Monthly Archives: August 2020

by Helen Horner, AEM Director of Education Programs

When someone asks you to think forward, how far into the future do you venture? Three years? Maybe five? Dare I say 10 years? In actuality, forward thinking doesnt necessarily mean being ahead of the time. Its more about seeing the larger picture, strategic planning and going beyond conventional thought.

As a curator of content with AEM, there are several means for gathering topics. One of my most valued tools is a completed evaluation form. (Trust me, there is a reason we remind you to fill those out). Time and time again our members share with us they want current and practical industry information.

With that in mind, we have given our 2020 Thinking Forward series a little refresh.

All three events this fall address how you can use new technology to grow your business.But not unattainable technology or platforms only big business can get their hands on. This is current technology the manufacturing industry can harness now to grow.

Don't miss out on AEM's Thinking Forward series of events. Register now.

In September, the experts at TRENDHUNTER will share a customized presentation on industry trends they have uncovered such as sustainability, digital commerce and the internet of things. They will set the stage for our October sessions on chatbots, avatars and digitizing the customer experience. And will touch on topics we hope to deliver in 2021.

If you havent already integrated a digital commerce platform into your organization, dont miss Oct. 6!Lets face it Amazon has changed customer expectations on the consumer end, and those expectations are transferring over into all industries. Digital commerce goes far beyond buying a good online. It involves a full mobile infrastructure, creating personalized experiences and creating consistency across the organization. The benefits are many, including leveraging data, targeting customers, brand loyalty, not to mention saving money. We have a three-part session featuring four presenters that will give examples of how companies have successfully integrated digital commerce. Peter Sheldon, senior director of commerce strategy at Adobe, will open by sharing his perspective on this new normal.

On Oct. 20 we are exploring the world of chatbots and avatars. Chatbots are yet another way to improve the customer experience. Immediate responses and 24-7 availability are the new norm. A chatbot on your companys digital platform needs to go beyond the typical How may I help you? Today, the AI behind chatbots is strengthening customer connections, qualifying leads, providing efficiencies for sales teams and giving customers the satisfaction of immediate feedback. Drift is a recognized leader of chatbot software and Jared Fuller, the companys senior director of partnerships, will be discussing some use cases which show how many departments can benefit.

Avatars take the chatbot concept further by bringing AI to life. This type of personalization is another way to engage visitors on your website and also serves as a great application for employee or customer training. The COO of Quantum Capture, Matt McPherson, will talk about virtual human applications his cutting-edge company has helped create.

Whats most exciting about all of these pieces of technology is not just only their current applications, but also their future possibilities and how one example from one industry can spark creativity and innovation for another. AEM has aimed to deliver multidisciplinary, timely topics. From sales and marketing to aftermarket support and training, there is a golden nugget for the entire team.

We look forward to your participation in our 2020 series, and of course, your feedback!

AEM's Thinking Forward virtual events and content explore the future of equipment manufacturing. Learn more.

See the rest here:

'Thinking Forward' to Harness the Technology of Today for a Better Tomorrow - Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM)

Since the COVID pandemic first accelerated in March 2020, there have been a lot of lessons learned and adaptations made. Every component of our lives, from work to school to healthcare and restaurants, must be reshaped to fit the new normal, while also keeping the public safe and proactively mitigating health risks in order to ensure economic and business fluidity.

Leadership teams faced with developing plans to re-open businesses, re-configure building flow and design, and bring employees back into the office must focus on two priorities: safety and agility.

Digital signage and wayfinding technologies bring people together, communicate changes and important messages, streamline operational costs and resources, and support productivity. They are at the heart of the way we navigate todays world and an important part of our critical infrastructure. Now, in a post-pandemic world, this technology is even more important and relevant for managing communications and striking the right note in terms of safety needs as well as messaging tone. Due to the dynamic nature of such content, many businesses are opting for customizable digital signs or kiosks, as they do not require physical contact to navigate.

Below, I discuss a few examples of how digital signage and wayfinding technology is being used to support post-pandemic needs across a range of industries:

Enterprise/Corporate

Employees appreciate the collaboration and communication benefits that come from working together in person, but many are hesitant about their safety with the COVID-19 pandemic still being a global threat. It is likely that, for the foreseeable future, many companies will need to maintain at least a hybrid model, with select employees working in the office while others work remote. Management teams across the enterprise and corporate market are now tasked with finding ways to bring employees back to the office, even if it is in a limited capacity.

Wayfinding and digital signage technology can be leveraged to support the logistical challenges of enterprise workspaces, such as social-distancing regulations, employee screening, office floorplan restructuring, and changes to technology use that come with keeping employees safe, well-informed, and confident. This can have a longstanding impact on their ability to be focused and productive.

For example, with the implementation of Artificial Intelligence of Things (AIoT), wayfinding applications can leverage usage data gleaned from sensors or voice commands to auto-generate routes based on a users shortest personalized path and ease of accessibility, with smart detour scheduling that allows for safe movement in the office. These same applications also allow for hot-desking a technique that blocks the use of certain desks within a certain proximity to others (i.e. closer than six feet apart) by labeling them as red-desks. A safe green desk is then marked to instantly show employees the approved workspaces that comply with social distancing guidelines to use in real-time.

