Merchiston International School and Tencent reached a strategic cooperation.

Co-creating innovation demonstration sites for science and technology education

On 23 June 2021, Merchiston International School (hereinafter referred to as " MIS") and Tencent Youth Science and Technology Learning Centre held a signing ceremony for strategic cooperation in technological innovation practice that is of great and far-reaching significance for both parties.

At the ceremony, the management team of the two parties discussed the content of "education + technology" in the youth field and will focus on Tencent Mini Goose series innovation training projects and creative programming as the core of cooperation and integrate with the school’s international curriculum to promote the practice of scientific and technological innovation.

■Group photo at the signing ceremony

Xi Dan, Senior Vice President of Tencent, Ling Yun , Director of Tencent Youth Science and Technology Learning Centre, Zhuang Junlian, Director of Tencent Youth Science and Technology Learning Centre Creative Space, Guo Bijian , Director of  Tencent Youth Science and Technology Learning Centre Content and Service Product Development;  Jianjun Lyu; Chairman of the Board of MIS, Dr Murray Tod ; Head of School, Simon Smith; Head of Boarding and Pastoral Care, Daniel Hilton; Head of Seniors, Sonia Buchan; Director of Admissions, Communication & Marketing, Denny Yao; Director of Co-Curriculum Activities. Leaders from MIS investor, Lighthouse International Education Group also attended the ceremony, Zhang Zhaofeng, the  Chief Financial Officer, Ruth Zhao;  Vice Director of Human Resources.

MIS is the first overseas campus of Merchiston Castle School, Edinburgh, a top-ranked independent school located in Scotland, UK with a glorious history of over 188 years. 

MIS is also the first purely British international boarding school in Shenzhen with a consistent K13 system. MIS has not only inherited the high-quality British education of Edinburgh Merchiston Castle School, but also integrating Chinese and Western excellent education. The school's international curriculum system and "Ready Ay Ready" philosophy have nurtured many students with outstanding academic performance and outstanding character. At the same time, MIS is committed to providing pastoral care for students, paying attention to the holistic development of students, and is committed to cultivating international innovative talents who can actively respond to future challenges.

Tencent Youth Science and Technology Learning Centre, as Tencent’s window to export youth science and technology education, uses Tencent’s cutting-edge technology and rich talent training experience as a starting point to develop and form a complete internet technology talent training system. Self-developed professional internet science and technology courses, diversified innovative science and technology practice projects, and the industry's top professional mentor team provide the most advantageous resources, the most professional guidance and the most authentic science and innovation environment for youth science and technology education.

■Murray Tod, Head of MIS

Dr Murray Tod; Head of School, expressed his welcome and thanks to Tencent. He said that the management team of MIS was invited to visit Tencent headquarters on 6 June. Today, Tencent came to MIS. There is an idiom in China called Li Shang Wang Lai. He hoped that the arrangements of MIS would make Tencent feel at home. He said that he is very happy that MIS has such a precious opportunity to establish a close strategic partnership with Tencent. As a teacher with many years of teaching experience, Murray Tod believes that digital technology and technology need to be used to promote innovation in education. As a leading company in the global Internet industry, Tencent has outstanding technology and technical expertise and advantages. He is very grateful for the sharing of science and technology by Tencent Group, and sincerely hopes that in the future, MIS will cultivate more innovative talents in return for Tencent's investment in this cooperation. He looks forward to future co-creation and cooperation.

■MIS student representatives shared their experiences

At the ceremony, student representatives from MIS shared their experiences of participating in science and technology projects at Tencent. In the project, they have not only improved their professional knowledge and skills, but also gained enlightenment in the choice of university majors and the direction of future career development.

■Head of Boarding and Pastoral Care Mr. Simon Smith

Simon Smith, Head of Boarding and Pastoral Care of MIS, praised the experiences shared by the student representatives. From the perspective of global student development, he shared his view of high-quality education, that is, holistic education, focusing on all aspects of cultivating children. This is exactly what MIS in practice. He said that we live in a volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous world. We are not sure what the future of us and our children is, so we must help them to prepare for it. What is needed in the future are " creative thinkers" and "inventors". Many industries will be technology-centric. MIS has realised this, so MIS is very happy and honoured to cooperate with Tencent to provide opportunities and experience for students to understand the true language and application of science.

■Jianjun Lyu, Chairman of the Board of MIS

Jianjun Lyu, MIS Chairman of the Board, said that Tencent and MIS share common mission and vision. Tencent advocates "Science and Technology for Good" and MIS insists on "Education for Good." Both parties are working towards the same goal of "bringing the best education and technology to our children". Jianjun Lyu expressed high recognition of Tencent’s scientific and technological history and business achievements. At the same time, he also introduced the seven characteristics of MIS: adhere to the high-quality education in the UK, take advantage of the excellent curriculum of Scotland, inherit MCS’s good genes, combine excellent culture with advanced educational concepts, use technology to empower education, integrate the college system with international courses, and focus on cultivating students' pastoral care and social responsibility.

