Eden Strategy Institute supports SPRING Singapore’s drive for Education Innovation in Singapore
SPRING Singapore organised the inaugural Education Innovation Conference 2012, which was supported by the Council for Private Education, International Enterprise Singapore, National Institute of Education and Singapore Tourism Board. The event brought together over 150 industry experts and educational enterprises spanning early childhood learning, enrichment centres, tertiary organisations, and professional skills training firms, to share their insights on educational innovation.

UNESCO and the International Forum for Education 2020 report a global education market size of US$2.2 trillion. The Education Innovation (EI) initiative aims to help local private education firms stay relevant and competitive by strengthening core capabilities to focus on quality learning experiences, exploiting knowledge assets to accelerate market growth, and streamlining administrative functions to build innovative cultures. In the Opening Address, Mr. Lawrence Wong, Minister of State for Defence and Education, set the tone for Educational Innovation.
“It is crucial for education practices to harness advances in technology to enhance the learning experience of your students. At the same time, education should also evolve through new forms of curricula, pedagogy and assessment, by taking into account individual student needs, as well as the skill sets necessary for our young people to succeed in the future. And increasingly in an information-rich world, what you know will be far less important than what you can do with what you know. Our students must have the ability to learn on their own, to create and apply new knowledge in solving problems, and to be ready for whatever the future has in store,” he said.
At the event, SPRING Singapore committed S$10 million as an EI grant to encourage capability upgrading in up to 50 EI projects over the next three years. This was announced by Mr. Ted Tan, Deputy Chief Executive, SPRING Singapore. He said, “SPRING Singapore is heartened that the pursuit of Education Innovation by our private education players is widely supported. We look forward to working hand in hand with our valued partners and stakeholders within the industry to strengthen our SMEs’ value propositions and enhance Singapore’s thought leadership in Education Innovation. This will in turn encourage the private sector to tap innovation to deliver quality education for long-term growth.”
Mr. Greg Marchi, Global Vice President and Managing Director, Duke Corporate Education delivered the first keynote address. He elaborated on how Duke’s corporate training pedagogy included action-based learning experiences that ranged from playing basketball games to simulating court trials. He also touched on the importance of courage among leaders.
“A pioneer doing something different is just a lone nut, until the first follower gives him credibility. In this sense, the leadership of the follower is even more important,” he said.
Mr. Rob Morton, Asia Pacific Site Leader, Disney Institute (Singapore)’s keynote described how Disney uses storytelling to entertain, lead by example, inspire dreams, impact core beliefs, and educate.
He further explained Disney’s approach to innovation. “Innovation is really a continuous improvement process. At Disney we go through six-steps: Listen and learn; Measure; Act; Re-measure; Re-organize and celebrate; Document and share.”
Eden Strategy Institute was invited to lead the breakout workshop on Organizational Excellence. The session covered several case studies on how innovations in Operational Processes, Organization, Teaching Delivery, Technology Applications, and New Business Models helped drive value. Eden also worked with participants to practice a methodology that allowed them to systematically evaluate the feasibility of any new productivity initiative.
“We were encouraged to see a strong desire to understand and improve productivity in the education sector. The great challenge is to bring about a value-seeking and outcome-focused innovative culture into education. Productivity-thinking has at its core a continual improvement ethic that allows numerous opportunities for innovation,” said Eden Partner Mr. David Flynn.