Higher Education

Outside of the corporate market, digital signage can also be leveraged in higher education settings to support wayfinding and communication needs as some schools opt to send portions of their students, faculty, or staff back to campus. Digital signage has experienced growing popularity in the higher education market over the last few years, and its one of the fastest-growing verticals for digital signage due largely to the mediums ability to communicate campus-wide emergency content or other alerts. In addition, however, many college campuses have turned to digital signage to communicate more pedestrian community-type messaging and/or seasonal reminders across lobbies, study areas, dorms and other spaces. Now, as some schools opt to bring some students or faculty back to campus, enhanced software solutions bring new functionality to existing or new displays.

Georgia Tech University, for example, has more than 300 digital signs across its entire campus. As the campus needs to implement pandemic-related changes, the displays can be easily updated to further enhance the student and visitor experience. New features can support communicating important updates around COVID or support health and hygiene. These include touch-free navigation and display control through voice commands or QR code scans to personal devices for navigating destinations on campus or finding information, including dynamic wayfinding arrows and one-way traffic flow directions throughout the campus digital displays. Georgia Techs digital signage departments limitless digital options transform its displays into a one-of-a-kind system that sets the standard other universities can aspire to.

Hospitality

The transient, fast-changing nature of resorts and venue spaces, with hundreds of people coming and going each day, make the need for increased sanitary practices and social distancing incredibly important. Digital signage and wayfinding can support that need.

For example, new thermal screening technology, available in a kiosk or sign, could be set up at a propertys front door and open points of entry to provide a temperature screening before a guest, attendee or visitor even made their way to the front desk. The built-in ability for a customer services rep to voice chat with an individual remotely to provide the next steps and instructions would make the entire pre-screening process seamless. Then, instead of having to interact face-to-face with a staff member, visitors could approach a display or kiosk to check-in by voice control or through a QR scan on their app.

The solution could also use the same voice command and QR scan functionality throughout their visit and receive notifications on essential updates from management via displays around the property. This includes signage around the building, reminding guests of masks and social distancing rules. The screens can also be programmed and configured to communicate important notices, such as maintaining a six-foot distance, face-covering requirements, handwashing reminders, updated operational hours, and more.

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How Digital Signage and Wayfinding Technology are Evolving to Meet Post-Pandemic Needs - Digital Signage Connection

The continuing U.S. trade imbroglio with Huawei is one example of ways China will prove to be the single most significant global business disruptive force in the coming decade, according to a new study released Monday by the non-partisan Information Technology and Innovation Foundation.

Relations between China and the U.S. and other western nations will prove to be more important than advances in seismic technologyin artificial intelligence or quantum computing, according to the authors of Competing with China: A strategic framework.

China looms as the single most significant business disruptor over the full course of the 2020even more than artificial intelligence and everything else going on in the digital world, they write. A rising China is now the leading edge of change.

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The authors set out 20 steps that the U.S. and other nations of the West should take to win economic competition against China. Among them: provide direct financial grants and tax breaks to Western companies to reduce dependencies on Chinese technology and materials. Also: create government tax incentives for investments by U.S. and allied companies in R&D, skills and capital goods.

The study also takes a big-picture view, including expanding the market of competitors lined up to oppose China. That approach includes trade integration agreements between the U.S. and other nations in the Americas, a U.S.-India free trade and a U.S.-E.U. trade agreement.

Although China will eventually become the worlds biggest economy, it will still only be about 15% of the global GDP, the study adds. If large portions of the rest of the world are highly integrated economically, they will add up to far more than that. That means avoiding excessive nationalism and protectionism in much of the non-Chinese world.

The studys authors are David Moschella and Robert Atkinson. Atkinson founded ITIF, while Moschella heads the Leading Edge Forum and formerly headed up worldwide research at International Data Corporation.

They also take on China for oppression of Tibetans and Uighurs as well as crackdowns on Hong Kong but said a greater competitive mindset with the West and China is needed. Noting that China has lifted its nation from an impoverished status to a global superpower in less than 50 years, they add, perhaps China has something to teach the West as well.

In one lengthy discussion, the authors tackle the questions of how best to deal with Huawei, noting that Huawei is both a major customer for Intel, Broadcom and Qualcomm, but also is viewed as a national security risk by the U.S., the UK and Australia. The Huawei case has suddenly brought U.S./China tensions to a head, they write. Although its certainly possible that tensions will defuse, it increasingly looks like a win/lose economic struggle that will test which nation is stronger and which is likely to prevail insemiconductors, drugs and aerospace.

RELATED: Major semi trade groups blast Trump crackdown on Huawei

They also analyze eight economic sectors affected by Chinas economic disruption, from defense to banking and IT. For IT, they argue: Its no secret that China seeks to be both self-reliant and a global leader in AI, robotics, autonomous systems, drone, 5G/telecom, semiconductors, facial recognition, quantum, and other emerging areas. As these technologies will underpin just about every other industry sector, this is arguably the most important competition of all.

