropriate candidates to meet the specific 26

■ Have had experience using materials used in English language teaching.

■ Can plan lessons, both with and without the aid of course books.

■ Have an awareness of classroom management.

■ Have an ability to teach lessons that include presentation along with practice and production activities.

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■ Have an aptitude to gain insight from feedback.

Synergy is committed to meeting its clients’ expectations in the highest quality over the past 19 years. It is their honor to be given these prestigious awards from distinguished organizations.

■ Teachers are familiar with the Hong Kong Education System ■ The teaching materials are compiled according to the applicable books of the Education Bureau

They aim to provide innovative, cost-effective, and They are pleased with their achievements but that is not comprehensive services to Primary and Secondary their ultimate goal. They continue to strive to improve schools, educational institutions, organizations, themselves in every aspect to meet their clients’ and the governmental agencies, and corporations. They are committed to meeting clients’ expectations with community’s expectations of high-quality service. high-quality service and support, accountability, and considerate price. Their vision is to build an honest Achievement: long-term relationship with schools, enhance students’ happiness in the learning process and explore your ■ Listening to schools’ needs patiently and carefully student’s potential!

■ Delivering different tailored and standardized Website- https://www.synedu.com/ courses ■ Provide services to catering learning diversity

Why choose them?

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Guillaume Caillet Managing Director

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Armor Capital

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rmor taking its roots from the Breton language,  Advisory & Valuation: Recently, Armor Capital has means “guiding you through oceans”. realized the following services:

Founded in 2009, Armor Capital is a financial advisory boutique based in Hong Kong and Paris. The firm provides corporate finance services to mid-cap companies based in the Asia Pacific and EMEA. Armor Capital specializes in cross-border M&A, company valuation, fundraising (equity and debt), and strategic consulting.

Our three partners, Guillaume Caillet, Jean Giorgis, and Alain Ghiretti combine 60 years of experience in EMEA and the Asia Pacific. With strong local knowledge and contacts in the key global economies, they help business owners to manage the ever-changing and increasingly competitive economic landscape. Their team places a high value on the enduring nature of the relationships with their clients, partners, and investors, including taking a financial position in a client company.

■ Project finance advisory (infrastructure finance) ■ Third-party valuation report ■ Business modeling ■ Performance review ■ Restructuring and divestment ■ Business improvement and development ■ Post-merger integration ■ Stock option plan ■ Shareholder deadlock resolution ■ Exit/entry of a new shareholder(s) ■ Liquidation

■ Strategic consulting and market research Enhanced by practical knowledge and motivated by the success of their clients, their team commits to ethics,  Equity financing: Raising capital through equity can integrity, and performance. They boast expertise in be an appealing solution to finance the growth of your corporate finance, private equity, venture capital, business business and allow you to benefit from the experience of development, and entrepreneurship. new investors. However, the process can be demanding, and company value can be lost due to poor advice.

Armor Capital has extensive experience in cross-border M&A, financial advisory, and equity fundraising for international companies in Europe, Asia Pacific, and Their team provides early stage (up to series C) North America. They also have long-term working fundraising services to start-ups and mid-size relationships with their project financing clients in companies, suited to their needs. Armor Capital has a Middle Asia, for infrastructure and industrial projects. strong network of Venture Capital and Private Equity As part of supporting services, Armor Corporate firms and often takes part in equity financing by Services can help your company with its corporate, tax becoming an investor in your company. and accounting, and human resources need.

Armor Capital has a solid track record in advising clients who wish to exit their businesses. Their goal is to enhance value for their clients by conducting a structured sales Services they offer: process to maximize the number of interested parties and optimize the timing of the transaction.  Mergers & Acquisitions: Armor Capital provides insightful advice to business owners and c-suite Website- https://www.armor-capital.com/ executives during sell-side or buy-side transactions and closely supports them through each stage of the process. Their goal is to identify risks and opportunities early on to provide their clients with a comprehensive understanding of the different objectives and milestones.

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Mind Rock Education Centre Macy Liu Director

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eace Education” has been issued a school licensed by the Hong Kong Education Bureau and is a registered school of the Education Bureau. Established in 2010, their school is a registered school focusing on Chinese education. Reading comprehension is favored by parents of elite schools.

They provide professional and efficient Chinese education courses for students aged 4-15. The school uses self-edited textbooks and has different courses in reading comprehension, composition, classical Chinese, entrance exams, etc., to provide students with systematic Chinese tutoring that is ahead of school education.

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The students of their school are mainly from St. Paul’s Co-educational Secondary School and Primary School, Diocesan Girls’ College and Primary School, Diocesan Boys’ College and Primary School, Yinghua Primary School, St. Paul’s School, and Primary School, etc. Among them, the students of Diocesan Girls’ Primary School have accounted for 65% of the students in the Jordan campus, and have become the confident choice of Diocesan parents for many years.

