The ACES 2016 awards judging panel (from left): Irene Ng, Shanggari B., Hemant K. Batra, Dr. Jayanthi Desan, Andrew Bryant, Dr. Jeffrey Goh Sim Ik

Samsung Electronics was named ‘Community Care Company of the Year’ at the 2016 Asia Corporate Excellence and Sustainability (ACES) Awards, held on November 17 at Singapore’s Shangri-La Hotel. The award is the highest accolade in its category and testament to Samsung’s continued commitment to global citizenship and creating positive change around the world.

“Samsung is honored to be recognized for our community care efforts once again, and it gives us tremendous pride to be awarded the highest accolade for this category,” said Irene Ng, Vice President of Corporate Marketing at Samsung Electronics Southeast Asia & Oceania. “We strongly believe that success goes beyond tangible business achievements, and giving back to the communities that we operate in has always been an integral part of our brand philosophy. Over the years, we have established scalable and sustainable citizenship programs across the region, placing education at the core of how we serve each community.”

According to Dr. Jayanthi Desan, a member of the awards’ judging panel and the founder and Managing Director of Synergio, one of Malaysia’s leading sustainability strategy consultancies, the ACES Awards champion companies in Asia that have exhibited extraordinary leadership and sustainability. With the award, Samsung joins a list of winners in the ‘Top Community Care Companies in Asia’ category that have been deemed to have demonstrated exceptional citizenship to bolster the wellbeing of society at large.

Enriching Communities, One Classroom at a Time

Samsung has helped communities across Southeast Asia and Oceania establish more than 160 Smart Schools and Libraries to bridge the digital divide and provide students with a smarter approach to education. These institutions collaborate with government bodies and local non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to harness technologies and create immersive learning opportunities for students in the form of tailored education programs and enriching infotainment content.

In addition, Samsung has developed 20 Tech Institutes to nurture talent across these regions – providing local youths with opportunities to attain a better future while simultaneously addressing the industry’s shortage of technical talent.

Samsung also recognizes the need to tackle other issues of vital importance to these communities beyond these educational pursuits, and has accordingly rolled out initiatives such as SONO Schools, which feature customized training curricula for medical students, and Culture Connect, its flagship regional citizenship program that celebrates aspects of each community’s distinct culture and heritage.

Lack of access to quality education prevents millions of people around the world from escaping the cycle of poverty. In countries where classrooms are crowded, resources are scarce, and higher education and career opportunities are limited, many youth are dissuaded from pursuing their dreams.

Understanding the urgent need for education reform globally, Samsung advocates high-quality, youth-friendly education for all, with an emphasis on eliminating disparities of all kinds.

Working with local governments, members of academia and non-profit organizations around the world, Samsung has established numerous programs that aim to equip the world’s youth with the knowledge and skills they need to advance personally and professionally. Such programs, which have already touched the lives of more than a million people, make full use of Samsung’s technology—a component that holds the power to unlock an individual’s potential to the fullest.

From building IT classrooms in rural communities to engaging students in hands-on STEM learning, Samsung hopes to not only help individuals build great careers, but also to discover future innovations that will allow for a better tomorrow.

Samsung Smart Schools and Samsung Tech Institute are two of the company’s major ongoing citizenship programs that aim to enhance digital learning skills and thus ensure a brighter future for all.

Samsung Smart Schools: Powering Education with Technology

The Samsung Smart School program was designed to bridge the IT accessibility gap between social classes, and foster creative talents by providing interactive education that draws on digital devices. In addition, the curriculum of the program, created especially by Samsung, enhances the educational experience for students aged 6 to 16 by utilizing more effective—and entertaining—teaching methods.

Amelia Smith, a head teacher at Braunstone Frith Primary School in Leicester, notes that her students have been incredibly receptive to the program.

“The Smart School has shown us where we want to be. Samsung has helped us along the path we wanted to go, to enable all children to become independent learners.”

The environment of the Samsung Smart School not only allows students and teachers to better connect and communicate via tech devices, but also provides opportunities for marginalized students to build IT expertise, an essential employability skill.

Promoting Digital Education in All Corners of the Globe

Currently, Samsung is working to expand the initiative so that even more students can benefit from it.

In Germany, specifically, Samsung Electronics GmbH has emphasized the value of IT education and the importance of digital competiveness in today’s workforce. It has captured the attention of both the nation’s government and educational organizations through its implementation of various projects aimed at reforming less developed digital education.

Two of these projects include the Rethinking Digital Education program, which supports digital public education, and the Code Week Award, a training program that encourages Germany’s youth to creatively explore the possibilities of the future.

Samsung Smart School initiatives have also been established in 13 Latin American countries, where great focus has been placed on training teachers and building an effective digital curriculum, as well as throughout Russia.

Perhaps the most notable Samsung Smart School in Russia is located inside the Dmitriy Rogachev Federal Center for Pediatric Hematology, Oncology and Immunology.

It is here that long-term patients can access a full curriculum developed by the nation’s most renowned professors, with Samsung’s electronic boards and tablets.

Patients who complete courses at the Samsung Smart School become qualified to take Russia’s Unified State Exam. They also receive the same graduate certificate they would from an ordinary school, meaning that unpredicted health setbacks don’t have to disrupt their studies—or their dreams.

At the Samsung Smart Learning Centers in Thailand, more than 80,000 students have participated and worked to solve social problems with digital devices. These students have also been provided with Samsung Discovery Kits to explore various career options.

