Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many of us are facing different kinds of challenges and started new ways to deal with them. Starting from February, we will have different alumni from East Asia region to share their insights and stories monthly in 2021.

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Future of Education - The UNESCO Hong Kong Association project
Ms. Donna Buckland

As with many of us, I had to adopt and think fast and be resilient at all aspects of work in my job as a Finance professional working for Prudential Corporation Asia. On the personal front, due to the sudden, decisive lock down in New Zealand, I found myself suddenly separated with my young family for 3 months, while I was in Hong Kong by myself. Through this vulnerability however, I discovered the importance of a trusted network of MBA community. They helped me stay focussed and remind myself of the purpose and goals to keep me on track. I was able to give my time in participating in MBA webinars and stayed connected with trusted friends. I got a lot more out of it than the time I gave.

Since Jul 2020, I am fortunate to serve as the Vice Chair for Youth for Rotary International District 3450, and have forged partnership with Cyberport through my trusted MBA connection. I am also appointed as Chair for Strategy for UNESCO Hong Kong Association Glocal Peace Centre and in June 2020, we successfully launched Hong Kong's inaugural "Futures of Education" forum, which was part of UNESCO's global initiative. Below is part of the media coverage of the forum.

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Extract from ‘The future starts now’, originally published by The Standard on 7 July 2020:

According to a recent Unesco survey, Hongkongers believe flexibility and responsiveness are more important than digital skills to thrive in the future. Respondents also reported creativity and innovation, collaboration and critical thinking as essential.

Responding to Unesco's global initiative, the Futures of Education survey was conducted by the Glocal Peace Centre under the Unesco Hong Kong Association in May, with the aim of showing how Hongkongers think Industry 4.0 will change the education landscape.

Respondents ranked teaching and learning, connection to external learning resources and knowledge production as the top three areas that will be most affected by technological advancements in Industry 4.0.

The online questionnaire, which formed the basis for deliberation at Unesco HKA's first Futures of Education forum, surveyed over 540 respondents aged 16 and above and included students, parents, policymakers, and stakeholders from Hong Kong's education, business and technology sectors.

Taking place on June 20, the Futures of Education - For Industry 4.0 and Beyond online forum aimed to facilitate discussion and debate.

Key speaker Anthony Cheung Bing-leung said: "The pedagogy of the past cannot equip students with the skills and competencies to face and adapt to the fast-changing world."

Dennis Shi, the CEO of Mojodomo, shared his view that "multiskills are needed to be innovative," while Tommie Lo, founder and CEO of Preface, suggested a "scalable education system to move from standardized education to a personalized one."

The survey also found that social cohesion and atmosphere, relationships with the world and protecting the environment were considered the top three issues Hong Kong's education needs to tackle for 2050.

For the complete article, please click HERE.

If you are interested in the forum, you can now watch the whole Forum on UNESCO Peace Centre website: http://peacecentre.unesco.org.hk/en/2020/07/13/

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Manchester MBA was again influential in supporting this initiative which I am grateful for. I am proud that Manchester is always on the forefront of shaping future through global thinking.

*The views and opinions expressed in this section are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the editorial positions of UoM East Asia Centre.

Alumna: Ms. Donna Buckland
Donna Buckland is a finance director at Prudential Corporation Asia, heading the regional governance and advisory for investment securities service partnership management and strategic finance innovation initiatives across 12 markets across Asia Pacific.

Donna is passionate about sustainability and is a board member of international NGOs- Rotary and UNESCO Hong Kong. Donna holds a Global MBA from Alliance Manchester Business School and a member of CPA Australia and Chartered Accountants of Australian and New Zealand