The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted routines and forced us to reassess life as we know it. Now, hybrid working has become the new norm. Our education system needs to see the same change. Edutech is making it happen.

The pandemic threw us into disarray. We embraced hybrid working and fluctuated between impassioned proclamations that it would destroy the world or push us into a new era of explosive productivity.

For all its highs and lows, the majority has spoken. Hybrid working is the new norm. People found what they needed to boost their mental well-being, productivity and motivation.

Our current education system has been struggling to nurture curious and self-directed learners. It is time we look for solutions outside the school walls.

Here’s why I think the hybrid model makes sense for our education system; and how edutech is making it happen.

Learning goes beyond school

In a world full of possibilities, distilling the world and its wonders into a handful of subjects in our curriculum is inadequate.

Diverse experiences will make our children better learners. Heuristic problem-solving exists in our school curriculum but it lacks consideration for real-world elements. Issues such as climate change are discussed in classrooms without the nuances of real-world conflicts and inequalities.

In short, the four walls of the school obscure and unintentionally prejudice perspectives.

Schools of the future

Just as varied models of hybrid Wwrk address the different needs of our workforce, hybrid schooling will need to offer various flexible options.

Also Read: In this age of digitalisation, is edutech a bane or boon for educators?

Hybrid schooling will be an important step toward letting kids decide what, when and how they want to learn. Realistically, it’s not practical to let learners decide entirely.

The key here is to give kids agency, giving them a sense of ownership over their learning. Research has shown that children are more motivated to learn when they feel in control of what and how they are learning.

• LingoTalk is an exciting edutech that offers personalised language learning with AI
• Padlet is a beautiful interactive space for anyone to mindmap and pins a wide range of multimedia
• Doyobi offers student-led experiences online, so students all over the world can meet and collaborate

The Skills Advantage Report by LinkedIn highlighted that employers these days are increasingly prioritising transferable skills in their hiring practices rather than academic qualifications. In tandem, the education we give our kids has to shift similarly.

An inclusive experience

Critics will be quick to claim that hybrid schooling puts students from families that lack resources and knowledge at a massive disadvantage. In actual fact, we only have to look within the communities that we live in. It just takes a little thinking out of the box.

From pet-sitting to volunteering, helping out with a small local business, exploring a passion project, to initiatives to rejuvenate the neighbourhood, the world is interconnected, interdependent and nuanced.

School, on the other hand, is a safe space governed by routine and timetables. I have no doubt that parents feel peace when their child is safe within the four walls of a school, but balancing that with a recognition of the reality that our children will face is equally important.

If you’re in tech, you would know just how interconnected and globalised the real world has become.

Interactions between people lead to greater empathy. Children who develop empathy have stronger relationships with other children and educators, which helps them become better learners.

Freedom in unstructured time

A huge part of why hybrid working resulted in greater productivity was its freedom. Workers were free to work in settings they deemed the most comfortable, invest time in hobbies that were both therapeutic and reinvigorating, and spend more time with their families and loved ones.

Also Read: Edutech in a post-pandemic world: Where do we go from here?

Children need the same freedom to develop their imagination and ability to manage themselves without external stimulation.

• DesignContest challenges designers all over the world to compete and express their creativity
• Masterclass gives you access to experts from anywhere in the world.

With more time and space to explore their interests and passions, children will also discover more about themselves. With greater self-awareness, children develop better decision-making skills and are more purpose-driven.

In a rapidly evolving world, we need to give our children a supportive environment for self-discovery.

Let them fail!

One thing is clear, hybrid schooling will not be neat, tidy or perfect.

Children, with all the optimism and enthusiasm in their hearts, will have ambitions that may not be practicable in the real world. Let them fail. Encourage risk-taking! Let them learn from their mistakes and overcome their fear of failure.

Failure is not the be-all and end-all in life (another issue I have with standardised testing).

In the real world, your value is not determined by standardised testing. Most of our young workers these days struggle with that reality. They believe that to win approval, they should constrain their actions within KPIs that are set for them.

If everyone gave up at the prospect of failure, we would have zero successful startups. Zero!

Our privilege disconnects us

We are privileged. We are digitally literate, we have access to the basic necessities of life. The schools we send our children to also give them “invisible” privileges that disconnect them from life.

Ultimately, if we coddle them, restrain them and teach them that uncertainty and the pursuit of new discoveries are not worth the time, they will be at a massive disadvantage in ambiguous, real-world situations.

School, or our concept of it, needs an overhaul. Parents, educators and the community must participate and invest meaningfully in their education.

Only then can we nurture a generation that we couldn’t be prouder of.

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Image credit: Doyobi

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Charged Indonesia, a new electric motorcycle startup, has secured a US$4.5 million (approximately IDR 68 billion) investment led by Singapore-headquartered DeClout Ventures.

Charged Indonesia intends to launch a range of “affordable and practical” e-motorcycles for commercial fleets and individuals in the archipelago in Q4 2022.