One of the authors 20 recommended steps calls for leveraging English as the countries speaking English will account for a greater GDP, especially as India modernizes. There is little chance that Chinese will rival or replace the global role of English for many decades, if ever, they write.

Read more:

20 ways to beat China with technology, culture and policy - FierceElectronics

In today's work-from-anywhere culture millions of files includinginvoices, Intellectual Property and financial informationare shared everyday through non-secure channels such as mobile devices making it more important to protect against all forms of cybercrime.Through multilevel biometric verification and continuous facial recognition, the Smart Eye platform prevents document leaks, fraud and forgery as well as visual hacking.

"Nobody should have to worry about someone looking over their shoulder or unauthorized users gaining access to sensitive documents such as photos, invoices and contracts it's none of their business," said Dexter Caffey, Founder of Smart Eye Technology. "Smart Eye has created a new sector in cybersecurity technology to ensure that screens and documents are protected at all times, finally giving businesses and individuals the peace of mind they deserve."

When a user views a document on their phone in the Smart Eye app and someone comes into view of the screen, a warning sign pops up blocking their view and alerts the user. When sharing documents through Smart Eye, access is authenticated through multiple levels of biometrics including;

The sender also has complete control over whether the document can be downloaded or shared; how long the recipient has access; and can terminate access even after the document has been sent.

Smart Eye is also bringing credibility to the e-signature. Many businesses today use e-signature platforms that lack critical verification of the signatory. Smart Eye's platform requires contracts and agreements being signed electronically to be verified by the intended signer through facial recognition and by comparing the user to a photo ID on file. This ensures only the intended signer can complete the form.

For more information or to schedule a demo of Smart Eye's innovative document security solutions, visit http://www.smarteyetechnology.com.

About Smart Eye Technology

Smart Eye Technology is revolutionizing the way businesses and individuals protect their screens and confidential documents from prying eyes. We offer the most advanced multilevel biometric authentication process and end-to-end encryption that ensures screen privacy and user-to-user document security in one turnkey platform. With Smart Eye, sharing and viewing files and signing confidential documents has never been more secure, providing our customers a peace of mind by vigilantly protecting their right to digital privacy and security no matter where they are.

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http://www.smarteyetechnology.com

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Smart Eye Technology Launches the World's Only Screen Privacy and Document Security Platform - PRNewswire

PITTSBURGH, Aug. 31, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Pittsburgh-based robotics technology firm Carnegie Robotics LLC today announces the launch of Thoro (thoro.ai), a spin-off focusing on the commercialization of its proven Autonomous Mobile Robotics (AMR) technology for the cleaning and disinfection equipment industry.

Thoro is the result of extensive development by Carnegie Robotics of state-of-the-art perception and intelligent navigation technology that safely navigates machines around people in public spaces to perform useful work.

"Our mission is to create reliable, cost-effective, industrial-grade robotic solutions that enable the equipment to function as an extension of the cleaning workforce. Thoro technology is about being 'thorough'using robotics and artificial intelligence to ensure a new standard of clean in public spaces," said John Bares, CEO of Carnegie Robotics.

This technology has been pioneered within the commercial cleaning industry with industry partner Nilfisk. It is embedded in the Nilfisk Liberty SC50 Autonomous Scrubber, which is available to customers worldwide. Nilfiskis a leading global provider of cleaning equipment and a customer of and investor in Thoro.

Hans Flemming Jensen, head of corporate affairs, and member of the executive leadership team at Nilfisk said, "Nilfisk has a clearly stated goal to be the leader in intelligent cleaning, and the collaboration with Carnegie Robotics around the launch of Thoro is a natural continuation of our work to achieve that goal. We believe robotic innovation is integral, in fact critical, to driving cleaning excellence. With Thoro and our continued collaboration with leading technology companies, we are benefiting from our commitment to this belief and our investment in this technology."

To that end, Bares noted that both Carnegie Robotics and Nilfisk recognize that the autonomous technology in the SC50 is a valuable platform for cleaning and disinfection applications generally. Next steps for Thoro are to explore and develop additional integrated technologies in cleaning and disinfection, such as with UVC, advanced mechanical controls, and user-interface technologies for challenges in healthcare and crowded public spaces and, over time, to investigate opportunities outside of cleaning.

About NilfiskNilfisk is a leading global player within the professional cleaning industry. With more than 110 years of innovation experience, Nilfisk is dedicated to delivering reliable solutions and products of high quality that pave the way for a safer, more productive, and cleaner day for millions of companies and private homes around the world. Nilfisk has sales operations in more than 40 countries, and its products are sold in +100 countries. Read more at http://www.nilfisk.com.

About Carnegie Robotics, LLCCarnegie Robotics, LLC, is an ISO 9001:2015 certified supplier of advanced robotics sensors and systems for defense, agriculture, mining, heavy-equipment, and commercial applications. Since 2010, Carnegie Robotics has grown to fulfill the increasing demand for reliable and environmentally robust components and systems that provide perception and intelligence for Autonomous Mobile Robotics (AMR). CRL partners with major equipment suppliers, OEMs and early-stage companies to deliver reliable, disruptive, autonomous technology to traditional markets. For more information visit http://www.carnegierobotics.com.

