Adobe Education Leadership Forum 2012 kicks off in Singapore

Adobe Systems Incorporated today kicked off its annual Education Leadership Forum 2012 in Singapore. Into its fourth year, the Education Leadership Forum will be attended by over 100 education leaders from across Asia Pacific. The event provides an opportunity for them to share their views on the transformation of the academic landscape and the integration of digital communication and creativity tools in the modern-day educational set-up. The Forum will also look to deliver new insights on how next-generation tools like tablets, e-textbooks and cloud computing can empower educators to deliver richer, personalized and more impactful classroom experiences.
Speaking at the event, Jon Perera, Vice President, Worldwide Education Marketing, Adobe Systems Incorporated said, “The world of education as we know it is rapidly changing and so are the contours of the teaching and learning process. It is more important than ever that we enable educators to help students prepare for and excel in a 21st century workplace. Equally important, we need to help them ride those new waves of technology and opportunity that are emerging in an ever-evolving digital world.”
“Adobe has a long history of bringing cutting-edge tools that have transformed teaching and learning experiences in classrooms and we stay committed to bringing about solutions that will keep the education sector taking full advantage of the changing digital landscape,” added Jon.

State of Digital Education: Findings of Adobe Survey
In the lead- up to the Education Leadership Forum, Adobe conducted an online survey among 500 educators across APAC to assess their views on the state of digital education. The survey revealed some interesting results, including the fact that nearly 40% of APAC educators now use tools like e-textbooks and tablets in their classroom. Other key highlights of the survey were:
• 55% of educators believe that in five years’ time, there would be a significant increase in the role that digital technology (like e-textbooks, tablets) and digital content plays in their classroom work.
• Only 30% of respondents felt very prepared to adapt their teaching methodology in the rapidly changing digital landscape. This indicates that a vast majority of educators still need to up-level their skills as well as adopt newer digital tools that will help make the learning process for students future-ready.
• 81% of respondents indicated that it is very important to incorporate creativity tools in the curriculum to help students prepare for a 21st century workforce.
The respondents represented all major APAC countries including: Australia, New Zealand, Korea, India, China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia, among others. 
Commenting on the findings of the survey, Tim Elleston, Co-founder, digital balance pty. ltd., a leading digital consultancy said, “It’s no longer an option for educators around the world not to have a unified digital strategy, enabled with tools and technologies and integrated with the foundations of an academic environment. The sooner our teachers, students, administrators and policy makers prepare themselves for this reality, the better they will be placed to succeed in a world that is becoming so ubiquitously digital.”
Education Momentum in APAC
At the Education Leadership Forum, Adobe also announced it is witnessing strong momentum for the adoption of its creativity tools across key countries in APAC. Adobe revealed that:
• In Australia, over 50% of the nation’s estimated 4 million students (primary and secondary) access Adobe’s software tools on a daily basis
• In Singapore, 4 of the 6 local universities currently use Adobe’s software tools to help their students develop digital creativity and collaboration skills. Additionally, all the local polytechnics and art institutions in Singapore providing diploma courses are using Adobe creative solutions to prepare students for the digital economy.
• In China, since the launch of Adobe Creative University in 2010, over 80,000 students have been certified, 480 teachers trained and 200 schools joined the program. Additionally, nearly 3000 students have also bought Adobe’s software (Student Teacher Edition) as part of this program.
• In Korea, nearly 50% of all universities have deployed Adobe’s software tools including Creative Suite Design Premium and Creative Suite Design Standard.
• In Philippines, La Salle Greenhills work with Adobe technology to help bring tablet computer based-learning to the institution, making it the first of its kind in the country.

Speaking about the significant growth being witnessed by Adobe in its APAC education business, Peter McAlpine, Senior Director, APAC Education Sales, said, “As educational institutions explore new ways to prepare their students for a 21st century workforce, they recognize the significant role played by the kind of digital creativity tools offered by Adobe. An increasing number of our education clients are appreciating the value proposition of Adobe’s software and making it a key ingredient of their long-term success.”

Among other event highlights, the Education Leadership Forum is also featuring technology showcases demonstrating how tools like tablet computers, digital publishing and e-textbooks can be implemented in classrooms. The Adobe technology evangelist team will also demonstrate some of the latest cutting-edge tools that can transform the entire teaching and learning experience in classrooms.
 Key speakers at this event include:
• Dianne Marshall, Director, Public Schools, New South Wales Department of Education & Communities – Dianne Marshall is an educational leader with more than 27 years of experience in both the government and non government school sectors across Australia. Throughout her career she has used technology in the classroom and as an administration tool. In 2009 she was appointed Program Director of the Digital Education Revolution in New South Wales, an ambitious project to wirelessly enable 463 high and central schools across the State and rollout over 25,000 netbooks to teachers and 210,000 to students by mid-2012.
• Tim Elleston, Co-founder, digital balance pty. ltd. - Having co-founded WebFeat, a leading Canadian digital agency in 1997, Tim came to Australia in 2007 as the Head of Retail eCommerce for BankWest. He then led Murdoch University's Digital Media team for 3 years, building it from 1 person to 11 people, before co-founding digital balance pty. ltd. in 2011.
• Jon Perera, Vice President, Worldwide Education Marketing, Adobe - Jon leads Adobe’s K-12 and higher education marketing strategy, field execution and demand generation initiatives. Jon’s global responsibilities include partner relations, education solution marketing and curriculum and business development.
• Peter McAlpine, Senior Director, APAC Education Sales, Adobe Systems – Peter leads Adobe’s strategic contribution to educational institutions and government ministries across 13 countries including China, India, Australia and Korea. Peter began his working life as a secondary school teacher and still maintains the passion for education instilled in him from those early days.