Discussion Topic: School investment in China

Will Bedford is Senior Manager of the Schools Division at ISC Research. He supports investors, independent schools, and international schools with their school development plans, including the identification of best fit locations and partners. Will has extensive business management experience within the British independent school sector and has held several senior positions leading whole-school commercial strategy and international development.

Discussion Topic: Step-by-Step Guide to Buying a UK School

Vipul Bhargava is the founder and CEO of GILT Education, an education focussed consulting and advisory firm based in London, United Kingdom. Vipul also serves as a specialist advisor to UK’s Department for International Trade leading on Education Technology, International Schools and Early Years. He works with many education businesses working on projects as diverse as international growth, capital raising, mergers and acquisitions and strategic advisory. Vipul has more than 10 years’ experience in the global education industry. Prior to founding GILT Education, Vipul served as Global Vice President at Education First (EF) where he helped grow an online language learning business across Latin America, Europe, Middle East and Asia. Prior to EF, Vipul headed Strategy and Corporate Development for RM Education, a U.K. listed Education technology business and has also been a strategy consultant with Marakon Associates. Vipul holds an MBA from London Business School and undergraduate degrees in Mathematics and Computer Science.

Discussion Topic: UK Government Support for Investment in Education

Zhi Dong is the Investment Project Advisor at the Department for International Trade (DIT). She has spent the past 15 years working in both China and UK and has extensive experiences in promoting trade and investment activities between the two countries. In the past 8 years, Zhi has been focusing on attracting foreign direct investment into the UK and got involved in a large portfolio of investment projects including education, technology and creative sectors. She is well connected with the business communities in both China and UK.

Julian is the cofounder of Venture Education, Vice Chair of the British Chamber of Commerce in China and Chair of the Chamber's Education Forum.
 
Venture Education empowers UK education in China through research, events, consultancy and partnerships with focuses on confidence building, student transition, employability and gender equality.

Discussion Topic: Partnering and Sponsorship

Donald Hu, Head of Education Partnerships, British Council China; Previously Co-founder and Director of Singapore Globe Education Consultancy and JD Education; Head of Marketing and Admission, Chinese International School Singapore; Interpreter/translator, American National Broadcasting Company(NBC) Olympics.

Discussion Topic: 3-minute company pitches

A graduate of Tsinghua, Fudan and Edinburgh Universities, Cenn is the founder and Chief Executive of Hatching Dragons, the UK's first bilingual Mandarin-English early years education group. Having launched the first school in 2015, Cenn has seen the company grow to three schools across London and diversify into accredited online early years teacher training, online class content for families around the world, recruitment services for international schools and now is moving ahead with tech-enabled international franchises across the OECD and Belt and Road Countries.

Discussion Topic: Experiential Education

Hailing from the UK, with a degree in Sports and Recreation Management from the University of Edinburgh, Josh has been at the forefront of the Experiential Education industry in China for over a decade since moving in Beijing in 2007 and then settling in Hong Kong in 2018. As the Managing Director of The Hutong, Josh is keen to apply learnings from a mature industry in the UK, to a younger and flourishing growth industry with a cultural understanding that transcends international borders. He is a passionate advocate of the power of experiential learning to promote growth and empowerment, both in schools and in the workplace.

Discussion Topic: Opportunities for Education

Nick Kind is a Senior Director at Tyton Partners. He is based in the UK and focusses on international work in both banking and strategy consulting. He spent 16 years developing educational software for all age groups and in many countries around the world. Subsequently he moved into strategy and corporate development at one of Europe’s largest media groups, Holtzbrinck (the owner of Macmillan and Nature). He is an acknowledged thought leader in education and regularly participates in industry events and publications. He first visited China in 1991, travelling around the country for eight weeks on his own in his “gap year” prior to going to university.

Discussion Topics: 3-minute company pitches

Kai is the Director of Business Development of MEL Science - worlds leading innovative Science Education content company, with award winning VR and AR contents as well as a full range of Science learning kits and thousands of videos. Kai also co-founded a few VR and Edutech companies including Smart Stone Technologies based in Sydney, and won a large number of projects in many countries in the areas of VR and AR assisted education. Prior to these, Kai was directors of a series of leading VR education companies, as well as ex-VP of Dimenco in Auto-stereoscopic 3D industry. One of his key deals was to sell 15% of Dimenco's share to Chinese listed company Leyard. Kai has been a serial entreprenuer with many successes in funding and management after a 10 years spree of Management Consulting roles for leading UK and US firms. He graduated from Bristol University with a Computer Science degree, and is a keen golfer. Kai did also lead a Golf Software company as requested by one of his investors before, so he organized many golf tournaments in Beijing.

Discussion Topic: UK Education in a Snapshot

With BA Trade and Economics from Renmin University of China and Msc. Management from London School of Economics, Jing worked in Ernst & Young China and the Culture and Education Section of British Embassy for 15 years before she joined British Embassy Beijing, Department for International Trade China to lead the national Education and Skills Team. With a wide range of knowledge and strong networks in the international education market in both China and the UK, Jing has a strong track record in helping UK and Chinese education providers to set up partnerships and achieving the best business result by contributing and implementing UK government export and investment strategy in China.

Discussion Topic: 3-minute company pitches

Quality Teaching Staff was established by two young entrepreneurs Syed Shah (Managing Director) and Naima Navsa (International Director), who were both 21 years old at the time and grew the company organically. Syed comes from a IT/Sales background and Naima’s expertise are solely within Early Years SEN and training within education. Both entrepreneurs worked at corporate recruitment firms prior to setting up the business. After having great success in the UK, Syed & Naima expanded the business internationally Together they have had excellent success in acquiring governmental contracts in the Middle East and growing their presence in the region rapidly. They have visited China yearly over the past 3 years and have built a strong network within the educational sector.

Discussion Topic: 3-minute company pitches

Quality Teaching Staff was established by two young entrepreneurs Syed Shah (Managing Director) and Naima Navsa (International Director), who were both 21 years old at the time and grew the company organically. Syed comes from a IT/Sales background and Naima’s expertise are solely within Early Years SEN and training within education. Both entrepreneurs worked at corporate recruitment firms prior to setting up the business. After having great success in the UK, Syed & Naima expanded the business internationally Together they have had excellent success in acquiring governmental contracts in the Middle East and growing their presence in the region rapidly. They have visited China yearly over the past 3 years and have built a strong network within the educational sector.

Discussion Topic: UK-China Deal Process

Daisy joined KPMG Beijing Advisory practice in 2000. She has nearly 20 years’ experience in mergers and acquisitions, assisting multinational companies and Chinese clients in their investment activities around the globe. Daisy has extensive experience in sectors including nature resources, infrastructure and industrial manufacturing.

Discussion Topic: 3-minute company pitches

Charles has spent the vast majority of his career in overseas educational development. He Founded Impact Education, a Hong Kong-based company that provides practical English language courses to local students and international schools. His passion for educational technology led him to New York where he worked for the American Youth Literacy Foundation, developing an app-based curriculum to tackle adult illiteracy. Charles joined CENTURY Tech as a Director of International to lead the company’s B2B growth which now spans 45+ countries.

Discussion Topic: Investing in TVET

Jamie Yin,
Graduate from LSE
Senior Chairman of UK Chinese Business Association and Deputy Director of Education Professional Committee;
Director of London School of Business and Commerce,
Founder and CEO of Thames Holdings Ltd
Former Director of Ipswich High School
Former Director of Bedstone College