• Alibaba Business School Expands Global eCommerce Talent (GET) Network to Empower More Young Entrepreneurs
• Eight new members join goal to enable one million young digital talents worldwide by 2023 at 12th Annual China-ASEAN Education Cooperation Week
GUIYANG, China, July 24, 2019 : Alibaba Business School announced the expansion of the Alibaba Global eCommerce Talent (GET) Network initiative, with eight new members joining and committing to facilitate the education and empowerment of youth around the world. The announcement was made at an Alibaba symposium held during the 12thAnnual China-ASEAN Education Cooperation Week.
The symposium “Entrepreneurship and Innovation Education in the Era of the Digital Economy” brought together GET-trained university lecturers and students as well as representatives from 62 universities and partners across 22 countries including China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Russia and Mexico.
More than 250 experts and representatives from Alibaba Group, various governments, universities and the digital industry joined stakeholders from the Alibaba GET Network to discuss how to further develop talents in the digital economy and drive a new business education model. It was part of the wider proceedings of the China-ASEAN Education Cooperation Week which encourage educational and cultural exchange between ASEAN nations and international partners since 2008.
“International cooperation and understanding is key to inclusive growth for all. China’s experience in developing a digital economy over the past two decades can be a reference for many developing countries who wish to transform their economy by leveraging technology. As government and educators, we are responsible for preparing the youth of today to pursue the opportunities of tomorrow, regardless of where they are from. Alibaba’s symposium and the renewal of the Alibaba GET Network by Alibaba Business School to include more universities is another step in the right direction towards a vibrant future digital economy,” said Mr. Yang Zhuqing, Deputy Secretary of Education and Work Committee, Guizhou Province, China.
“In the past years, Malaysia has cooperated with Alibaba closely. Our government, entrepreneurs and young people have all moved into the digital world. In Malaysia, leading universities have already commenced curriculum in digital economy which can guide students to turn idea into reality and practice. We believe talents emerging from digital economy will play an important role for the future economic development of any country and education underpinning this future success will be vital. Through the GET program, more and more GET talents will be nourished from the meaningful program and bring very positive changes to Malaysia and the world,” said Prof. Dr.Rahmah binti Ahmad H.Osman, Director, Education Malaysia Division Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Education, Malaysia.
First-ever Symposium for Alibaba GET Network and Education Stakeholders
The symposium kicked off with speeches by Mr. Yang Zhuqing, Deputy Secretary of Education and Work Committee, Guizhou Province, China, Prof. Dr. Rahmah binti Ahmad H. Osman, Director, Education Malaysia Division Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Education, Malaysia, Zhang Yu, Vice President of Alibaba Group and Dean of Alibaba Business School, and Brian Wong, Vice President of Alibaba Group. Leaders from Burapha University, one of the founding members and Sunway Education Group, a new member of the GET Network, presented their GET teaching programs that were developed after their training by Alibaba Business School.
“We are proud of the tremendous progress made by the Alibaba GET Network initiative over the past year to empower and enable inclusive growth in the era of the digital economy. The hundreds of lecturers we have trained globally and the Alibaba GET programs subsequently launched by participating universities have accelerated the pace at which we educate and empower the talents of tomorrow, and we are keen to replicate this success with our new slate of educational partners. We are grateful to all of our partners who have joined us in this effort to invest in our youth for a better future,” said Brian Wong of Alibaba Group.
As part of the Alibaba GET Network, education partners will receive learning materials based on real-world case studies and multimedia learning assets via the GET Online Learning Platform and Simulation Platform, taught by experts from the Alibaba ecosystem. Participating universities can also send their lecturers to receive further training on equipping students with the right knowledge and skills to succeed in the digital economy.
“Gaining access to the advice and assistance of the Alibaba GET Network will help us to better prepare our students to both succeed within the digital economy and ensure its sustainability in the long term. We believe our faculty and student body in our University & Colleges will benefit not only from the expertise and experience of Alibaba and its ecosystem, but also from the opportunity to interact with and cooperate with peers from other nations and cultures,” said Dr Elizabeth Lee, the CEO of Sunway Education Group.
“We have renewed our participation because we have seen how our students have grown over the past year under GET, and the subsequent enthusiasm of our lecturers to bring even more students into the fold. Our students now have the confidence to pursue opportunities and knowledge to keep learning and upgrading to succeed,” said Dr. Charoen Chinwanitcharoen, Vice President of Thailand’s Burapha University.
Inaugural Competition for Alibaba GET Network Students
The inaugural GET Digital Economy Entrepreneurship and Innovation Competition was also held during the symposium. Eleven finalist teams from eight universities presented their business proposals to a panel of judges. The winning team of four Malaysian students at Northwestern Polytechnical University, China prevailed with their idea of digitizing the family’s fish snacks business and entering the Chinese market through e-commerce, in addition to helping local SMEs in Malaysia to transform and tap into global trade.
The Alibaba GET Network was first initiated in 2018 as an extension of Alibaba’s GET program which, to date, has benefitted 80 education partners and trained more than 300 lecturers, and over 13,000 students and other participants from Australia, India, Israel, Mongolia, Malaysia, Thailand, Turkey, South Korea, Singapore and China.
About Alibaba Business School
Alibaba Business School was established by the Alibaba Group and Hangzhou Normal University of China in October 2008. It is currently focused on implementing Alibaba Group’s e-commerce training and education system, which has in the past decade nurtured millions of e-commerce practitioners and entrepreneurs, in China and overseas.
About the Alibaba GET Network
The Alibaba GET Network is part of Alibaba’s mission to make it easy to do business anywhere. By tapping into the resources and best practices from the Alibaba Group ecosystem worldwide, the initiative aims to share the positive impact of the new business paradigm of the digital economy and promote inclusive development to inspire and empower youth globally. The Alibaba GET Network is open to universities and educational institutions wanting to incorporate digital economy curriculum in the education and training system and develop young entrepreneurs and digital talents.