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Carnegie Robotics Launches Thoro.ai to Commercialize Robotics Technology for Autonomous Cleaning and Disinfection - Daily Local News

Industry 4.0, robotics, artificial intelligence all were thought of more as buzzwords than necessary business interventions until recently. But the coronavirus pandemic has forced us to reconsider not just how we consume things but also how we produce them. The Economic Times got together the leaders of four companies at the forefront of the adoption of automation and artificial intelligence in manufacturing. Fast-changing business realities are forcing manufacturers to innovate and rethink age-old conventions, they said at The Economic Times-Back to Business Dialogues - Automating Business, Accelerating Growth: Increased role and impact of automation in manufacturing. The sessions moderator, Daisy Chittilapilly, set the tone for the conversation around the fourth industrial revolution and Covid-19 by quoting Lenin: There are decades where nothing happens; and there are weeks where decades happen. Excerpts:

DAISY CHITTILAPILLY, MANAGING DIRECTOR, DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION OFFICE, CISCO INDIA & SAARCWhat are some of the new behaviours, habits and rules that are shaping your industry today and will have a long-lasting impact on the manufacturing industry in the country post-pandemic?

SANJEEV SHARMA, MD, ABB INDIA Our ability to adapt and to be able to serve our customers with the kind of restrictions these circumstances have put on us has increased. And, for us, the ability to service customers remotely with the expertise they used to get at their plant is one of the crucial factors. And thats where we are seeing quite a strong shift in behaviour, both on the customer side in accepting it and in our abilities to deliver it.

SUNIL MATHUR, MD, SIEMENS INDIA We are in an environment that is getting more and more volatile every day. At the same time, customers are becoming even more demanding. The challenge that most manufacturing companies are facing is how to balance these two.

All that put together, I think this is exactly the right time to be discussing how automation and digitalisation can provide these benefits of greater efficiencies, greater cost competitiveness, productivity and shorter time to market.

PAWAN GOENKA, MD, MAHINDRA & MAHINDRAAnytime there is a crisis, all organisations and customers go through a behaviour change. But if I go back to the last 3-4 crises, the changes reverted to what it used to be before, after some time. I think thats a big difference this time the changes are here to stay. And the reason is that we have realised that it is all for the better. Coming to the consumers, there is going to be the digitalisation of everything, whatever we do. Touchless selling is going to be the big thing where customers want everything sitting at home not just for convenience but for safety and for maintaining social distancing. How we sell things will go through a complete overhaul. For example, with cars, the need for physical dealerships, salespeople or test drives all of that will go through a change.

The impact of that on business will be that the way we do planning, going all the way back to the tier-III supplier, would be a lot more efficient. Since everything is digital, a lot more artificial intelligence (AI) can come in and well be able to predict demand much more precisely. Therefore, the whole supply chain will get compressed. The kind of inventories we carry today, which in the auto industry from end-toend would be about two months, could come down to one month. If the inventory is half, you are taking out a lot of working capital, space requirement, and a lot of loading-unloading that happens.

Automation is going to benefit the most out of this whole thing because of the need for social distancing at our plants. Automotive plants are never designed for social distancing. How do we maintain distancing there? By replacing a human with a robot in some places. And thats the reason automation will become a lot faster than the normal speed at which it was going to grow.

CHITTILAPILLY: When you talk to clients, are there any new points and considerations with regards to the automation conversation?

MILAN SHETH, EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT, IMEA REGION, AUTOMATION ANYWHEREWe always assume that the physical goods which get delivered have to be coupled with a physical process. One fundamental shift that we see across customers is that digital solutions are now being thought first and then where physical touchpoints are needed is thought later. At least in the services industry that shift has happened. They are talking about whether to keep branch offices and distribution offices.

Probably the manufacturing industry will take a while to follow. There is also the thought process to bring automation to improve productivity in the entire cycle and not just the manufacturing process. For example, a shipment reaching from port to the factory involves three days of processing time at the port, two-days of trucking and then some time for offloading. While automating these processes doesnt add to manufacturing productivity, it helps in reaching faster to the customer.

And finally, the conversation on technology is no longer a CTO/CDO-only domain. People involved in operations and the business leaders now have a strong view about this.

CHITTILAPILLY: If automation is a subset of Industry 4.0, how easy is it to embrace the fourth industrial revolution and how ready are we?

GOENKA: We first need to take a step back and define what is industry 4.0. Many people think that it simply means automation, which is not true. Industry 4.0 is to put the end consumer at the centre of everything. The roadblock is that the competitive advantage of being an industry 4.0-enabled company is not so easily seen yet. The moment a company sees this, they will work on achieving it.

There is also a perceived sense of it not being affordable. The costs that it (industry 4.0 implementation) saves are sometimes unseen costs, it doesnt go into the cost of supplying a product.

