HP Social Innovation – Catalysts for Change

Charmian Love

June 7, 2010

Things have been busy and buzzing in HP’s newly formed Office of  Global Social Innovation.  The team has recently  unveiled new and innovative programs designed to be catalysts for dramatic change in both education and health.

In education, HP is helping connect student, educators and entrepreneurs to the technology needed to solve society’s most pressing challenges through the launch of a series of key programs.

The HP Catalyst Initiative is designed to build a global network of educators and thought leaders (OECD, UNESCO, for example),  providing them with a platform to explore the future of STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) education. I think this will lead to some fascinating conversations with key thought leaders around how we can make sure that students around the world are given the tools they need to be the next Einsteins!

The HP EdTech Innovators Award is a way of celebrating the educators who are finding new ways to use technology in the pursuit of learning.  Many of the nominees for this award are taking the education field  to the next level – and can give us a glimpse of the future learning models of the next generation.

And is that wasn’t enough, HP is doubling down on education and entrepreneurship through its LIFE (Learning Initiative for Entrepreneurs) program – a global training initiative that provides e-skills training to thousands of students with both online and offline learning opportunities through training centres located around the world.  Capacity building at its best!

And finally, HP is stepping up to help encourage younger students (grades 6–12) in schools across America  access education in science, technology, engineering and math through National Lab Day. This support aligns with a White House-endorsed Educate to Innovate initiative.  With help from  employees, HP will be working in hands-on projects with educators and students to inspire a whole new generation of innovators.

In addition to this exciting activity in education, HP is formulating several key strategic partnerships in the health sector and will be announcing  a series of partnerships and projects in the coming months.  Of particular note and interest:  the application of “cloud services” as a technology platform to enable more effective and efficient collection, analysis and management of health data is generating high interest.  Stay tuned!

For more on HP’s activity in education and health, check out their website: HP Office of Global Social Innovation.