Likewise, Korean students participating in Samsung’s Junior Software Academy utilize digital materials that help them to think logically and solve problems in a creative way, thus gaining leadership skills and discovering new passions.

“Before I took part in the Junior Software Academy, I didn’t have any particular dream for the future,” notes Yoo-bin Roh, an elementary school student and participant of the program. “Now, however, I have discovered two treasures: my dream of becoming a programmer and my ability to create great programs that can change the world.”

Samsung Tech Institute: Hands-On Training for Career Development

The Samsung Tech Institute, which currently operates 191 branches worldwide, was established to cultivate a young and talented workforce and spur job creation through hands-on IT job training.

The institutes are operated in conjunction with universities and local governments, and each is customized to meet the specific needs of the country in which it operates.

For example, programs conducted in developing markets might offer training for customer service engineers, while those in more economically developed countries are designed to support software experts.

Young people who have partaken in Samsung’s Tech Institutes have not only have had better employment opportunities, but are also now contributing to the development of their own regional communities.

In 2014, the company founded Samsung Campus, a two-year tech institute in France, to help non-graduates find employment.

Operated by ZUP de CO, an NGO supporting underprivileged youth and EPITECH, a specialized IT educational institute, Samsung Campus provides over 1,600 hours of curriculum, covering areas such as web design and mobile app development. In addition, the program offers coaching sessions and a one-on-one mentoring program with Samsung France employees, imbuing students with confidence and a better understanding of the business environment in which they will evolve.

Already, a large number of program participants have been accepted into long-term internship programs, while others are exploring career opportunities they never thought possible.

“I used to spend all day distributing my resume to different businesses. Now I am contacted regularly about jobs I haven’t even applied for,” notes one program graduate. “The Samsung Campus helped me regain confidence in myself—and my future. My professional outlook has completely changed.”

Securing Jobs, Instilling Confidence

Samsung also operates eight Samsung Tech Institutes in China—a country that has recently seen a growing interest in technology and job training. Like those in France, these institutes aim to foster a young and innovative workforce in order to help resolve youth unemployment and improve awareness about technical jobs.

The facilities offer service skill training to young people in association with the Samsung Electronics (Beijing) Service Company (SBSC). Many individuals who have completed the course currently work at SBSC as service engineers while others, like Ren Kang of Shaanxi Province, hope to pursue their own enterprises.

Kang traveled to Brazil in 2015 to compete in the WorldSkills Competition—a tournament in which China claimed first prize—but felt truly empowered only after attending the Samsung Tech Institute.

“While learning about my current job, I became more confident in what I was doing through feedback from my boss, as well as from customer compliments,” Kang explains. “Now I dream of opening my own product repair center, thanks to the Samsung Tech Institute.”

Through the continuation of programs such as Samsung Smart School and Samsung Tech Institute, the company hopes to continue to open doors to a world of new possibilities for all individuals, regardless of their geographic location, educational background or financial situation.

Samsung won the Platinum award in the Excellence for the Provision of Education and Literacy category for its Samsung Smart Schools and Tech Institutes programs. These incentives provide opportunities for technological and vocational education among young people.

For its Indonesian program, titled One Village One Product, Samsung was presented with a Bronze award in the Best Community Program category.

Fiona Teo (right), Samsung Regional Public Relations and Citizenship Manager, receives the Global CSR 2016 award on the company’s behalf.

“We strongly believe that our success is not just measured by our business achievements, but also by how well we serve our community and make a difference to people’s lives,” said Irene Ng, Vice-President, Corporate Marketing, Samsung Electronics (Southeast Asia and Oceania). “Samsung sees education as the seed of innovation, and works to create programs that support youth education and job training, using our technology, services and expertise. This recognition is an encouragement for us. We look forward to continuing to implement programs that are highly relevant to what the community needs and values.”

The Global CSR Summit and Awards is a prestigious international awards ceremony in the sphere of corporate social responsibility (CSR). It is organized with the purpose of raising CSR awareness, and honors outstanding individuals and companies from around the world for their contributions to the following: environmental preservation, community transformation and poverty alleviation, women’s rights and welfare, workplace practices and CSR-related product innovation.

Samsung Smart Schools

Working with government bodies and local non-governmental organizations (NGOs), Samsung partners with schools and libraries to create immersive learning opportunities for students through tailored education programs, with enrichment and infotainment contents.

Samsung operates 167 Smart Schools/Libraries in the Southeast Asia and Oceania region, in countries such as Australia, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, New Zealand and Taiwan.

Samsung Smart Schools enable students in Taiwan and Thailand to learn technology.

Samsung Tech Institutes

The Samsung Tech Institute is a partnership with vocational institutions that makes use of Samsung’s technological resources in the provision of vocational training. Its aim is to enhance its students’ employability, and equip them with skills that prepare them for life in real-world industries.

Samsung Tech Institutes also provide expert training, helping young people learn fundamental IT and engineering skills. Samsung operates 20 such institutes in Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar, Malaysia, the Philippines and Singapore.

One Village One Product (OVOP) in Indonesia

The One Village One Product (OVOP) program is a partnership that comprises: the Ministry of Cooperatives, the Korean Trade-Promotion Agency (KOTRA) and small- and medium-sized enterprises related with community development.

Together, they aim to help Indonesians living in rural areas to improve their business knowledge and skills, allowing them to gain financial independence and further develop the country’s small- and medium-sized business economy.

In the long term, the program seeks to improve the local economy and the welfare of those living in rural areas. It also seeks to boost local income and social solidarity by helping residents create unique and valuable products.