HP Education Innovation Fund in China Helps Spark Transformative Change

One of the most rewarding aspects of my job is seeing the impact technology can have on improving lives. Two years ago, when HP announced the Education Innovation Fund in China, I was excited about the possibilities a $1 million donation to Zhejiang University and the National Commission of the People’s Republic of China for United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), could have. Today, we can all see the impact spreading through the thousands of teachers across China. In China, as in many other countries, education has yet to embrace technology’s transformational benefits. China also faces critical education challenges—high illiteracy rates; lack of access to quality education, particularly in remote regions; inadequately-trained teachers; and more. The need for grass-roots change is great.

That was the impetus behind the creation of the HP Education Innovation Fund in China. We wanted to bring to life new visions of the classroom by training teachers how to use technology to transform teaching.

Our goal was to help teachers evolve—from content provider and instructor to facilitator, coach and advisor—ultimately improving educational outcomes. This initiative is at the core of HP Living Progress strategy, creating a better future for everyone through our actions and innovations.

Over the past two years we’ve seen that vision become a reality. Zhejiang University used the fund to create the ELITE program, which taught educators innovative new ways to teach students science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) skills, using technology.

Some of China’s foremost math professors were involved in designing the project’s curriculum, including Professor Liu Jian of Beijing Normal University, former duty director of the Textbook Reform Center of China’s Ministry of Education; Professor Wang Changpei, of the Beijing Education Academy; Professor Wang Guangming of Tianjin Normal University; and Professor Song Naiqing, the former President of Southwest University.

More than 5,000 teachers from 500 rural and urban schools in the Zhejiang, Sichuan and Yunnan Provinces have now been trained through the fund, impacting thousands of students across the country. The program also established a forum for educators who took the training, to go on to share their new skills with their peers.

I’m very proud of the part the HP Education Fund has played in helping to unleash transformative change in China—exciting times!