Founded in 2022, Charged Indonesia is a direct-to-user e-motorcycle manufacturer and distributor.

The firm is currently rolling out a 16,000-square metre zero energy facility in Greater Jakarta to house its experiential centre and R&D and production engineering teams.

The firm starts with three models to cover varying needs, including personal transportation, logistics, corporate fleets, and ride-hailing services. The firm aims to accelerate the adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) to mitigate air pollution and improve the overall mobility experience in Indonesia.

Also Read: Oben Electric wants to RORR past other e-motorcycles in India with its ICE-comparable model

Stephanus Widi, Chief Commercial Officer at Charged Indonesia, said: “Carbon emissions from traditional combustion motorcycles are one of the main sources of air pollution in Indonesia. Charged Indonesia aims to improve this by leading the transition of combustion motorcycle users towards sustainable mobility. We see ourselves as part of the sustainability movement in Indonesia with the government, state-owned enterprises, NGOs, supply chain partners and other ecosystem members to create a future with cleaner air, reduced pollution and better health for our future generations and environment.”

“This investment is a strategic one for us as we see strong alignment and synergies between Charged Indonesia’s business and our portfolio companies in the smart city infrastructure, IoT, and cleantech space,” said DeClout CEO Lim Swee Yong.

Indonesia’s EV sector is still in its infancy. According to a Gaikindo’s report, only 705 total EV sales were recorded in 2019. As of June 2021, the number of EV sales in the country totaled 1,900 units. When viewed from the total sales of cars in Indonesia in the first semester of 2021, the interest in the EV market is at 0.5 per cent of total cars sold.

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After two years of extensive lockdowns, online webinars, video calls, and very few opportunities to engage with the community in-person, we’re finally bringing you Echelon! APAC’s leading tech, startup, and investment Platform organised by e27, is returning this year with the goal of building stronger collaboration between ecosystem players.

What makes this year’s Echelon different from its past version is that Echelon 2022 is a curated event that focused on connecting key decision-makers from the region’s startups, investors, corporates, governments, and ecosystem enablers.

The event is invite-only and aims to facilitate favourable business outcomes through meet-ups, discussions, and other activities that could help participants connect with and discover potential partners to move their business forward.

With a focus on sustainability and an eye to the future, together, we find out how you can apply principles of sustainability with the newest technologies in today’s business environment to take your business operations to the next level.

Echelon 2022: Exciting things ahead

Echelon 2022 will feature a slew of opportunities for learning, connection, and growth. Here’s a quick rundown on the things you can expect from Echelon 2022!

The event features the Main Stage where participants can learn firsthand from Asia’s experts and thought leaders. Guest speakers will be discussing a variety of topics including fundraising and growth experiences, tips and insights on how to grow and scale, as well as exciting new trends on what to expect in 2022 and beyond!

Another key feature of Echelon 2022 is the Corporate to Startup Business Matching. This feature will bring together corporates that are looking to innovate their businesses together with proof of concept-ready startups, forging partnerships between established enterprises and innovative startups.

Also read: Accelerating Indonesia’s rural economy through social commerce

Complementing such a feature, Echelon 2022 will also be hosting an Investor to Startup Business Matching which introduces investors to highly relevant and investment-ready startups and facilitate potential deals and partnerships geared towards mutual growth.

Bringing back one of Echelon’s most exciting features, the 2022 edition of the programme will also showcase a special Exhibition. Here, participants get to meet Echelon 2022 sponsors and partners to explore opportunities for future business collaborations and partnerships, among others.

If you’ve been itching to discuss your exciting new ideas with experts, the exclusive event will also be introducing Open Networking Session. With Echelon 2022’s dedicated business matching section, participants that take part in the Open Networking Sessions will get access and exposure to relevant decision-makers in the tech industry where they can do in-depth discussions that could help move their company forward.

Apart from the open sessions, participants can also explore unique Roundtable Sessions. Through this feature, you can access closed-door, exclusively themed events dedicated to exploring new opportunities, initiating discussions and knowledge sharing, and fostering collaborative programmes among attendees.

Lastly but certainly not least, the event will be showcasing an exclusive Private Luncheon. This invite-only luncheon for Echelon partners aims to facilitate discovery and discussion with select attendees.

Connect, discover, and learn

Through this revitalised effort to bring the community together after two years, Echelon 2022 attendees have the opportunity to connect and meet in person with investors, corporates, governments, and entrepreneurs who are shaping APAC.

You also stand the chance to discover partners to collaborate with and build productive relationships, with 500 of the most influential decision-makers and industry leaders from the Southeast Asia tech and startup ecosystem.

Also read: Kristal.AI expands to ESOP liquidity offerings

Moreover, attendees can learn and gain insight through discussion sessions featuring veteran and upcoming entrepreneurs and ecosystem enablers who will be shedding the light on today’s tech landscape and the future of startups in the region.

