Quality Education

For more than two decades, Cisco has built a world-leading IT training program, Cisco Networking Academy, which has empowered millions around the world. Now we are taking this experience to younger learners with Global Problem Solvers: The Series (GPS: The Series), a new animated web series for kids exploring entrepreneurship, life skills, and how to use technology for social good.

On the day that the Bayer acquisition of Monsanto was finalized, I was speaking at the 50th anniversary celebration of the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Plant Breeding and Plant Genetics (PBPG) program – where I earned my M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in the 1980s.

The Beginning with Children Mentoring programme is designed to support the personal, social, academic and career growth of high school students. Mentoring relationships with Barclays volunteers have been successfully established, dedicated to helping students achieve their full potential.

For the last several years Pearson has partnered with America’s Promise Alliance, a network of national, state, community organizations and individuals dedicated to creating better educational opportunities in the U.S. In this case, the goal was to find solutions for the economic and social issues that kept kids from graduating from U.S. high schools.

Through an innovative partnership with the Clooney Foundation for Justice and UNICEF, HP is helping support the education of nearly 4,000 Syrian refugees and thousands of Lebanese students at nine schools in Lebanon.

While attending school at MIT, I was shocked that only 5% of schools in Africa teach ICT, increasing just slightly to 10-12% at affluent primary schools. Nearly all high schoolers never had a chance to learn basic programs such as Microsoft Word. At the same time parts of Africa were becoming hotbeds for technology. For example, many would be surprised to know that Elon Musk was educated in South Africa.

With summer now in full swing, most students’ minds are far from school. But as educators know, students need to be engaged in thinking and exploring year-round if they are to avoid what is known as “summer learning loss.”

According to Bureau of Labor Statistics, demand for skilled workers continues to rise and is becoming employers’ favorable choice to replace traditional long-term workers. However, there is a mismatch between the skills that workers can offer and what employers are demanding. This gap impacts not only economies but also hampers the transition to equitable and inclusive societies. Therefore, developing skills among the youth is becoming crucial to ensure the overall improvement of business and society.