IFC Global Private Education Conference April 10-11, 2018 Cape Town, South Africa LEARNING FOR THE JOBS OF TOMORROW A MUST-ATTEND GLOBAL EDUCATION EVENT International Finance Corporation, a member of the World Bank Group, invites leaders in the education world from developed and emerging markets to participate in its biannual Education Conference. The conference will provide a unique environment to exchange ideas, knowledge, and best practices. This is a great opportunity to build new relationships and strengthen existing ones, with a focus on brokering innovative partnerships. JOIN US FOR TWO REMARKABLE DAYS OF LEARNING AND NETWORKING
WHY ATTEND? GLOBAL GATHERING OF LEADERS IN EMERGING MARKET PRIVATE EDUCATION Technological advances are transforming labor markets and reshaping education markets. There is increasing emphasis on acquiring skills, employment flexibility, and alternative credentialing beyond a classic degree. In this context, investing in human capital is the smartest path that developing countries can take to ensure future growth and prosperity. IFC, a member of the World Bank Group and the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in emerging latest developments and to build bridges between private education institutions and investors. MAJOR NETWORKING OPPORTUNITY With close to 500 education industry executives from dozens of countries and all world regions represented, this will be an unmissable opportunity to spark new connections and reignite old ones, leading to innovative partnerships and investments. Most participants are C-Suite executives, including some of the world s most recognized global private education CEOs. markets, brings together top executives, investors, and thought leaders in emerging market private education to share insights on the
2016 HIGHLIGHTS EDWARD SLADE President, China Maple Leaf Asia Pacific It s a great opportunity to understand what everyone else is doing, to catch up with everyone, to meet new companies we ve never met before, and to liaise with government as well. SIRADEJ DONAVANIK Director, Dusit International Thailand...you get to meet a lot of businesses, it is not just academia and professors, it is the investors, the developers, people from within the industry. ROY DOUGLAS CEO, AdvTech South Africa It s a great opportunity to network to hear ideas, concepts, models that are being used in other parts of the world and to think of their relevance to our own model. CRISTIAN CHIN Vice president, Chungdahm Learning South Korea It is a good platform to build a network and compare how our company is doing in the global education industry. MARIO GHIO JR., Vice President, Kroton Education Brazil This conference is great. I met a lot of people dealing with the same challenges we are facing in our company. PETER SHIRAS Executive VP, International Youth Foundation, USA Very engaging, lots of great presenters, great opportunities for networking and dialogue. 430 participants 280 companies represented 45 countries represented 60% senior executives 99% recommended the conference
2018 PROGRAM (PRELIMINARY) OPENING: FUTURE OF JOBS Our opening keynote will explore how recent technological advances such as the advent of artificial intelligence, machine learning and the internet of things are transforming how we think about jobs and skills. Automation is redefining how we work and in certain cases replacing us with machines. So-called deep learning a form of machine learning is becoming more pervasive, changing how educational institutions teach skills. EMPLOYABILITY & FLEXIBILITY Now in the Fourth Industrial Revolution, new business models are disrupting the employment landscape. New kinds of jobs are being created and existing jobs displaced, causing skills gaps to widen. Meanwhile, self-employment is becoming more pervasive. An estimated 65 percent of children entering primary school today will end up doing jobs that don t exist yet. They need to be educated in a way that empowers them to navigate these shifting sands. INVESTING IN FOUNDATIONAL SKILLS The importance of investing in foundational skills through early childhood education will be discussed. Evidence shows that early childhood education brings the highest returns on investment in human capital. But the question is how to scale up and expand coverage when fiscal resources are limited. While promoting 21st century skills is important, children need to ensure that they effectively acquire foundational skills in basic numeracy and literacy, and are digitally ready. For instance, they need to effectively make the leap from learning to read to reading to learn. How can the private sector contribute to creating such an environment and fostering these foundational skills? TECHNICAL AND VOCATIONAL EDUCATION AND TRAINING While in many regions, there are still societal stigmas surrounding Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET), for more and more developing countries, TVET is a policy priority. The private sector can play a pivotal role in improving access to, and raising the quality of, TVET, because it is well placed to devise shorter, more practical programs that are responsive to the needs of employers. EMERGING TALENT MARKETPLACES Certain emerging markets notably China, India, Mexico, South Africa, and Nigeria offer great potential to become talent hubs. There is meanwhile a proliferation of freelance platforms, which is creating opportunities for workers to put their skills to work for multiple companies. We will discuss how innovative models emerging in these countries promote greater employment flexibility. TED TALK SERIES A series of high profile speakers will give 7-8 minute TED-type talks on topics that relate to the conference theme: Learning for the Jobs of Tomorrow. Bringing the perspective of educational institutions and industry, they will unpack what these Fourth Industrial Revolution s implications are for private education companies. WORKING WITH IFC Participants will get in depth insight into IFC s traditional financing products equity, quasi equity, debt as well as the process of engaging in a financing transaction with IFC. They will learn too the different ways that IFC adds value to clients by providing services that other financial institutions cannot.
