Singapore and Australia’s Education Sectors Tap Big Data Solutions To Drive Holistic Student Development

Singapore and
Australia’s Education Sectors Tap Big Data Solutions To Drive Holistic Student
Development

Singapore/Sydney, 12 April 2017 – Following the
announcement of acquiring its first Australian Government customer in New South
Wales in December, Singapore’s IMDA-accredited Big Data leader Latize, has announced deals
with educational institutions in Singapore and Australia.

These customer wins come at a time when the entire
region is seeing an uptick in technology spending within the education sector.
Technology spending in the higher education sector is expected to reach $10.4
billion in 2019, per research firm IDC, with opportunities abounding in
personalised learning, collaborative education and Smart Campus initiatives.
Meanwhile, technology spending for K-12 education will hit $21 billion by 2020,
according to market intelligence provider Technavio (2016).

Vikram Mengi, co-founder and CEO of Latize said: “In
Singapore, Latize is working with Republic Polytechnic, as well as a primary
school around the holistic development of their students. We have made
significant inroads into the education sector, buoyed by the support of the
Info-communications Media Development Authority of Singapore (IMDA). This has
helped establish us as a forerunner in leveraging big data in education and
subsequently enabled us to bring a new – data-driven capabilities – to schools
in Singapore and beyond – with the Presbyterian Ladies College in Perth,
Western Australia’s leading school for girls – marking our first education
sector win in Australia.”

Latize helps these institutions look beyond mere
grades as a barometer for student development. The platform looks at
qualitative aspects of student life such as co-curricular activities, educator
feedback and character assessments. By augmenting the quantitative and qualitative
values, Latize is able to suggest data-driven recommendations that go towards
promoting holistic student development. Recommendations include activities that
a student can undertake and courses that they can pursue.

“Whenever I looked at my own children’s report cards,
I felt the focus was on reporting rather than suggestions and recommendations
to further their development. Looking back over my own student life, not much
has changed in almost thirty years! Our thinking was not just as data experts,
but also as parents wanting the best for our children. There is so much data
available to schools to leverage to make recommendations to teachers,
counsellors, parents and the students, enhancing learning and development.
Latize enters the fray as a SaaS provider to help institutions make smarter,
data-driven institutions”, added Mengi.

“The Presbyterian Ladies College is excited to partner
with Latize”, said Anna Hu, Director of Information and Learning Technologies
at Presbyterian Ladies College. “Technology plays an ever-increasing role in
education and we will always be at the forefront of innovation. Through this
partnership, we will be able to leverage multiple streams of information and
help our students achieve academic and non-academic excellence”, she added.

“In the Digital Economy, data is an invaluable asset
that will help companies achieve greater business opportunity and remain
competitive. Our Accreditation@IMDA programme will help companies such as
Latize to win work, build their track record in both the government and
enterprise sectors and assisting them in their international plans”, said Mr
Khoong Hock Yun, Assistant Chief Executive (Development), Infocomm Media
Development Authority.

The company has added education to its existing
portfolio of customers in Government and the FSI industries, and is well placed
to continue its growth. Latize is venture backed by Singapore-based
investment firms including Tembusu ICT 1 Fund and SPRING Seeds Capital, and is
looking to raise $5-$7 million in its Series A funding round to drive its
expansion within Australia, and to the US.