Teaching Features:

Courses they have: ■ Chinese regular class ■ Diocesan gymnastics class ■ Chinese writing class ■ Classical Chinese class All their teachers are Chinese professional teachers with many years of rich teaching experience and are very familiar with the educational environment in Hong Kong. The Mandarin Kindergarten Course Instructor graduated from a well-known normal university in the mainland, specializing in Early Childhood Psychology.

■ One-step course: Students can enter school at the age of 4. It provides one-stop teaching from kindergarten to middle school. The curriculum is closely connected so that parents have no worries. Website- http://www.mindrockhk.com/ ■ Three Teaching Focuses: Reading comprehension, writing, classical Chinese. Homework is the practice of exam questions in major schools and is necessary to improve results.

■ Teaching material: Exclusive self-edited teaching materials, close to the local teaching mode and progress. Each class has two parts, “Classroom + Homework”. Parents do not need to purchase additional exercises for their children.

■ Language: All courses can be taught in Mandarin or Cantonese, and the teachers are native speakers with standard pronunciation.

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Pandemic and Education Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on education

increased inequalities and exacerbated a pre-existing education crisis. School closures have ranged from no closures in a handful of countries to up to more than More than 1 billion children are at risk of falling behind a full school year. Lack of connectivity and devices due to school closures aimed at containing the spread excluded at least one-third of students from pursuing of COVID-19. To keep the world’s children learning, learning remotely. countries have been implementing remote education programs. Yet many of the world’s children – particularly Within a short span of the COVID-19 pandemic, many those in poorer households – do not have internet researchers have shared their works on teaching and access, personal computers, TVs, or even radio at home, learning in different ways. Several schools, colleges, and amplifying the effects of existing learning inequalities. universities have discontinued face-to-face teachings.

Students lacking access to the technologies needed for There is a fear of losing the 2020 academic year or even home-based learning have limited means to continue more in the coming future. The need of the hour is to their education. As a result, many face the risk of never innovate and implement the alternative education system returning to school, undoing years of progress made in and assessment strategies. The COVID-19 pandemic has provided us with an opportunity to pave the way for education around the world. introducing digital learning. This article aims to provide Since its outbreak two years ago, the COVID-19 a comprehensive report on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted education systems globally, pandemic on online teaching and learning of various affecting the most vulnerable learners the hardest. It has papers and indicate the way forward.

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Today, despite the Omicron variant, schools are open in most countries, supported by health and safety protocols and vaccination programs. But the costs stand to be tremendous in terms of learning losses, health, and wellbeing, and drop-out. Prioritizing education as a public good is crucial to avoid a generational catastrophe and drive a sustainable recovery. To be more resilient, equitable, and inclusive, education systems must transform, leveraging technology to benefit all learners and building on the innovations and partnerships catalyzed throughout this crisis.

Conclusion

I think the lesson learned from the COVID-19 pandemic is that teachers and students/learners should be oriented on the use of different online educational tools. After the COVID-19 pandemic when the normal classes resume, teachers and learners should be encouraged to continue using such online tools to enhance teaching and learning.

The access to quality education was uneven before the pandemic, and now it is even more so. By investing in learning recovery and using technology wisely, it is possible to use the pandemic experience as a catalyst to improve education for all children.

- Amrin

The study on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on teaching and learning across the world concludes that although various studies have been carried out, in the case of developing countries, suitable pedagogy and platform for different class levels of higher secondary, middle, and primary education need to be explored further.

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Rosaline Chow Koo Founder & CEO

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CXA Group

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XA Group is Asia’s one-stop, predictive, and data intelligence platform for better health, wealth, and wellness choices. Through the CXA platform, employers can empower employees with access to personalized health and lifestyle offerings, with clear and quantifiable ROI for the business.

They enable employers to leverage their existing healthcare and insurance spending to pay for flexible benefits, corporate wellness, and disease management initiatives in order to improve health, combat chronic disease and reduce costs while allowing for employee personalization via an e-wallet and AI. CXA achieved revenue growth of 65 percent in 2018 and is expected to double that in 2019. It announced the funding round in March 2019 of USD 25 million.

