SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
As a global company, Area9 Lyceum is committed to the mission of helping deliver the world’s best education outcomes validated by a long-term, scientific approach. We see it as part of our mission to make the latest in learning science and technologies available to underserved populations.
The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) offer a bold vision: addressing some of the most pressing challenges in the world today. As each goal is pursued, we must consider the impact of learning and education for all, from workers who need to be retrained to children for whom equality in education is the gateway to a better life.
Area9’s work supports the Global Goals for Sustainable Development.
Goal 3: Good Health and Well-Being
Goal 3 seeks to end suffering caused by preventable diseases and reduce premature deaths. There is a natural connection between education and healthcare, particular to improve the training of doctors and nurses.
An example is NEJM Knowledge+, an award-winning adaptive learning platform for doctors preparing for board certification and for continuing education for medical professionals.
Improving training and education for hospital staff in developing countries is another imperative that can be addressed with adaptive learning. For example, Area9 is working with medical researchers at Stanford University to provide health provider education in Africa.
Helping Children Survive
Five million children under the age of five die each year and, according to the UN, four of those five deaths occur in Sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia. Many of these deaths are due to largely preventable and treatable causes such as pneumonia, diarrhea, sepsis, and malaria.
The Helping Children Survive (HCS) collaborative led by Dr. Pete Meaney seeks to improve the care of seriously ill children through innovative healthcare worker training. Area9 Lyceum is proud to support HCS with our adaptive learning platform as part of a pilot project at the Bugando Medical Center in Mwanza, Tanzania, and in district hospitals in the Mwanza region.
Free COVID-19 Education
Confronted by the outbreak of the coronavirus that causes Covid-19, clinicians around the world faced a great need to learn about this disease. In response, Area9 rapidly developed and launched Covid-19 education, which was made available free of charge.
In March 2020, within one week, Area9 went from ideation to launch of its free Covid-19 education. Updates and quality assurance occurred daily, based on feedback and new information. In less than two weeks, 9,800 people earned certification and another 7,000 signed up. As of this date, more than 120,000 people worldwide have taken these COVID-19 education courses.
Providing the latest information and insights about the disease also supports UN SDG 3, which seeks to improve good health and well-being and calls for more efforts to eradicate a wide range of diseases and address emerging health issues.
Goal 4: Quality Education
Goal 4 reaffirms the belief that education fuels sustainable development.
In addition to delivering adaptive learning across the learning landscape, Area9 is also focusing on opportunities to support the education of disadvantaged youth who are at greatest risk of not completing their education.
Mod På Matematik (which translates to “Math Grit”), is a pilot project between Area9 and BL, the national federation of Danish social housing organizations.
This project offers adaptive learning to students in grades 6-9 who live in Danish social housing. Students have free access to the Area9 Rhapsode™ next-generation platform and a new interactive mathematics curriculum produced by Area9’s learning engineers and math subject matter experts.
K-12 Courses on Digital Awareness
Area9 is working with Digital Awareness UK to provide K-12 courses and programs on digital awareness, online bullying, social media behaviors, and online security. In addition, Vodafone Foundation and UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, have partnered with Digital Awareness UK through the Instant Network Schools program, which will educate up to 500,000 youths on internet safety and responsibility.
Goal 5: Gender Equality
Goal 5 seeks to eliminate gender discrimination by promoting legal frameworks to protect basic rights and opportunities.
For example, Intuition is promoting inclusive corporate culture and leadership.
To support these efforts, Area9 is developing a suite of tools for global companies to use as part of their unconscious bias training to raise awareness and educate employees at all levels.
Goal 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth
Goal 8 seeks to promote economic growth, with full and productive employment and decent work for all. Area9 is involved in specific initiatives to develop the global workforce.
For example, we are working to advance adaptive e-learning in the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region. Area9 is also active in Saudi Arabia to implement adaptive learning for vocational training as part of the Ministry of Education’s compliance with Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 to increase the number of Saudi nationals—both men and women—in the workforce.
Goal 13. Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts
Across the global economy, industry-wide solutions are being pursued, from greener power grids to reducing emissions from agriculture. Education, too, has a crucial role to play, not only in providing knowledge, building skills, and encouraging innovation, but also as being part of the solution—particularly in meeting the need to upskill and reskill employees. A change in learning culture, especially for mature learners, can encourage adoption of the flexibility of an adaptive learning program. One of Area9 Lyceum’s partners, as part of a case study, has shown that adaptive learning can significantly reduce carbon emissions compared with traditional learning.