THE LEARNING CRISIS The World Bank s 2018 World Development Report was a wakeup call for the education community. School enrolment rates are rising across all education levels globally but an alarming number of students lack the foundational skills they need to advance in the new economy. For instance, in Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda, three quarters of students in grade 3, when asked to read a simple sentence like The name of the dog is Puppy could not understand what it said. Learning outcomes are almost always much worse for the socioeconomically disadvantaged. Responding to this Learning Crisis, we will identify strategies to tackle the problem, including public-private collaborations. ADULTS IN THE NEW ECONOMY What are the education needs of adults in the new economy? According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average worker holds 10 different jobs before age forty. This number might be even higher in emerging markets given the generally high levels of labor informality there. In this environment, workers need to be more flexible, to constantly adapt, upskill and reskill. Lifelong learning is a must, especially in developing countries where many adults still lack the foundational skills. RISE OF ALTERNATIVE CREDENTIALS College degrees used to be universally accepted reference letters that documented skills and aptitudes. Increasingly, however, it appears that a college degree alone may not be enough. As traditional postsecondary education costs continue to rise, alternative approaches are providing affordable and accessible solutions that complement traditional degrees. There is more focus on acquiring skills and putting them to work and growing recognition that skills can be acquired outside the classroom on-the-job. FIRESIDE CHAT LEADER S VIEW We will have an interactive discussion in an intimate setting between a global leader in private education and a high-profile journalist. This fireside chat format will make for a lively dialogue on the conference theme: Learning for the Jobs of Tomorrow. EQUITY INVESTORS & VENTURE CAPITALISTS A session will explore how private equity investors and venture capitalists can collaborate to build sustainable education businesses in emerging markets. It will explore how best to link the new employability agenda with the world of private education investing. CLOSING: FUTURE OF SKILLS The closing keynote will weave the various conference subthemes together with a thoughtprovoking speech on the Future of Skills. The speech will identify the lessons learned and takeaways of the conference, while also bringing the speaker s perspective drawn from their research on the topic.
WORKSHOPS We understand traveling to Cape Town for our two-day conference is an important commitment and would like to ensure that conference participants have the option to get the most out of their Cape Town experience. For this reason, IFC is offering the possibility of staying for one additional day and participate in one of the two optional workshops that will take place in the morning of Thursday April 12. These workshops will offer an incredible opportunity to explore in more depth topics of high relevance in the education agenda with global thought leaders, as well as to develop even closer connections to a select group of executives that are developing innovative approaches with potential for replication in different world regions. These workshops will be limited to 40 participants to benefit from a deeper, more participatory discussion and allow for enhanced networking opportunities. IFC EMPLOYABILITY TOOL For the past two years, IFC has been developing a tool to help higher education institutions improve their performance on student and graduate employability. This tool has been successfully piloted with higher education institutions in Latin America, Asia, MENA and Sub- Saharan Africa and is ready for global rollout. An interactive and participatory workshop will offer your institution unique exposure to the IFC tool, helping you to enhance your employability support functions with a view to responding to Fourth Industrial Revolution challenges. LEVERAGING ONLINE EDUCATION The global online learning market was estimated at over $165 billion in 2015 and predicted to grow by 5 percent annually from 2016-2023. Key drivers of growth include the embrace of new mobile technologies, more flexibility in how we learn, and a push to cater more to rural and low-income groups. Past perceptions of online education being of lower quality are changing as innovative MOOCs emerge and traditional campus-based universities integrate more online content. This workshop will do a deep dive into the latest trends, featuring some of the most cutting-edge operational models, with a strong focus on employability.
CAPE TOWN GREAT VENUE This is the first time IFC holds its biannual education conference in an African country. The choice is timely: Africa is increasing a region of focus in private education as the continent has experienced recent progress in education. Many more children are in school today than were at the beginning of the century, with the region having achieved close to universal primary entry. Secondary completion rates are increasing. And post-secondary education is ripe for expansion given the significant demographic dividend that the region will be enjoying in the coming years. Cape Town, a world-renowned tourist destination and a natural splendor, is the host city for this two-day gathering of education leaders from around the globe.
CONTACT US Mohammed Ali Khan (MAK) +1 (202) 458-4960 mkhan20@ifc.org Alejando Caballero +1 (202) 458-7833 acaballero@ifc.org Macarena De Martini +1 (202) 458-0167 mdemartini@ifc.org LINKEDIN: www.linkedin.com/company/ifc-education TWITTER: #IFCeducation WEB: www.ifc.org/education