HP closer to improving learning for 100 million people by 2025

Earlier this year HP committed to enhancing education for more than 100 million people by 2025, the company has so far made great strides towards this goal by announcing the launch of the new HP School Cloud.

HP announced its commitment to enable better learning outcomes for more than 100 million people at the 2017 Global Citizen Festival in Hamburg, Germany. The company at the time committed over $20 million to help achieve this goal.

“HP has a long commitment to improve education. Last year alone we improved learning for over four million students. The HP School Cloud helps us impact even more students,” said Ron Coughlin, President of Personal Systems Business at HP. He added: “By providing access to a wide and relevant range of educational content and resources, HP School Cloud ensures today’s aspiring students develop the skills for the jobs of tomorrow, even those without reliable internet access.”

“By providing access to a wide and relevant range of educational content and resources, HP School Cloud ensures today’s aspiring students develop the skills for the jobs of tomorrow, even those without reliable internet access.”

Ron Coughlin, President – HP Personal Systems Business 

 

The HP School Cloud is a hybrid cloud appliance, meaning it acts as both an advanced wireless router and state-of-the-art file and content server. Each device will leverage a range of free, open source educational material from OpenStax—with more Open Education Resource partners to be announced later this fall. Schools without Internet access can simply install an HP School Cloud, turn it on, and let students dive into millions of e-textbooks and thousands of lessons on reading, science, mathematics, and more.

Secure Environment

Furthermore, HP School Cloud equips teachers with the ability to monitor and measure individual progress of students in a safe, secure environment. All resources will be aligned with international curricular and instructional standards from UNESCO, OECD and others. The HP School Cloud featuring the HP Open Learning Platform will be available for select markets in early 2018.

“This partnership unlocks enormous potential for students all over the world,” said Daniel Williamson, managing director for OpenStax. “By pairing OpenStax textbooks already in use by 1.5 million students with HP School Cloud featuring the HP Open Learning Platform, we’re providing equitable access to high-quality education content for millions more, including the world’s most marginalized.”

HP aims to reach one million learners by 2020 and is partnering with Intel to seed over 1,700 HP School Clouds to schools all over the developing world. The technology will pilot in The Kilgoris Project schools in Kenya and at schools in Malawi, Africa, this fall, contributing to a better learning environment for all students.

Education in Emergencies

HP is also partnering with the Global Business Coalition for Education and Education Cannot Wait, the first global movement and fund dedicated to education in emergencies, to explore where the new technology could be most needed to support students and teachers in other countries affected by conflicts, natural disasters and protracted crises.

In addition to HP School Cloud, the company announced with Microsoft the launch of AppFactory, a program to improve the state of software development and bring quality learning, IT skills development and entrepreneurship training to the people living in the Dzaleka Refugee Camp in Malawi. HP is providing computing technology to ensure refugee youth living in the Malawi camp have the tools to participate in the AppFactory program.

Additionally, the company opened two HP Learning Studios in Jordan in September, in collaboration with the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), InZone and CARE. The studios are located in Amman and at the Azraq Refugee Camp – with a third studio to open soon in the town community of Azraq. Each one is equipped with hardware, software, and teacher training services that together inspire instructional innovation and next-generation learning experiences.

This announcement follows through on a commitment made last year during United Nations General Assembly Week to establish six new HP Learning Studios in Jordan and Lebanon in partnership with Digital Promise Global, Global Business Coalition for Education, Microsoft and Intel. HP is currently working with the UNHCR to select locations and partners for the three HP Learning Studios to be built in Lebanon.