CTF Education Group establishes WOW institute to promote synergy between education and diverse sectors and optimise K-12 students’ future-readiness
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The world we live and work in is changing fast: on the horizon are metaverse, exponential growth in robotics applications, and rapidly disappearing traditional jobs. What can education practitioners do to ensure the next generation is future-ready? At the inaugural “Future World of Work Principals Conference”, leading Hong Kong-based integrated education specialist CTF Education Group (CTFEG) has unveiled its WOW (World of Work) Institute and other initiatives designed to enhance the synergy between the education and other sectors as well as support the future-ready and real-world-relevant K-12 education.
While many universities around the world have ramped up the transformation of tertiary education to keep pace with the latest changes in the real world, the “EduMakers” at CTFEG aims to bring it forward and offer K-12 education that empowers the next generation to be future-ready and thrive in a fast-evolving world by shaping students’ mindset and equipping them with the right competencies.
By attracting over 130 industry leaders, practitioners, principals and educators to the conference, CTFEG has successfully taken the first step in creating the shared values and forging closer collaboration with stakeholders in the education and other sectors to “co-curate future education”, which reflects the “EduMakers” concept from the education practitioners’ perspective. Among CTFEG’s latest projects is the WOW Institute. Deputy Vice Chairwoman and Group President of CTFEG, Jennifer Yu Cheng, says the establishment of WOW Institute will inspire and mobilise diverse education and industry stakeholders to collaborate and ensure education stays relevant with the evolving rapid developments of the world of work, and fully captures the potential the future holds for today’s students.
“New World Group’s ecosystem is co-curating a better future with the community at heart through its unique vision for Creating Shared Value (CSV), which ties business success to social progress”, she adds. “Similarly, at CTF Education Group, we view ourselves as “EduMakers”. We are on a mission to empower the next generation to be future-ready – to seize opportunities in a rapidly changing landscape and make a positive, lasting impact on the community and the world.”
Kids’ mindset, confidence, creativity, and competencies are shaped at kindergarten. At the primary level, many students are under pressure and yearn for more fun in their studies. Hence, the Education Bureau in Hong Kong proposes extending life planning to the senior primary level. Meanwhile, secondary students need a preview of the real world before getting into universities. “Once secondary students have identified their future directions, they become more driven”, notes Chief Strategy Officer of CTFEG and the Convenor of WOW Institute, Jennifer Ma. “That’s why CTFEG runs programmes relevant to the real world for K-12”.
WOW Institute advocates the idea of “future-ready students embracing learning by hand”. This idea embodies the “EduMaker” concept as seen from the students’ perspective. Ma explains: “Students should acquire knowledge and skills and use their hands to create things. This is the concept behind design thinking. For instance, in robotics and computer sciences, people first visualise concepts and then engineer, building tangible things with their hands. It also encompasses experiential learning”. “Through ‘learning by doing/making’, students are able to build competencies because effective experiential learning involves context”, Ma says, adding that the future workplace will be cross-generational and team members are expected to collaborate and interact in a humanistic way.
Leveraging New World Group’s ecosystem
Under this trailblazing “EduMaker” concept, New World Group - the parent company of CTFEG - will leverage its ecosystem of corporations in diverse sectors to offer educators, counselors, researchers and students immersive engagement and exposure to cutting-edge technologies and business developments in the real world, hence the “World of Work” Institute. Together with these stakeholders in the education sector, CTFEG aims to make a greater impact by contributing to the elevation of students’ competencies and shaping their mindset.
CTFEG operates the Victoria Education Organisation, which has been committed to education for 56 years and focuses on nursery and kindergarten; the DSC International School offering Canadian Ontario Curriculum; and ARCH Education, which offers admissions consultancy services supporting students applying for top boarding schools and universities in Britain and the US, as well as multiple skill-based enrichment courses. Cheng and Ma are the founders of ARCH. Also on the pipeline is CTFEG’s strategic partnership with Benenden School to bring one of the best schools in the world to the Greater Bay Area.
In the past few years, Cheng and Ma saw the opportunity to bridge back education, which should not stand alone, with the real world. “We realise that New World Group’s ecosystem has diverse industries at arm’s length. More schools want life-expanding exposure for their students, and we have alumni and people from different professions. We can leverage our structured pool of resources because a single director in our ecosystem can draw on resources from diverse sectors. This is the reason we established WOW institute under CTFEG”, Ma notes.
WOW Institute’s initiatives
WOW Institute will roll out multiple projects and initiatives in the coming years. Among them is the “Leadership Exchange”, which aims to engage and expose school principals to the rapidly evolving corporate ecosystem so that they can inform their faculties of the new trends and needs. Education practitioners and specialised researchers will be engaged in “Think Tank Research” to identify new skill sets needed and develop ways to incorporate them into K-12 education. There will also be “Networking Mentorship” and “Curated Apprenticeship”, which represents meaningful internship opportunities enabling students to contribute and make an impact.
In March and May 2022, WOW will organise corporate visits for principals to Victoria Dockside and Chow Tai Fook Jewellery. “They will be able to see the transformation of a traditional sector. Chow Tai Fook is about data analytics and robotics now”, Ma says. “Also, the principals will gain an understanding of how large-scale iconic projects are planned and executed”.
Highlights at “Future World of Work Principals Conference”
At the conference, a panel discussion on “Post-COVID Real World Trends and Future Ready Competencies”, featuring industry professionals and members of the New World Group management as the guest speakers, captivated the attendees. One inspiring insight from the panelists was that the world sought individuals with the right mindset, which was transferable, to facilitate their lifelong learning. Dr. John Tan, Immediate Past Chairman of the Hong Kong Principals’ Institute, said: “Today’s ‘Future World of Work’ Principals Conference was very useful and inspirational. Insights from these panels can help principals and teachers in charge of Life Planning Education (LPE) better connect with industries, educators and students’ understanding of the core elements of LPE, from self-understanding and development, study pathways, career exploration and career planning. We look forward to participating in WOW’s upcoming initiatives”.