This follows US$33 million in total funding from Series A and B in 2015 and 2017 respectively. CXA’s investors include HSBC, Singtel Innov8, Telkom Indonesia MDI Ventures, Sumitomo Corporation Equity Asia, Muang Thai Fuchsia Ventures, Humanica, and Heritas Venture Fund B Capital Group, Openspace Ventures, Government-linked strategic investor EDBI, BioVeda Capital, FengHe Asia, Philips, and RGAx. Driven by a team of industry veterans with extensive leadership experience across Asia’s human resource, insurance, finance, healthcare, and technology industries, CXA serves more than 600 enterprises, including Fortune 500 companies, and more than 400,000 employees in 20 countries.

by Duke Health, McKinsey & Co., and the World Economic Forum.

CXA’s vision is to unlock wellness in the workplace without firms spending more, by converting existing insurance and healthcare dollars into prevention and disease management. CXA empowers employees to become healthier and reduces HR’s administrative workload while controlling rising healthcare costs.

Website- https://www.cxagroup.com/

CXA has received recognition as InsurTech of the Year from the Asia Insurance Industry Awards and was among the top three most impactful innovations at the Singapore Digital Techblazer Awards. They were also voted Best Corporate Wellness Consultant and Best Compensation & Benefits Consultant, Best Corporate Employee Rewards, and won the Asian Insurance Innovation Award. CXA was one of only 7 global health tech start-ups to be selected to join the Innovations in Healthcare network founded FEBRUARY 2022

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Ardent Search Ltd Robert Hall Managing Director

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rdent is a Hong Kong-based company and the company has grown to be at the forefront of the search industry in Asia. They work with leading organizations across the Asia Pacific region, helping build leadership teams and achieve their goals. Their clients strive towards transforming and saving lives in communities around the globe. To do this, they require the best scientific, commercial, and operational talent to drive innovation, lead teams, and deliver results. Identifying and securing talented leaders who fit your healthcare organization can be a time-consuming and difficult challenge. That’s why businesses large and small, from across the globe, choose them to help them find the right talent to build 36

their business and achieve their goals.

Their process is designed to locate all potential talent quickly, evaluate thoroughly and provide their clients with a comprehensive insight on each candidate. They bring clarity and certainty to decisions, reducing their client’s hiring risk. They take time to understand their client’s needs, get a picture of the ideal candidate, define the search strategy with the client, confirm the timescale and determine the most appropriate assessment method.

Their experienced team will utilize their senior network, industry knowledge, and in-house research to identify suitable talent. They take time to build a relationship with each candidate, understand their experience thoroughly, core competencies, and goals. They evaluate FEBRUARY 2022

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established markets such as China, India, Japan, Korea, Australia, and Singapore as well as emerging markets including Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, and Vietnam.

Their global connections enable them also to access the Why choose them? best leaders from outside the region who can bring their They’re the leading specialist in life sciences in Asia. knowledge and talent to Asia.

They work with organizations large and small, across Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology, Medical Devices, and Website- https://www.ardent-search.com/ Animal Health throughout the region. Being a specialist means they understand your business. They’ll help you evaluate all talent options, secure the right leaders, build effective teams, and achieve your business goals. each candidate through proven behavioral assessment tools chosen to suit the demands of the role.

Companies trust them because of their depth of experience and track record of delivering on challenging search mandates with efficiency and speed.

Their expertise includes recruitment projects for experienced and leadership talent across all functions, including General Management, Clinical Research, Medical Affairs, Business Development, Supply Chain, Government & Regulatory Affairs, Sales & Marketing, and Research & Development.

Based in Hong Kong, they have deep connections across FEBRUARY 2022

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Frank J. Adick Founder

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Dew-Point International Ltd

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ew-point is a leading training and management consulting firm established in Hong Kong in 1973. They combine genuine enthusiasm with experiential techniques to create highly customized, dynamic training and development programs that are results-oriented with practical ideas immediately applicable on the job. Their range of services includes Executive Development, Organization Development, HR, Selection & Assessment, Performance Management, Quality/Continuous Improvement, Leadership/ Management Development, Sales/Customer Service, Marketing, and Finance. We have offices in Hong Kong (HQ), Shenzhen, Shanghai, and Guangzhou.

of topics they cover. Their Public Courses cater to organizations with smaller numbers of people who need development in specific areas.

■ Public Course Schedule ■ Signature Programmes ■ Training Facilities ■ Course Enrolment

They adapt and adjust topics offered, keeping up with current management trends, while retaining their “signature” programs. This has to lead to a greater number of courses on offer at regular intervals Every business faces its own unique set of challenges. throughout the year.

By partnering closely with their clients, they develop relevant, tailor-made training and organization ■ Consulting & Coaching: At Dew-Point, they work with you to develop your people and processes development programs to directly handle these to achieve your business objectives and secure challenges. significant gains.