SHARMA: We have about 8,000 robots globally working at customer locations. We are connected with them online and we monitor them out of the India centre. This equipment is giving us a lot of data and so we are able to analyse what kind of issues can come in different equipment. By using AI and ML routines on top of the data that we have gathered for the last 5-6 years, we are able to predict certain reliability issues for the customers. We can predict when they need to plan routine maintenance or maybe do a small intervention so that there is no outage and the availability of the production line is higher. That is one example.

CHITTILAPILLY: Are the talks on industry 4.0 and automation equally applicable to small and medium businesses?

MATHUR: If anything, it is even more applicable to small and medium businesses. Everyone is talking about how industry 4.0 takes a lot of capex and how it is very complicated. We decided to do an experiment. We have a factory in Mumbai where we were manufacturing 80 variants of conductors. We needed to do many more, but there just wasnt a business case for it as an additional business line was needed to put in and it needed a lot of capex. We instead decided to implement automation into the process. We went from doing 80 variants on three lines to 180 variants on one line. Production time went from 21 seconds down to 9 seconds and a lot of space was saved too. We used the same labour to produce three times as much. That is the real benefit for small and medium enterprises who dont have the money to expand.

SHETH: It is unfortunate that only larger industries are where technology and digital changes are being adopted. One of the reasons other than capital is also the talent. The talent pool in an SMB (small and medium business) is either focused on revenues or operations. Where the digital or technology element occurs, there is a talent gap. In Germanys SMB ecosystem, there are a variety of cloud-based service providers for SMBs to consume. Unfortunately, today we dont have a similar ecosystem in India.

CHITTILAPILLY: If you were to go back a year, would automation help you to deal with Covid-19 better than it is being dealt with now?

GOENKA: I would probably say that if I had known Covid-19 is coming, I dont think we would have done anything much differently. Because we were already on a path of automation. In some sense, we are lucky that Covid-19 didnt happen two years ago. The kind of digital tools available today are a lot more and a lot better than they were two years ago. I think we did very well as a country. The way the Government of India has digitised is mind-boggling.

CHITTILAPILLY: We are challenged by an economic downturn. Do you think automation has a role to play in addressing cost as an outcome?

SHARMA: Most of the time, automation leads to a reduction in cost, but not all the time. That is why it is very important that when you deploy automation as a process or a plan, you should be very clear what kind of return you will be expecting out of that investment. If you keep customers as the centricity of the organisation, automation makes a lot of sense.

You make the processes more predictable, repeatable and measurable so by the time you finish producing the product, you have not only manufactured it within the assured standards, but you also have captured the data about it. In case an issue props up, you can do the root cause analysis and overwrite it with customer experience.

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From a buzz to biz lever: How new technology is becoming central in a post-Covid world - Economic Times

BERLIN, Aug. 31, 2020 /PRNewswire/ --F-LANE is Europe's first accelerator with a focus on early-stage social impact start-ups that utilise technology to empower women worldwide. The F-LANE expert jury selected the ten most convincing young companies out of 455 applicants. The finalists are start-ups and social ventures from UAE, Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya, Chile, Brazil, United Kingdom, Pakistan, Sweden and Denmark. Their business models range from healthcare platforms, trusted mobility services and financial services for women up to services for children with special needs. The accelerator programme will kick-off on 7th September.

The Vodafone Institute launched F-LANE in 2016 and has since committed to supporting social ventures that empower women through technology. Due to the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic, the accelerator program will be running virtually for the first time. The Vodafone Institute took this as a chance to double the number of participating start-ups from five to 10 teams. This allows the diversity and regional scope of the startups to be even greater than in the previous years.

The accelerator will start with a five-week programme which includes personalised support, mentorship, training, networking and access to an impact investor network. The grand finale will be the virtual Demo Day on 5th November 2020 with investors and decision-makers from business, media and politics. Inger Paus, Managing Director of the Vodafone Institute for Society and Communications: "We want to support the scaling of social business models which have the potential to change the economic opportunities, wellbeing and future prospects of girls and women worldwide. Technology solutions as well as the collaboration of social business and thought leaders with companies such as Vodafone play a key role to foster social progress. The fact that the number of applicants for F-LANE has doubled in 2020 underscores the importance of social accelerator programmes."

The F-LANE 2020 teams:

1.Hive Online (Sweden, Denmark, Rwanda)

Hive Online is a distributed community finance platform that enables financially excluded entrepreneurs (rural women in Africa) to gain access to credit and new markets. Built with blockchain technology, their solution provides a financial trust history based on facts and business actions. This reputation-based platform builds confidence for businesses, NGOs, merchants and financial institutions to support small business ecosystems and offer them an alternative to the exorbitant prices of local lenders.

2. Nabta Health(United Arab Emirates)

Nabta Health is a hybrid healthcare company combining digital and traditional methods to improve the health outcomes for women in the identification and management of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs). Nabta's first care pathway supports women in identifying and managing Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (a hormonal disorder responsible for 70% of female fertility issues) through fertility tracking and monitoring, at-home testing, virtual consultations and a machine-learning driven personal assistant named Aya.

