The need for education systems to evolve along with the demands of the global economy is certain. But the question of how to implement this change at the classroom level is less clear. The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) embarked on a research programme, sponsored by Google for Education, that explores the strategies that are most effective for developing 21st century skills and how technology can support such efforts.   In this report, Fostering exploration and excellence in 21st century schools, we discuss the findings of our research, which includes a global survey of 1,200 teachers and administrators from 16 countries around the world. The research programme builds upon the EIU’s 2015 study, Driving the skills agenda: Preparing students for the future, which assessed shifts in skills needs.

Education is widely seen as the main driver of long-term social impact in Asia, and educational philanthropists are increasingly targeting innovative projects that help marginalised and deprived communities.

How to contribute wisely to education in Asia? Read the report >>

The Covid-19 pandemic has exposed a wealth of interconnections – between ecological and human wellbeing, between economic and environmental fragility, between social inequality and health outcomes, and more. The consequences of these connections are now filtering through, reshaping our society and economy.

In this setting, the need to integrate environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors when investing has become even more critical. Institutional investors must employ ESG not just to mitigate risks and identify opportunities, but to engage with companies to bring about the positive change needed to drive a sustainable economic recovery in the post-Covid world.

In order to understand how ESG could be both a new performance marker and a growth driver in this environment, as well as how institutional investors are using ESG to make investment decisions and to assess their own performance, The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), sponsored by UBS, surveyed 450 institutional investors working in asset and wealth management firms, corporate pension funds, endowment funds, family offices, government agencies, hedge funds, insurance companies, pension funds, sovereign wealth funds and reinsurers in North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific.

 

Download the report and infographic to learn more.