Mr Jianjun Lyu said that MIS’s mother school MCS has a long history and MIS has inherited its excellent traditional genes, and Tencent is the most dynamic world-class enterprise, the strategic cooperation between the two parties is a good combination and excellent model of historical inheritance and innovation of the times.

■Xi Dan, Senior Vice President of Tencent

Xi Dan, Senior Vice President of Tencent, expressed his high recognition of MIS's advanced education model, high-quality educational resources, and unique pastoral care. He said that for Tencent, during business development and scale expansion, attracting talents from all over the world is a very important foundation, and it has also accumulated a lot of experience and practice in the cultivation of scientific and technological talents. He believes that the basic education stage has a profound impact on the growth of children. Letting children learn and be exposed to knowledge in multiple fields during the basic education stage will help children improve their independent learning ability and innovative thinking.

He is very much looking forward to the Tencent team dedicating to the development of youth scientific and technological capabilities and work together with the school’s elites in the education sector to integrate resources from all sources, jointly explore and practice the educational path of international innovative talents and cultivate more comprehensive and creative talents with international vision and innovation. At the same time, he said that MIS has been established for more than three years. Although it is young, it has made a lot of achievement. This is very similar to the city of Shenzhen. Although young, they are committed to innovation and facing the future. Shenzhen is not only a model window for China in the Internet, finance, modern logistics, technology services and other industries, but also a pioneer in education. It is hoped that the multi-level cooperation between Tencent and high-quality schools can help Shenzhen develop prosperity Education ecology. Based in Shenzhen and facing the world, he hopes MIS and Tencent will work together to embrace future development and cultivate more outstanding innovative talents.

Ling Yun，director of Tencent Youth Science and Technology Learning Centre, reviewed many exchanges and cooperation between MIS and Tencent since 2019, and thanked the school team for their continuous support and help. She said that in the next, the two parties will use Tencent's Mini Goose series innovation training project and Tencent Creative Programming as the core of the cooperation. The Mini Goose series innovation training project will provide students with technology platform of creative output, project actual combat, work speeches, and charity exhibitions; Creators Programming will authorize MIS to give priority to the use of Creative Programming content products and services covering programming, artificial intelligence, game design, digital art and other fields. Innovative experience and learning models will bring higher quality to science and technology learning.

■Tencent & MIS representatives

The strategic cooperation between MIS and Tencent Youth Science and Technology Learning Centre combines Tencent’s scientific and educational resources and projects with the MIS’s curriculum system to jointly explore and catalyze the production of higher-quality content and teaching models that are more in line with the international system . Continue to derive diversified science and technology themed practical activities, the two parties will use innovative courses and learning scenarios to inspire students' interest in science and technology, and shape innovative thinking. The cooperation between the two parties will be a perfect blend of Chinese and Western cultures, and will also be committed to the integration of global talent training and human resources, and together write an innovative paradigm of international education + technology empowerment.

2021年6月23日，深圳曼彻斯通城堡学校（以下简称“曼校”）与腾讯青少年科技学习中心举行了一场对双方而言都有着重大且深远意义的科技创新实践战略合作签约仪式。仪式上，双方核心团队围绕青少年领域的“教育+科技”内容展开探讨，将以腾讯Mini鹅系列创新培养项目和创想编程为合作核心，并与学校国际化课程进行融合，一起推动科技创新实践。

■双方于签约仪式上合影

腾讯高级副总裁奚丹、腾讯青少年科技学习中心总监凌云、腾讯青少年科技学习中心创想空间负责人庄俊莲、腾讯青少年科技学习中心内容与服务产品研发负责人郭必坚；曼校董事局主席吕建军、校长Dr. Murray Tod、寄宿及德育校长Simon Smith先生、中学校长Daniel Hilton、市场及招生总监Sonia Buchan、增益课程总监姚晓东、曼校投资方灯塔教育首席财务官张赵峰、人力资源副总裁赵景和等出席了签约仪式。

曼校是188年历史的英国爱丁堡曼彻斯通城堡学校在海外的首间分校，也是深圳第一所纯英式的、K13一贯制的寄宿制国际学校。曼校既继承了母校英式优质教育，又立足深圳，融汇中西。学校的国际化课程体系和“为未来而来”的办学理念培育了多位拥有优异学术表现和卓越品格的学子。同时，曼校致力于为学生提供德育关怀，关注学生全面发展，致力于为社会培养和输送能积极应对未来挑战的国际化创新人才。

腾讯青少年科技学习中心作为腾讯输出青少年科技教育的窗口，以腾讯的前沿技术和丰富的人才培养经验为抓手，研发形成了一套完善的互联网科技人才培养体系。自主研制的专业互联网科技课程，多元创新的科技实践项目，业界顶尖的专业导师团队，为青少年科技教育提供最优势的资源、最专业的指导和最真实的科创环境。