3.Bidhaa Sasa (Kenya)

Bidhaa Sasa is a finance and last-mile distribution company offering a range of household goods that improve the quality of life of rural families - especially women. The products including solar lamps, efficient stoves and water tanks, are chosen to save users time, money and physical effort. To make these products more affordable, Bidhaa Sasa offers a credit system backed on group liability so that clients can pay in installments and goods are delivered directly to the customer's door. They increase the accessibility of their products by harnessing the local networks of the women's lending groups to commercialise their products and spread the word.

4.Zoora (Uganda)

Zoora is a digital platform for members of VSLAs (Village Savings and Loan Association) to access both training, a safe record keeping tool and access to agricultural inputs. They educate these women on how to self-tutor using mobile phones. Equipping these women with skills as well as helping them store their data is the premise to them getting loans from financial institutions and being able to build up their livelihoods. They offer agricultural inputs as a form of credit as well which is another way in which these women can start building up wealth.

5. Akojo Market (United Kingdom)

Akojo Market is an e-commerce platform and marketplace championing independent brands (mostly female-founded) operating sustainable and ethical manufacturing processes and business models. By giving their brands a route to market in the UK, they give opportunities and a dignified income for artisans and their families. They work alongside their brands by providing resources and guidance to help them grow their business, for example by improving their working conditions and financial viability.

6.ProyectoMoms (Chile)

ProyectoMoms is an online platform and community that connects professional women to companies that are hiring. They are helping companies create a flexible work culture within their companies to be able to hire women that do not want to choose between their families and their careers. With the help of their algorithm, they can identify the best talent for each position in seconds - helping corporates hire the right candidate and increase their diversity. ProyectoMoms empower women to return to their careers after becoming a mother, to combine their family life with developing their skills and achieving economic independence.

7.SheKab(Pakistan)

SheKab is a monthly carpooling app especially and carefully designed for professional women in Pakistan to travel freely on fixed schedules. Harassment on public transport is a major issue in Pakistan and limits women's mobility and freedom. This subscription-based service is a safe, reliable and affordable way for women to move freely while the cab drivers earn a stable monthly income with just a few hours of driving a day. The drivers are trained and interviewed to ensure safety.

8.Autsera (UK)

Autsera leverages the power of Virtual Reality to deliver social and communication training to autistic children hindered by social communication barriers. Their interactive games and apps combines evidence-based intervention techniques, gamification and human-centered design. By learning these social skills, children can better integrate and communicate, become more independent and less vulnerable. This solution relieves a lot of stress and difficulty for the individuals as well as their families especially mothers who are often responsible for a bigger share of the care responsibilities.

9.Mete a Colher (Brazil)

Mete a Colher supports Brazilian women who are victims of domestic violence. Their Tina platform is a service bought by corporates who want to provide their female employees a way of accessing guidance and professional support when they experience any kind of violence at home. Through an anonymous chat, an employee can have a conversation with a social worker and psychologist. When necessary, they forward it to the relevant support centers or police departments. Tina professionals oversee the evolution of the case with the victim as well as the support networks.

10. LuluLab(Denmark)

Lulu Lab develops engaging and educational games to change traditional education and lift the taboo on topics such as reproductive health, menstrual hygiene and sexual rights. They provide the games as a service to international organizations and NGOs who deploy them for their beneficiaries. The games are developed in co-creation with the users, partners and experts following a human-centered design methodology and with the objective of making it as simple and fun as possible. This ensures engaging and localized games that meet the user's educational needs while also embracing cultural sensitivities and national policies.

About F-LANE

The Vodafone Institute runs F-LANE with its new implementation partner Yunus Social Business. The F-LANE founding partners Social Entrepreneurship Academy in Munich will continue to support F-LANE with their excellent impact entrepreneurship competencies, while the Impact Hub Berlin remains on board as Community Partner providing participating start-ups with access to the global impact community and investors. Furthermore, WLOUNGE, as a new partner to the F-LANE network, will contribute its expertise in gender lens investing and it's local and global investors and mentors network to support the cohort.

Dedicated F-LANE jury members are Andy Goldstein (Co-Founder & Executive Director of the LMU Entrepreneurship Center), Hedda Pahlson-Moller (Business Angel focused on impact investing), Lisa Witter (award-winning executive, serial entrepreneur, author and public speaker), Paresh Modi (Global Head of Business Development & Innovation at Vodafone) and Saskia Bruysten (co-founder of Yunus Social Business).

Further information can be found at: http://www.f-lane.comwww.facebook.com/flaneaccelerator/ http://www.twitter.com/vf_institutewww.instagram.com/flaneaccelerator/

Cooperation partner of the Vodafone Institute: Yunus Social Business https://www.yunussb.com/ Impact Hub Berlinhttps://berlin.impacthub.net/Social Entrepreneurship Akademie https://seakademie.org/en/ WLOUNGE https://www.wlounge.de/

About the Vodafone Institute for Society and Communication

The institute is Vodafone's European think tank. We analyze the potential of digital technologies and their responsible use for innovation, growth and sustainable social impact. With the help of studies and events, we offer a platform for dialogue between progressive thinkers from science, business and politics.

