With a challenging but rewarding year having come to a close, we're taking a look back at some of our key achievements and milestones during our first year as Education in Motion. From new school and campus openings, to the expansion of our portfolio of premier education brands, to our ongoing commitment to Sustainability and Global Citizenship as well as innovative learning experiences and platforms, we're extremely proud of all that we've achieved over the past year and look forward to our continued growth and success.
New school and campus openings
This year's new school and campus openings have included the Dulwich Early Years Centre in Shenzhen, and Dulwich International High School Zhuhai's new campus in Hengqin.
Our new dedicated and carefully designed Early Years Centre has had a fantastic first year with our teachers and staff delivering Early Years learning experiences at the cutting edge of education research. At the heart of the curriculum lies a commitment to holistic education and an emphasis on the unique characteristics of each child. Already students have made leaps and bounds in their personal, social, emotional, physical and language development while furthering their understanding of the world, and their skills in literacy, mathematics and expressive art.
Dulwich International High School Zhuhai opened its doors at their new campus in Hengqin, featuring 30 classrooms, 15 science labs, 4 outdoor sports fields, an indoor gymnasium, a 360-seat theatre, a two-storey library and boarding house. Over the past year, students have been exploring their creativity and working collaboratively, while engaging in an incredible array of in-school and after-school activities within this diversified learning environment.
Our commitment to Sustainability and Global Citizenship
We have and will continue to empower our communities with the knowledge, skills and motivation to make a difference for society as part of our commitment to sustainability and global citizenship.
The Pioneering Spirit Grant (PSG) was created to nurture a culture where students and teachers can pioneer new ideas and practices with a focus on sustainability and education. This past year's PSG saw impressive submissions, with students and educators alike putting together business plans, finetuning their proposals and pitching in front of a live panel of judges to apply for a portion of RMB 1.5 million in funding. Winning ideas ranged from fabric recycling solutions to multi-purpose recycled plastic backpacks to innovative teaching practices in engineering.
This year we also launched our first EiM ESG Report in April – a huge effort that involved parents, students and staff across the group. The EiM sustainability team has introduced carbon mapping initiatives in our schools across the Group, which has helped set up carbon reduction plans and strategies. Our schools have also now established global citizenship competencies with clear statements and actions for what global citizenship means to them.
Through the Dulwich Photo Competition as well we have encouraged our students to reflect upon their perception of the world and explore their artistic passion. The most recent Dulwich Photo Competition saw 700 entries from 14 schools under the categories of Green Planet, Live Worldwise, Human Connection and Hope. For two years now we have committed to planting one tree in Hubei for every 10 photo entries with 8112 tea trees and 40 camphor trees now planted in partnership with the China Environmental Protection Foundation.
Innovative learning for the future
We have and continue to invest in the future through pioneering education brands, through innovative learning and community experiences, and through progressive and collaborative experience platforms.
The EiM Virtual Tour Experience was launched, which has now been rolled out to schools across the network. The EiM Virtual Tour Experience provides the closest experience to an in-person visit, enabling prospective families to tour the school through 360-panorama views of the school facilities and hear about curriculum offerings at each through pre-recorded video from our educators.
This year, we held the EiM Virtual University Fair, with nearly 1500 EiM students, parents and staff joined more than 50 universities. Dulwich College International was also invited for the second time to showcase the Dulwich Digital Difference at the China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS).
This year was also the 10th Diversity Arts Series, one of the key pillars of our Worldwise Events. Our students from across the EiM family studied with British slam poet and rapper Mark Grist through online workshops across the schools, and created immersive stage performances with the acclaimed Red Leap Theatre. As part of the Diversity Arts Series, students also took photography courses with Canadian visual artist Damian Siqueiros and enjoyed theatre tours or two-day residencies with Yuyin Society, the leading Peking opera company.
And last but not least, School of Humanity (SoH) joined the EiM family through a strategic investment to work together in creating an SE21 High School program. SoH reimagines the high school experience with a focus on future-readiness by offering personalised, interdisciplinary, competency-based, real-world learning paths and industry leader mentorships.
It's been an incredible year with many notable milestones reached. Looking ahead, we will continue to develop existing initiatives and explore new avenues of innovation in aspiring to be the global leader in pioneering education for a sustainable future.