“The Echelon conferences for us is a really big deal, regionally because it brings together all the people in the ecosystem we live and breathe in,” shared Ardent Capital on their experience of having been part of past Echelon editions.

Want to experience what it’s like to marvel at today’s leading entrepreneurs and innovative thinkers? Register your interest to join Echelon 2022.

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Starboard, a platform for founders to start and run their companies globally, announced today a US$3.5 million pre-Series A funding round led by Monkʼs Hill Ventures.

Other investors include Actium Partners, Iterative Capital, Bruno Poh (General Counsel, Lyte Ventures), Lelaina Lim (CFO, Eu Yang Sang International Limited), Michael Tor (Executive Director, UOB), Soh Gin Wee, Sulyana Binte Abdul Aziz, and Terrence Hoon.

The funds will be used to expand engineering, operations and customer success teams, supporting users in Singapore, Southeast Asia and the US.

Founded by serial entrepreneur Melvin Yuan (CEO), Starboard is a one-stop corporate services platform for business incorporation, compliance, accounting, and financial management. It helps global businesses set up, manage and run their US/Singapore companies from a cloud-based platform.

Also Read: Lanturn secures US$3M to provide online corporate services to organisations in Singapore

In other words, the firm is building a company OS (Operating System). It provides access to various corporate services, including accounting and bookkeeping, compliance, payroll, visa applications, company formation and structuring, ESOP advisory, and fractional-CFO services.

The company has onboarded many clients — from startups to SMEs and asset managers — and is currently rolling out its proprietary client portal as a web app, iOS and Android App.

“Founders often have to pull information from multiple sources about their business. Starboard is the ʻone place and one teamʼ solution for founders to manage their businesses efficiently,” said Melvin Yuan, Founder and CEO.

Starboard has also set up operations in Silicon Valley to enable clients from Singapore and Southeast Asia to manage their US subsidiaries. Yuan, a three-time founder, believes that US-based companies can quickly expand into Asia through Starboard, tapping into the market and talent pool with Singapore as regional headquarters.

Despite rapid digitisation, the market still sees many traditional corporate service providers (CSPs) that rely on pen-and-paper processes, limiting efficiency and scalability. In Singapore alone, 2,000 such providers are servicing over 290,000 SMEs.

Starboardʼs platform automates corporate entity management and governance workflow to increase productivity and reduce errors by CSPs. There is a huge opportunity to consolidate this massive fragmented industry.

In 2020, Lanturn, another Singapore-based one-stop online corporate services startup, raised US$3 million in a seed funding round from several investors, including East Ventures and CoCoon Ignite Ventures.

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Apeiron Bioenergy, a Singapore-based bioenergy products company, has announced closing an equity financing round from Mitsui Chemicals.

The amount remains undisclosed.

The funds will support Apeiron Bioenergy in increasing its collection capacity for waste-based feedstocks across Asian markets. It will also equip the company for exponential growth amidst growing demand for renewable feedstock for advanced biofuels, such as sustainable aviation fuel.

According to the International Energy Agency, global demand for renewable diesel is set to more than double, or by 11 billion litres, over the next five years. It mainly stems from government regulations in the US and the EU as established in the decarbonisation targets byCOP26.

However, the planned capacity is set to outpace domestic feedstock supply significantly, and production must keep up with the climate emergency.

Apeiron Bioenergy collects and processes a range of renewable feedstocks, including used cooking oil (UCO) and palm oil mill effluent (POME), and acts as a critical exporter across the Asian market.

Over the past 15 years, Apeiron Bioenergy has built its presence in over ten countries and collected more than 500 million litres of UCO between 2017-2021, offsetting an estimated 1.5 million tonnes of carbon emissions.

Also Read: Singapore startup EcoWorth Tech converts highly contaminated waste into reusable products

“Zero Carbon emissions is one of our strategic targets by 2050. As one of Japan’s leading chemical companies, our investment in Apeiron is our way of contributing to solving the world’s future environmental issues,” said Tadashi Yoshino, Representative Director, Managing Executive Officer, Mitsui Chemicals.

Apeiron Bioenergy’s access to diversified sources and networks of feedstock and relationships with downstream customers means it is in an excellent position to access and supply downstream by-products for Mitsui Chemicals to help achieve its net zero targets.

Mitsui’s strategic investment will help Apeiron meet the substantial rise in biofuel demand by ramping up its capacity of collection points and processing facilities through both organic and inorganic growth.

The company actively seeks to acquire or collaborate with local collectors of sustainable feedstocks in the Asian markets.

“Tackling supply chain issues in bioenergy across Asia requires a community-focused, collaborative approach,” said Chris Chen, Managing Director of Apeiron Bioenergy. “We will ramp up our collection capability, collaborating closely with our downstream partners to resolve the wider sustainability problem of reducing carbon emissions across the land, sea and air transportation spaces.”

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