2030 vision: 5 ways the world’s educators must adapt to the new machine age

Economist Intelligence Unit report commissioned by newly launched Yidan Prize Foundation stresses need to integrate technology in classrooms, and prioritise vocational training and adaptability

Reading Time:4 minutes

For students such as these at Chinese University of Hong Kong, and for fellow students the world over, the challenge is how best to equip themselves for fast-changing workplaces. Photo: AFP

Published: 12:47pm, 13 Jun 2016Updated: 12:46pm, 13 Jun 2016

Chen Yidan, a co-founder of Chinese tech giant Tencent Holdings, wants to “create a better world through education”. That’s why he recently created the Yidan Prize.

While many philanthropic programmes take a broad-brush approach, the Yidan Prize sets itself apart with its aim of recognising enterprising efforts in areas such as the quality of school systems, integrating technology into teaching, and vocational training for a future labour market that will be defined by human-machine interdependence.

Launched in May by his Yidan Prize Foundation, to which Chen has given a HK$2.5 billion endowment, the prize is actually two prizes: there will be annual awards for research and for educational development. Each carries a HK$15 million cash prize, along with a HK$15 million project fund to advance the recipients’ innovations.

Instead of prescribing a way forward to improve quality and access to education, the initiative encourages researchers and teachers, activists as well as policymakers to find effective solutions for communities around the world.