It is our aim to facilitate better access to technology for all sectors of society. That is why we develop and support projects to empower women in the digital economy.

Press contact: Julia Ebert Senior Research Manager Mobile: +49 172 5620012[emailprotected]

Vodafone Institute for Society and Communications GmbHBerlin OfficeBehrenstrae 1810117 Berlin http://www.vodafone-institut.de

Social Media: twitter.com/vf_institutelinkedin.com/company/vodafone-instituteyoutube.com/VodafoneInstitute

Social Media F-LANE: twitter.com/vf_institutelinkedin.com/company/f-lane-accelerator-for-female-empowermentinstagram.com/flaneaccelerator/facebook.com/FLANEACCELERATOR

SOURCE Vodafone Institute for Society and Communications

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Vodafone Institute: Empowering women worldwide with technology - The F-LANE social ventures accelerator kicks-off its 2020 programme with 10...

Press Release | SCMP

The South China Morning Post announced today the appointment of John Artman as its Technology Editor. Artman will lead one of the biggest and fastest-growing reporting teams covering an expansive intersection of technological transformation and the rise of China.

In addition to providing in-depth coverage of tech issues and breaking news, Artman will play an instrumental role in the Tech Desks contributions to SCMP Research s industry reports, which have covered a broad range of trending topics that include Chinas Artificial Intelligence (AI), Healthcare, and the Internet industry.

The Posts technology section has become a comprehensive destination for all things China tech to SCMPs global readership of over 50 million monthly active users. Most recently this comprised compelling stories about Chinas innovative applications of science and technology in dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic and its search for a vaccine.

John is well-known for his deep insights about technology in China, which is a vital industry sector that has major global relevance. We are extremely pleased he joins our newsroom, and we look forward to leveraging his expertise in media, technology and content to elevate our coverage on technology in China, said Tammy Tam, SCMPs editor-in-chief.

With more than ten years of reporting experience in China, Artman is a leading journalistic voice on Chinese technology. Most recently, he served as Editor-in-Chief at TechNode, and played an important role in overhauling the site into a must-read for anyone interested in technology in China. Previously, Artman was the Managing Director of Technical Communications at CSOFT International and worked at China Radio International as a radio show host and technology and web reporter. Artman is a self-described avid China-watcher and has been living in Beijing since 2008.

The South China Morning Post has played a crucial role in informing and educating readers on what drives tech in China and shedding light on one of the worlds most innovative and fast-paced industries. I am excited to join a media company that is punching above its weight and be part of their mission to lead the global conversation on China, said Artman.

Artmans appointment is effective from 1 September and will be based at SCMPs global headquarters in Hong Kong.

Go here to read the rest:

South China Morning Post Appoints John Artman as the Technology Editor - Editor And Publisher Magazine

A "great unbundling" will see traditional degree courses make way for companies offering focused training in soft skills, core skills, critical thinking or an opportunity to network.

Shorter courses, ROI-oriented career choices and a switch to lifelong learning will power new business models in education.

Person-to-person contact as well as AI will be essential of the future of education.

Lynda Gratton and Andrew Scott, authors of The 100-Year Life: Living and Working in an Age of Longevity, offer three features that will define work in the 21st century.

First, people are likely to live much longer. Being a centenarian will soon become commonplace. Second, the lifespan of organizations will significantly reduce, so long-term employment will become a thing of the past. Third, the concept of retirement will fade away, partly due to financial reasons and partly out of choice.

Combining all these factors, it is easy to see how one might have to spend several years learning and unlearning in order to build a viable portfolio of careers. But if higher education institutions arent doing their job in teaching us, what are our alternatives?

Historically, education offered an amorphous bundle of training in core skills, soft skills and critical thinking, along with an opportunity to network and also to demonstrate our value to employers through a recognized qualification. What we are witnessing now, however, is a great unbundling of education, with different companies and communities attempting to capture one part of the bundle. For example, the online Lambda School is focused only on core-skill building, making people of all backgrounds ready for computer science careers. Their Income Share Agreement (ISA) model charges students nothing for their tuition until they land a high-paying job, whereby they pay back 17% of their wages for two years. If they dont land one within 60 months, the fee is waived. Thus we can see that Lambda has a single-minded focus on core skills, and pays much less attention to value demonstration, soft skills, networking and the other aspects of a traditional education.

The unbundling of education has brought about four tectonic shifts: career choices driven by return on investment (ROI), a move towards lifelong learning, shorter durations and new business models.

The first is ROI-oriented specializations. Following recessions and emergencies such as the one in which we find ourselves, there is usually a spike in ROI-driven career decisions. A whopping 80% of students surveyed at UCLA said that education for them was means towards employment. However, only 50% of US college presidents (a position equivalent to a chancellor in the UK) shared their view. Clearly there is a mismatch between what students want and what traditional universities offer.

Students want to learn tangible skills such as coding, marketing and sales in a condensed timeframe. You could argue that this is short-termist thinking and will one day backfire, but the demand for these skills at present is undeniable.