■曼校校长Murray Tod

曼校大校长Murray Tod博士对腾讯一行的到来表示欢迎和感谢。他说，曼校领导层于6月6日受邀访问了腾讯总部，今天腾讯来到曼校，中国有个成语叫礼尚往来，希望曼校的安排能让腾讯一行宾至如归。他表示，非常高兴有这样宝贵的机会同腾讯建立紧密的战略合作关系。作为有多年教学经验的老师，Murray Tod认为在当今时代需要运用数字科技和技术助力教育行业的创新，腾讯作为一个全球互联网行业的前沿企业拥有卓越的科技和技术的专业能力及优势。他非常感谢腾讯集团的科技分享，也真诚希望未来能以创新型人才回报腾讯在此次合作中的投入，期待未来的共创合作。

■曼校学生代表分享心得

仪式上，曼校学生代表分享了在腾讯参与科技项目的经历。在项目实践中，他们不仅在专业知识和技能层面得到提升，在大学专业选择和未来职业发展方向也获得了启迪。

■曼校寄宿及德育校长Simon Smith致辞

曼校寄宿及德育校长Simon Smith对学生代表分享的经历给予赞赏和肯定，并从全球学生发展的角度讲述了他认为的优质教育，即全人教育，注重培养孩子的方方面面，这正是曼校在践行的。他表示，我们生活在一个易变的、不确定的、复杂的、模棱两可的世界，我们不确定我们和我们的孩子的未来是什么，所以我们必须让他们为此做好准备。未来需要的是“创造性思想者”和“发明家”，很多行业将以技术为中心，曼校已经意识到这点，所以我们非常高兴和荣幸地参与到与腾讯的合作中来，为我们的学生了解科学的真正语言和应用提供机会和经验。

■曼校董事局主席吕建军致辞

曼校董事局主席吕建军表示，腾讯和曼校在使命愿景上有着共同点，腾讯倡导“科技向善”，曼校坚持“教育向善”，双方都朝着同一个目标前进——“将最好的教育和科技带给孩子”。吕建军对腾讯的科技历史与业务成就表达了高度认可，同时，他也介绍了学校在办学上的七个特色：坚持英国的优质教育、发挥苏格兰卓越课程的优势、传承学校的良好基因、将中国优秀文化与先进教育理念相结合、用大数据科技赋能教育、将学院制与国际化课程相融合、注重培养学生的德育关怀和社会责任感。

对于双方的战略合作，吕建军先生表示，具有母校悠久历史基因的曼校与最具活力的世界级企业腾讯的合作，是历史传承与时代创新的良好结合与优秀典范。

■腾讯高级副总裁奚丹致辞

腾讯高级副总裁奚丹对曼校中西融合的先进教育模式、优质的教育资源和独具一格的德育关怀表达了高度认可。他表示，对于腾讯来说，在业务发展与规模扩充的历程中，吸引全球范围内的人才是非常重要的基础，在科技人才培养方面也积累了较多的经验与实践。他认为，基础教育阶段对孩子们的成长有着深远影响，让孩子在基础教育阶段学习和接触多元领域的知识，有利于孩子们提高自主学习能力和创新思维。

他非常期待致力于青少年科技能力培养的腾讯团队，能与校方的诸位教育界精英一起携手，整合各方资源，共同探索、实践国际化创新人才的教育之路，培养更多具备国际视野和创新创造能力的综合型人才。同时表示，深圳曼校建校三年多，虽然年轻，但已经取得了很多成果。这和深圳这座城市很相似，虽然年轻，但都矢志创新，面向未来。深圳不仅是中国在互联网、金融、现代物流、科技服务等产业领域的示范窗口，在教育上也必将成为先行先试的时代先锋，期望腾讯与优质学校的多层次合作能助力深圳发展出繁荣的教育生态。立足深圳，面向世界，希望曼校和腾讯一起携手拥抱未来的发展，培养更多优秀的创新人才。

腾讯青少年科技学习中心总监凌云女士回顾了校方与腾讯自2019年以来的多次交流与合作，并感谢校方团队一直以来的支持与帮助。她表示，在接下来的合作中，双方将以腾讯Mini鹅系列创新培养项目和腾讯创想编程为合作核心，Mini鹅系列创新培养项目将为学生提供创意输出、项目实战、作品演讲、公益展览的科技平台；创想编程将授权学校优先使用涵盖编程、人工智能、游戏设计、数字艺术等领域的创想编程内容产品与服务，创新的体验与学习模式将为科技学习带来更高品质。

■双方代表签约合影

此次曼校与腾讯青少年科技学习中心的战略合作，将腾讯的科教资源和项目与曼校的课程体系结合，共同探索和催生出更优质的、更切合国际化体系的课堂内容与教学模式，持续衍生多元化科技主题实践活动，用不断创新的课程与学习场景启发学生对科技的兴趣，塑造创新思维。双方的合作将是中西文化的完美交融，也将致力于全球的人才培养与人力资源共融共通，共同谱写国际化教育+科技赋能的创新范式。

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