Their network of trainers and consultants are practitioners with current, relevant industry knowledge ■ Assessments and Training Resources: They have and experiences drawn from the region and other parts licensed distributors & representatives for several of the world. You can leverage their expertise through training & development products around the world. these services: ■ Executive Coaching: Their team of coaches and ■ In-house Customised Training consultants works with business leaders to enable ■ Management Consulting their rapid development to address specific problems that may be outside the normal business framework.

■ Public Courses ■ Products - Training Assessment Tools

Materials,

Videos,

&

■ Virtual Training Services: With their extensive experience in training and consulting in Asia, DewPoint understands the challenges of managing change. Their programs come with their signature Services they provide: customization that you won’t find in other “off-theshelf ” training courses. They design their programs ■ Customized Training: They strive to be your to meet your needs, which is why they’ve adapted preferred choice for total organization development, their content for these new formats. providing you with their experience and resources to develop skills, improve effectiveness, and change Website- http://www.dew-point.com.hk/node/9 habits and attitudes.

■ Public training courses: Widely known among their clients, their Public Courses highlight many of their “signature” training programs and the great range FEBRUARY 2022

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How long will digital Education help?

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igital education is the innovative incorporation the currently prevailing pandemic. Digital education is of modern technology and digital tools to assist being seen as an alternative to the traditional education the progress of teaching and learning. It is process of chalk and talk. also known as Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL), digital learning, or e-learning. Digital education is the way forward to seeking education through the means of How is the education sector responding to technology and digital devices.

COVID-19?

Digital transformation of the country is underway and digital evolution of the economy and society is possible only through digital education. The concept of digital learning is not new and has existed in various forms for many years now, but when the COVID-19 pandemic suspended face-to-face teaching its significance increased manifold. Most educational institutions are adopting digital education as a solution while traditional classroom setup takes a back seat for some time due to 40

In response to significant demand, many online learning platforms are offering free access to their services, including platforms like BYJU’S, a Bangalorebased educational technology and online tutoring firm founded in 2011, which is now the world’s most highly valued tech company. Since announcing free live classes on its Think and Learn app, BYJU’s has seen a 200% increase in the number of new students using FEBRUARY 2022

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its product, according to Mrinal Mohit, the company’s ■ Access to devices. Students are more likely to have Chief Operating Officer. access to smartphones than to laptops at home, where there might be more students than devices.

Tencent classroom, meanwhile, has been used extensively Governments could lend laptops or provide since mid-February after the Chinese government alternative resources (printed work booklets) (e.g. instructed a quarter of a billion full-time students to GBR, JPN). resume their studies through online platforms. This resulted in the largest “online movement” in the history ■ Manage access to IT infrastructure. Having all of education with approximately 730,000, or 81% of students connected at the same time may be a problem K-12 students, attending classes via the Tencent K-12 in some places, and access to IT infrastructure Online School in Wuhan. should also be monitored to provide good access to all, perhaps within certain time frames.

The challenges of online learning There are, however, challenges to overcome. Some students without reliable internet access and/or technology struggle to participate in digital learning; this gap is seen across countries and between income brackets within countries. For example, whilst 95% of students in Switzerland, Norway, and Austria have a computer to use for their schoolwork, only 34% in Indonesia do, according to OECD data.

In the US, there is a significant gap between those from privileged and disadvantaged backgrounds: whilst virtually all 15-year-olds from a privileged background said they had a computer to work on, nearly 25% of those from disadvantaged backgrounds did not. While some schools and governments have been providing digital equipment to students in need, such as in New South Wales, Australia, many are still concerned that the pandemic will widen the digital divide.

Conclusion Online learning is the future and will undoubtedly replace traditional learning. Mobile platforms have given more people access to online learning. In the coming years, there will be more elements in the online learning structure such as virtual reality (VR) to democratize the learning more.

Digital education can encourage today’s youth to engage themselves in the vast sea of knowledge available to them. Even though there are a lot of challenges when it comes to digital learning, digital learning is the new way of imparting education, and it will continue growing and cause a paradigm shift. In the near future, it can be said that digital education is the future of the world and is here to stay.

- Amrin

Challenges of implementation Learning and collaborating in an online environment might not come naturally to teachers and students. In considering policy responses to the school closures, policymakers need to consider ways to: ■ Balance digital with screen-free activities. Simply replacing the schooling hours with online lectures and discussions is likely to have a toll on students’ health. Lectures can be shortened (CHN) and combined with non-digital learning activities.

■ Keep a pulse on students’ emotional health. The context of the virus and school closures has the potential to be unsettling and disorientating for students.

Technological solutions need to find a way to provide connection, interaction, and support whilst learning is happening, particularly in a time of uncertainty.

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Our Philosophy

Learning should make sense...

Learning should be meaningful... https://www.perceptumscience.com.sg/