Samsung on mission to help narrow UK skills gap with digital classrooms initiative, says UK boss Andrew Griffiths
Samsung is on a mission to narrow the UK's digital skills deficit with a digital classrooms initiative, which has opened up in a range of UK primary schools, according to Samsung Electronics UK president Andrew Griffiths.
Speaking at FT Innovate in London today (19 November) Griffiths stressed that the future global competitiveness of the UK will hang on the digital skills of our population, making it “vital” to help younger generations prepare.
“It might appear that the world is entirely Silicon [Valley] driven, but education is not yet Silicon driven,” he said, adding that technology currently plays a limited role in early learning – something Samsung is looking to proactively help change.
He referenced the company’s digital classroom initiative, which now spans 20 schools in the UK and has already delivered early results from the pilots showing that children are more engaged in lessons when they are given access to tablets and digital devices in the classroom.
Average maths scores in the schools tested rose from 72 per cent to 90 per cent, while spelling and punctuation scores also rose from 56 per cent to 76 per cent, according to Griffiths.
“Technology has had a profound impact on business already, and has the potential to improve our health system, but the biggest opportunities are in education, which is why I and all my colleagues at Samsung UK are proud to lead this digital classroom.
“We want to continue working with educators […] and I want the ultimate outcome of the programme to see the digital divide close and for UK youths to achieve their full potential,” said Griffiths.
Earlier at the event, the theme of which is the Digital Big Bang, Baroness Joanna Shields stressed the importance of maintaining net neutrality.