The second shift we are witnessing is the move towards lifelong learning. The traditional model was to conclude all education, including MBA/masters programmes, as quickly as possible, and then apply that learning to jobs. This model no longer works today. The new normal is to have periods of study and learning interspersed throughout ones work life.

Students pass through a gate using facial recognition technology as they enter Peking University in Beijing, China, 31 August 2020.

Image: Reuters/Thomas Peter

This is a huge opportunity for entrepreneurs and investors. The 26-35 year olds looking for self-improvement and lifelong learning constitutes the largest opportunity in China, much greater than primary and secondary education or test preparation. While this spending analysis is focused on China, many of the conclusions will hold for the rest of the world.

The third shift we are seeing is that students want to pursue courses of shorter duration. Because of the focus on lifelong learning, students are keen to spend shorter duration during one block of learning. Make School, which also has an offline campus and specializes in project-based study, offers a two-year bachelors degree with very high employment rates. There are many similar examples. The rationale for students is that, if they have to go to school multiple times, then each course of study should not be too long. People want to make their time count and capitalize on the latest trends.

Lastly, we are witnessing a shift in business models. The growing popularity of ISAs reflect changing attitudes, whereby students are not willing to hand over huge, one-time payments upfront. This not only changes the student financing market but also forces educational institutions to focus on student outcomes, specifically their employment.

The unbundling of education will bring about disruption in multiple waves.

The first wave will include channels of learning hard skills with direct employment prospects. Think of coding bootcamps, Massive Open Online Courses with certifications and nanodegrees, for example. These are high-arbitrage opportunities, but very few such disruptions have worked at scale so far.

A big reason that people choose to go for higher studies is for networking, and that is where the second wave of disruption is likely. Alternatives to traditional networking in the form of coworking spaces, accelerators, private networks, curated associations and peer-mentoring communities are likely to be another area of massive disruption.

Along with hard skills and networks, there is likely to be a huge push for soft skills. Several innovations can be expected in this space in the coming years. The ones that will work are likely to be able to demonstrate tangible benefits for students and young professionals. There might not be a need to go to college to pick up soft skills or network.

Studying or working at an elite institution/organization signals competence to our network. It also increases our perceived social value. The fourth wave of disruption is likely to be the emergence of organizations where membership, association or affiliation signals equal or greater competence.

The renowned theorist of disruptive innovation Clayton Christensen famously said that 50% of all colleges will go bankrupt in the near future. The COVID-19 crisis has definitely pushed many closer to collapse. The ones that survive will adapt to the great unbundling of education and combine two essential components of learning in the 21st century: AI and communities.

The factory-inspired, 19th century model of education made sense when there were severe limitations on teaching resources. But AI can help us overcome such constraints by leveraging three of its defining features perception, recognition and recommendation and thereby creating personalized learning for students and more free time for instructors.

Lets try and visualize an AI-powered higher education experience. It will operate on four planes: virtual teaching, learning assessment, opportunity matching for internships and jobs, and mentoring from peers and experts.

Image: Brookings Education

Imagine Sally sitting in Beirut. She is enrolled in a distance learning program that brings together leading data science professors from around the world and awards a degree valued by the most coveted employers. She attends lectures in a coworking space. There is a video camera at the front of the room that uses facial recognition and posture analysis not only to take attendance but also to figure out if Sally is paying attention. Maybe she is unwell and not able to concentrate. All this data is fed into her student profile and a customized homework is created for her. Sally completes her assignment with some help from a peer mentor with whom she is matched based on her learning needs. They build a friendship and, over time, start working on complex data sets together. They figure out a way to optimize an algorithm that is valuable to one of the sponsors of the programme. After several rounds of back and forth, they decide to patent their solution and work on their idea independently. They move from a full-time degree programme to a flexible-part time option designed for entrepreneurs.

The above scenario above might sound compelling, but it is bound to fail in the short term. Today, there are innumerable digital learning platforms powered by AI that are struggling to find customers. Even when students sign up, only 3% end up completing course requirements.

In fact, research presented by Dr Susan Dynarski at the University of Michigan makes it abundantly clear that, while online education works for mature learners, it can harm academically weak students and compromise on conceptual learning. Clearly, the AI-powered education technology model is missing something critical. Thats why there is urgent need to complement AI-based learning tools with the power of communities. This approach will humanize the way we think about both higher education and technology.

No matter how sophisticated our gadgets become, it is hard to relate to shiny, dark screens. All of us have a fundamental need to belong, learn and share. We need meaningful communities, because they are force multipliers. They make learning fun and create a peer-to-peer accountability mechanism that shapes a culture of learning. AI enables personalization at scale.

Only by combining both AI and communities will higher education be relevant and prepare students for the adventures of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. The good news is that traditional educational institutions arent the only ones that can create this customized offering. The unbundling of education means that far more players are now competing in the market. This is likely to democratize learning and make it accessible to more than privileged few who can afford to pay a quarter million dollars for an advanced degree.

Read more:

Technology is changing the face of education. Here's how - World Economic Forum