Social Impact & Volunteering

HP Launches Education Innovation Fund in China with $ 1 Million Donation

Apr 14, 2012 12:15 AM ET
Campaign: Empowering Students, Teachers, and Entrepreneurs to Succeed in the 21st Century

HP's Data Central Blog

by Elisa_Greene

During the 2012 HP Catalyst Summit in Beijing HP announced the creation of a new Education Innovation Fund.  HP’s fund will support teacher training in China through a $1 million donation to Zheijiang University and the National Commission of the People’s Republic of China for United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The fund will assist in training teachers how to creatively think about how information, communication and technology (ICT) can be leveraged to improve learning outcomes.

Innovation in education – particularly in the sciences, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), fields – is crucial to the future of both China’s education system and schools across the world. HP was one of the first high technology firms to enter China 27 years ago, and we have consistently invested in China’s long-term advancement of education and economic opportunity.

For a period of two years, the fund will provide training for more than 5,000 teachers from 500 rural and urban schools in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, and Chengdu, Sichuan Province, will be trained through the fund, impacting thousands of students yearly. These educators will then be invited to enter a competition for innovation in education, which will in turn directly contribute to China’s National Plan, including National Strategy in ICT Education.

HP’s STEM education efforts are not unique to China: In June 2011, during the first ever HP Catalyst Summit in New Delhi, HP pledged $1 million to improve STEM education in India.

The 2012 HP Catalyst Summit brings together more than 120 educators, policy leaders and education experts from 15 countries to exchange best-practice techniques, explore technological solutions and collaborate to develop innovations in STEM.

To learn more about HP Catalyst, visit: www.hp.com/hpinfo/grants/catalyst.html