News & EventsEstablishment of the WOW (“World of Work”) Institute at our inaugural “Future World of Work” Principals Conference

CTF Education Group (CTFEG) announced the establishment of its WOW (“World of Work”) Institute at the inaugural “Future World of Work” Principals Conference.

The conference brought together education and industry professionals to share insights and exchange ideas on post-COVID real-world trends and competencies. Drawing over 130 industry leaders, practitioners, principals and educators – WOW’s first community of transdisciplinary “changemakers” – the conference was a huge success and drew positive feedback from all directions.

“The establishment of WOW Institute will mobilise diverse education and industry stakeholders to ensure education stays relevant with the evolving rapid developments of the world of work, and fully captures the potential the future holds for today’s students”, said Jennifer Yu Cheng, Deputy Vice Chairwoman and Group President of CTFEG. “We identified the need to bring together different stakeholders and myriad of resources to achieve greater collaboration, efficiency and opportunities to advance K-12 education”.

“New World Group’s ecosystem is co-curating a better future with the community at heart through its unique vision for Creating Shared Value (CSV), which ties business success to social progress”, she added. “Similarly, at CTF Education Group, we view ourselves as ‘EduMakers’. We are on a mission to empower the next generation to be future-ready – to seize opportunities in a rapidly changing landscape and make a positive, lasting impact on the community and the world”.

The highlight of the first WOW conference was a panel discussion on “Post-COVID Real World Trends and Future Ready Competencies”. Guest speakers included industry professionals and members of New World Group management – Ms. Jenny Chiu, Executive Director and Senior Director of Human Resources of New World Development Company Limited; Mr. Gilbert Ho, Executive Director of NWS Holdings Limited; Mr. Edwin Chan, Senior Project Director of New World Development Company Limited; Mr. Horace Lam, Vice President, Strategic Development of K11 Concepts Limited, and Ms. Maggie Chau, Councilor of Hong Kong Principals’ Institute and Principal of St. Stephen’s Girls’ College.

“The Fourth Industrial Revolution is changing the way we work at a pace we could never have imagined, which makes it all the more important to afford our youth the tools, skills and real-world competencies they need to flourish in the working world”, said Jennifer Ma, Chief Strategy Officer of CTFEG and Convenor of WOW Institute. “WOW Institute aims to create shared value by making K-12 education relevant in the real world. We are delighted to successfully launch our first transdisciplinary principals conference, ‘Future World of Work’, and there will be more initiatives to come, featuring leadership exchanges, research collaborations, curated apprenticeships, and networking mentorship events. WOW will truly be ‘where education meets the future world’ ”. 

Dr. John Tan, Immediate Past Chairman of the Hong Kong Principals’ Institute, said: “Today’s ‘Future World of Work’ Principals Conference was very useful and inspirational. Insights from these panels can help principals and teachers in charge of Life Planning Education (LPE) better connect industries, educators and students’ understanding of the core elements of LPE, from self-understanding and development, study pathways, career exploration and career planning. We look forward to participating in WOW’s upcoming initiatives”. 

Guests also enjoyed a guided tour of a special exhibition on the “Evolution of Industries”. With the support of CTFEG and its extensive network of corporate affiliations under New World Development and NWS Holdings, the exhibition provided valuable real-world insights into such topics as cultural retail, social innovation, wellness and healthcare, multi-complex development, and experiential K-12 learning.

Read more media coverage: