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PR Newswire

Remote Graduations: Longer distance, more humanistic

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BEIJING, June 30, 2020 — A news report by China.org.cn on China’s remote graduation under COVID-19:

 

 

Graduation season is drawing near. However, with COVID-19 still lurking, most Chinese universities are yet to resume to normal. This has caused substantial obstacles for both graduation ceremonies and graduates looking for a job.

To cope with the situation, Chinese universities have turned to seek remote solutions. Universities in Shanghai, for instance, have held livestream lectures on social media platforms, and shared employment guidelines, as well as tips for interviewing. Recruitment introductions and job interviews have also moved online. Likewise, a university in Zhengzhou, Henan province held a VR exhibition for its design-majored graduates, making the exhibition accessible to more people. What’s more, the university opened a special channel for companies, so that recruiting teams could contact graduates for interviews after watching the exhibition.

Remote exhibitions and interviews have broken the limits of time and space. Some novel ideas are also used in graduation ceremonies.

Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications, for example, has shown its humanistic side in this respect.

The university combined robots and livestreaming in their commencement ceremony. The robots each carried a screen, allowing graduates to witness and even experience the rituals of the whole ceremony from home. Since the graduates were not able to attend, these measures to some extent made it up for them.

The reasons behind this are worth considering. Indeed, the epidemic will eventually be over, and all walks of life will resume to normal. But to each individual student, graduation is an irreplaceable memory in life. A commencement ceremony is supposed to fulfill the students’ sense of ritual. Therefore, Chinese universities didn’t want these temporary challenges to disappoint graduates, and did whatever they could to give the graduates a proper conclusion of their college life. A student from the university said that he had found it to be an interesting experience.

With such facilitating measures, this graduation season is bound to be a special one for graduates.

China is able to make these efforts due to the proficient use of technology. The epidemic has presented challenges to all walks of life. But, remote communication tools and online-to-offline coordination – such as VR, live streams – have helped the social life to move on in an orderly and efficient way in the past few months. As China seeks to build “new infrastructure” featuring new technologies, such utilization attempts have been playing pioneering roles. Hopefully, when the epidemic is over, these technologies will still be valued in various fields, injecting vitality into people’s lives.

China Mosaic
http://www.china.org.cn/video/node_7230027.htm

Remote Graduations: Longer distance, more humanistic
http://www.china.org.cn/video/2020-06/30/content_76221641.htm

 

PR Newswire

Sweeping Workplace Changes Expected in a Post-pandemic World, Says Research From The Adecco Group

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Businesses and workers call for greater flexibility, questions raised over the hours-based contract, and a new empathetic leadership profile emerges

ZURICH, June 30, 2020 —

  • Workers demand greater flexibility after coronavirus, with a 50/50 split of remote and office time confirmed as the universal ideal
  • Questions raised over the hours-based contract, with 69% saying contracts should be based on results delivered rather than hours worked
  • Boom in digital skills an unintended consequence of lockdown, with tech knowhow improving for six in 10 (61%), and two thirds (69%) eager for further digital upskilling post-pandemic
  • Leaders need to reinvent themselves as more emotionally intelligent, but they are not prepared, as less than half felt equipped to support employees holistically during the pandemic

The coronavirus pandemic has resulted in pivotal shifts in attitudes and expectations among workers and leaders, as both call for permanent changes in how and where we work, workplace relationships and future skills, according to new research from the Adecco Group.

The Adecco Group, the world’s leading HR solutions company, today unveiled the results of its latest study, Resetting Normal: Defining the New Era of Work, examining the expected short- and long-term impact of the pandemic on resetting workplace norms. Fieldwork was conducted in May 2020, with 8,000 office-based respondents (aged 18-60) across Australia, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, the UK and the USA.

The Adecco Group’s Chief Executive Officer, Alain Dehaze, said: “The world of work will never return to the ‘normal’ we knew before the pandemic struck. The sudden and dramatic change in the workplace landscape has accelerated emerging trends such as flexible working, high-EQ leadership, and re-skilling, to the point where they are now fundamental to organisational success. As many countries emerge from the acute crisis phase of the pandemic, employers have an opportunity to ‘hit reset’ on traditional workplace practices – many of which have remained largely unchanged since the industrial revolution. This research highlights that employee attitudes have shifted and gaps between workforce expectations and entrenched labour market processes have been exposed. As we step into the new era of work, now is the time to establish better norms that will enable a holistically healthy, productive and inclusive workforce into the future.”

Key research highlights:

The research revealed that the working world is ready for a new “hybrid” model, with three quarters (74%) of workers surveyed saying a mix of office-based and remote working is the best way forward. The universal ideal of spending half (51%) of their time in the office and half working remotely (49%) transcends geographies, generations and parental status. And company executives agree, with almost eight in ten (77%) C-suite leaders saying businesses will benefit from increased flexibility.

Another stark finding could signal the end of the hours-based contract and 40-hour week. More than two thirds (69%) of workers are in favour of “results-driven work,” whereby contracts are based on delivering against business needs rather than working a set number of hours. A high proportion of C-suite executives (74%) agree that the length of the working week should be revisited.

The pandemic has also demanded a new set of leadership competencies and these expectations are expected to accelerate a reinvention of the modern-day leader. Emotional intelligence has clearly emerged as the defining trait of today’s successful manager, but the soft skills gap is evident. Over a quarter (28%) of those questioned said their mental wellbeing had worsened due to the pandemic, with only 1 in 10 rating their managers highly on their ability to support their emotional health.   

In a similar nature to flexible working, the findings demonstrate a universal appetite for mass upskilling. Six in 10 say their digital skills have improved during lockdown, while a further two thirds (69%) are looking for further digital upskilling in the post-pandemic era. A broad range of skills development were identified as important by the workforce, including managing staff remotely (65%), soft skills (63%) and creative thinking (55%).

Finally, the findings highlighted the importance of sustaining trust in the new working world. Companies have risen to the challenge of supporting their people during the crisis, and as a result, trust in corporations has increased. In fact, 88% say that their employer met or exceeded their expectations in adapting to the challenges of the pandemic. And with this increased trust comes increased expectations. While the future of work is a collective responsibility, 80% of employees believe their employer is responsible for ensuring a better working world post-COVID and resetting norms, compared with 73% who say the government is responsible, 72% who agree it is an individual responsibility, and 63% who believe it is in the hands of labour unions.

For more information: 

  • Download the Resetting Normal: Defining the New Era of Work full report here.
  • Follow us on social #ResetNormal for updates 

About the Adecco Group

The Adecco Group is the world’s leading HR solutions company. We believe in making the future work for everyone, and every day enable more than 3.5 million careers. We skill, develop, and hire talent in 60 countries, enabling organisations to embrace the future of work. As a Fortune Global 500 company, we lead by example, creating shared value that fuels economies and builds better societies. Our culture of inclusivity, entrepreneurship and teamwork empowers our 35,000 employees and we are proud to have been consistently ranked one of the ‘World’s Best Workplaces’ by Great Place to Work®. The Adecco Group AG is headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland (ISIN: CH0012138605) and listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange (ADEN) and powered by nine global brands: Adecco, Adia, Badenoch & Clark, General Assembly, Lee Hecht Harrison, Modis, Pontoon, Spring Professional and Vettery.

adeccogroup.com
Facebook: facebook.com/theadeccogroup
Twitter: @AdeccoGroup

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For further information please contact:
The Adecco Group Press Office
media@adeccogroup.com
+41-(0)-44-878-87-87

Related Links :

https://www.adeccogroup.com

PR Newswire

KAIST Forum Envisions Education in the Post-COVID Era

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Global leaders including the CEOs of Minerva and Coursera to join the KAIST online forum to discuss how to facilitate inclusive educational environment amidst the ever-growing digital disparities

DAEJEON, South Korea, June 22, 2020 — An international forum hosted by the KAIST Global Strategy Institute will examine how the disruptions caused by the global pandemic will impact the future of education. Global leaders will reflect on ways to better facilitate inclusive educational environments and mitigate the digital divide, especially in an era where non-contact environments are so critical.

KAIST Forum Envisions Education in the Post-Covid Era
KAIST Forum Envisions Education in the Post-Covid Era

The online forum to be held on June 24 from 09:00 am KST will livestream on YouTube, Naver TV and KTV. This is the second forum hosted by the GSI following its inaugural forum in April.

Minerva School’s CEO Ben Nelson and Coursera CEO Jeff Maggioncalda will be among the 15 speakers who will share their insights on the new transformations in the education sector.

The digital transformation of higher education will be the key topic every speaker will highlight to predict the future education in the post-COVID era. According to UNESCO and UNICEF, 1.6 billion students from 192 countries, which account for 91 percent of the student population in the world, have experienced educational disruptions in the past four months. Approximately 29 percent of the youth worldwide, around 346 million individuals, are not online.

KAIST President Sung-Chul Shin’s opening remarks will stress that technological breakthroughs should be used to benefit us all and the private and public sectors should collaborate to facilitate an inclusive educational environment.

Ben Nelson believes that global universities are at the point of inflection for making tough choices to reform higher education. He will introduce what will affect the decision-making procedure for investing in the digital transformation and the best recipe for building a successful remote learning environment.

Dr. Paul Kim, CTO and Assistant Dean of Stanford Graduate School of Education, will analyze the ramifications brought about by COVID-19 among both advanced countries and developing countries, and propose an optimal educational model for developing countries.

Phil Baty, Chief Knowledge Officer at Times Higher Education, will present the key survey results the Times Higher Education made with approximately 200 university presidents on how higher education will adapt in the years to come.

As for innovation in higher education, Vice President at Microsoft Anthony Salcito and Professor Tae Eog Lee from the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering at KAIST will discuss the education innovation solutions they are currently working on and how their projects will continue to develop.

National University of Singapore President Gan Eng Chye will also opine on how education could be more accessible. He will share what is exacerbating educational inequity and how to ensure an inclusive learning environment.

The second session will cover how to cope with the digital inequity.

Director General at the Ministry of Science and ICT Sang Wook Kang will explain the unavoidable online transition that is required to address the educational disruptions. He will also share his ideas on how this crisis can be leveraged to advance the educational environment.

Meanwhile, Rebecca Winthrop, senior fellow and co-director for universal education at Brooking Institution, and Sooinn Lee, CEO and Creative Lead of Enuma, will present on how to reduce the educational disparity during the un-contact era.

Director Joung-Ho Kim at the GSI, who is the organizer of the forum, said that KAIST has been the forerunner in the educational innovation. He hopes that this online forum will provide meaningful momentum to reshape the future of education by addressing the challenges and disruptions this pandemic has caused.

KAIST
http://www.kaist.ac.kr

Press Contact:

Younghye Cho
kaistpr@kaist.ac.kr
younghyecho@kaist.ac.kr

Related Links :

http://www.kaist.ac.kr

PR Newswire

CDEL Announces Formation of Independent Special Committee to Review Preliminary Non-Binding Proposal to Acquire the Company

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BEIJING, June 22, 2020 — China Distance Education Holdings Limited (NYSE: DL) ("CDEL", or the "Company"), a leading provider of online education and value-added services for professionals and corporate clients in China, today announced that its board of directors (the "Board") has formed a special committee (the "Special Committee") consisting of Ms. Carol Yu and Ms. Annabelle Yu Long, each an independent director, to review and evaluate a previously-announced non-binding proposal that the Board received on June 8, 2020 (the "Proposal") from Mr. Zhengdong Zhu, co-founder, chairman of the Board and chief executive officer of the Company ("Mr. Zhu"), Ms. Baohong Yin, co-founder of the Company, deputy chairman of the Board and the spouse of Mr. Zhu, and their affiliated entity (collectively, the "Buyer Group"), to acquire all of the outstanding ordinary shares of the Company, including ordinary shares represented by American depositary shares (the "ADSs", each representing four ordinary shares), for US$2.27 in cash per ordinary share, or US$9.08 in cash per ADS (the "Proposed Transaction"). The Special Committee has retained Goulston & Storrs PC as its United States legal counsel in connection with its review and evaluation of the Proposal.

The Company cautions its shareholders and others considering trading in its securities that neither the Board nor the Special Committee has made any decision with respect to the Company’s response to the Proposal. There can be no assurance that any definitive offer will be made, that any agreement will be executed or that this or any other transaction will be approved or consummated. The Company does not undertake any obligation to provide any updates with respect to this or any other transaction, except as required under applicable law.

About China Distance Education Holdings Limited

China Distance Education Holdings Limited is a leading provider of online education and value-added services for professionals and corporate clients in China. The courses offered by the Company through its websites are designed to help professionals seeking to obtain and maintain professional licenses and to enhance their job skills through our professional development courses in China in the areas of accounting, healthcare, engineering & construction, legal and other industries. The Company also offers online test preparation courses for self-taught learners pursuing higher education diplomas or degrees, and practical accounting training courses for college students and working professionals. In addition, the Company provides business services to corporate clients, including but not limited to tax advisory and accounting outsourcing services. For further information, please visit http://ir.cdeledu.com.

Safe Harbor Statements

This announcement may contain forward-looking statements. Any such statements are made under the "safe harbor" provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as "will," "may," "should," "potential," "continue," "expect," "predict," "anticipate," "future," "intend," "plan," "believe," "is/are likely to," "estimate" and similar statements. The Company may also make written or oral forward-looking statements in its periodic and annual reports to the SEC, in press releases and other written materials and in oral statements made by its officers, directors or employees to third parties. Statements that are not historical facts, including statements about the Company’s beliefs and expectations, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties. There can be no assurance that the Buyer Group will make any definitive offer to the Company, that any definitive agreement relating to the Proposal will be entered into between the Company and the Buyer Group or that the Proposed Transaction or any other similar transaction will be approved or consummated.

Contacts:

In China:

China Distance Education Holdings Limited
Jiao Jiao
Tel: +86-10-8231-9999 ext. 1826
Email: IR@cdeledu.com

The Piacente Group, Inc.
Xi Zhang
Tel: +86-10-6508-0677
E-mail: dl@tpg-ir.com

In the United States:

The Piacente Group, Inc.
Brandi Piacente
Tel: +1 212-481-2050
Email: dl@tpg-ir.com

Related Links :

http://ir.cdeledu.com

PR Newswire

New Oriental Announces Proposed Debt Offering

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BEIJING, June 22, 2020 /PRNewswire-Asia/ — New Oriental Education & Technology Group Inc. (the “Company” or “New Oriental”) (NYSE: EDU), the largest provider of private educational services in China, today announced the proposed offering of senior notes outside the United States in reliance on Regulation S under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”). The Company intends to use the net proceeds from the offering for general corporate purposes.

The joint bookrunners of the offering are BofA Securities and UBS AG Hong Kong Branch.

The notes will be offered outside the United States in reliance on Regulation S under the Securities Act. The notes have not been and will not be registered under the Securities Act or the securities laws of any other place, and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption from registration requirements.

This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to purchase any securities, nor shall there be a sale of the securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such an offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful.

This press release contains information about the pending offering of the notes, and there can be no assurance that any of the offerings will be completed.

About New Oriental

New Oriental is the largest provider of private educational services in China based on the number of program offerings, total student enrollments and geographic presence. New Oriental offers a wide range of educational programs, services and products consisting primarily of language training and test preparation, primary and secondary school education, online education, content development and distribution, overseas study consulting services, pre-school education and study tour. New Oriental’s ADSs, each of which represents one common share, currently trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “EDU.”

For more information about New Oriental, please visit http://www.neworiental.org/english/.

Safe Harbor Statement

This announcement contains forward-looking statements. These statements are made under the “safe harbor” provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as “will,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “future,” “intends,” “plans,” “believes,” “estimates” and similar statements. Among other things, the description of the proposed offering in this announcement contains forward-looking statements. New Oriental may also make written or oral forward-looking statements in its reports filed or furnished to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, in its annual reports to shareholders, in press releases and other written materials and in oral statements made by its officers, directors or employees to third parties. Statements that are not historical facts, including statements about New Oriental’s beliefs and expectations, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties. A number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement, including but not limited to the following: our ability to attract students without a significant decrease in course fees; our ability to continue to hire, train and retain qualified teachers; our ability to maintain and enhance our “New Oriental” brand; our ability to effectively and efficiently manage the expansion of our school network and successfully execute our growth strategy; the outcome of ongoing, or any future, litigation or arbitration, including those relating to copyright and other intellectual property rights; competition in the private education sector in China; changes in our revenues and certain cost or expense items as a percentage of our revenues; the expected growth of the Chinese private education market; Chinese governmental policies relating to private educational services and providers of such services; health epidemics and other outbreaks in China; and general economic conditions in China. Further information regarding these and other risks is included in our annual report on Form 20-F and other documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. New Oriental does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statement, except as required under applicable law. All information provided in this press release is as of the date of this press release, and New Oriental undertakes no duty to update such information, except as required under applicable law.

Contacts

For investor and media inquiries, please contact:

Ms. Rita Fong

Ms. Sisi Zhao

FTI Consulting

New Oriental Education & Technology Group Inc.

Tel: +852 3768 4548 

Tel: +86-10-6260-5568

Email: rita.fong@fticonsulting.com

Email: zhaosisi@xdf.cn

Related Links :

http://english.neworiental.org

PR Newswire

Blackbaud Customers Around the World Rely on Technology to Support COVID-19 Research and Innovation

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Higher education and healthcare institutions turn to Blackbaud solutions to power fundraisers for COVID-19 vaccines, lifesaving equipment

CHARLESTON, South Carolina, June 9, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — Blackbaud (NASDAQ: BLKB), the world’s leading cloud software company powering social good, is supporting key higher education and healthcare institutions around the world with the technology needed to effectively fundraise for COVID-19 research and essential equipment, including potential vaccine breakthroughs, low-cost ventilator production and methods to treat the virus and slow its spread.  

“Throughout the world, many of our customers are on the frontlines of COVID-19 relief and having the cloud software in place to support their missions has never been more critical,” said Mike Gianoni, president and CEO, Blackbaud. “We have been continually amazed by our customers globally and their ingenuity during this time and are proud to support their efforts through reliable and highly effective technology.”

Fundraising for COVID-19 Vaccine Research in Australia

Blackbaud recently helped the University of Queensland (UQ) in Brisbane, Australia launch a peer-to-peer fundraising campaign for COVID-19 vaccine research. Blackbaud’s leading peer-to-peer fundraising solutions enable social good organisations to quickly create fundraising campaigns driving current and new supporters to share their passion for an organisation’s mission. UQ researchers need to raise $4.5 million in addition to the support they’ve received from the government and philanthropic partners, to help them develop a vaccine to end COVID-19.

“We are incredibly grateful for Blackbaud’s support in our efforts to facilitate philanthropic giving to accelerate COVID-19 vaccine development at The University of Queensland,” said Jennifer Karlson, pro-vice-chancellor of advancement, University of Queensland. “The technology has been a critical gateway for the UQ community to give to this important cause.”

Learn more about the approach the UQ COVID-19 vaccine researchers are taking to quickly develop and manufacture a vaccine for the world.  

Pushing Toward Bioscience Breakthroughs in Manhattan

Within a month, supporters of The Rockefeller University donated more than $16 million for COVID-19 research, a testament to their confidence in the abilities of Rockefeller’s scientists and the relationships the university has built through its advancement team, which relies daily on Blackbaud fundraising and relationship management solutions, including Blackbaud CRM™ and Blackbaud Internet Solutions™. Beyond the total, the speed of the donations has been critical in this moment of world crisis, when time is of the essence, and federal grant funding could take months to secure. 

The Manhattan-based university – a research-driven institution that has seen 25 of its scientists receive the Nobel Prize – closed campus early on in the crisis, except for critical operations laboratories, which currently include 20 labs doing COVID-19 research. The labs are not only collaborating with each other but also across the scientific community, and in some cases internationally, to advance ideas to slow the momentum of the pandemic and identify new therapies. 

At the same time, Rockefeller’s advancement team members have used Blackbaud cloud-based solutions as they’ve worked remotely to educate their donor network on the university’s COVID-19 research and related needs. This falls in line with the informative way the university seeks to introduce new friends – providing lectures, seminars and community events to build an appreciation of their scientists’ work and the greater institution. While recent events have been canceled, postponed or shifted to virtual gatherings because of the pandemic, supporters have been encouraged to direct their table and ticket purchases to research, and to consider making an additional gift to support COVID-19 research, as well.

Learn more about Rockefeller’s fundraising success in the wake of COVID-19 and donation opportunities.

The Race to Create Lifesaving Ventilators in Canada  

In March, Blackbaud customer, the Montreal General Hospital Foundation and the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Center announced the Code Life Ventilator Challenge, a two-week sprint among engineering and scientific communities to gather the best ideas from around the world to design low-cost and easy to produce emergency ventilators. The challenge received hundreds of submissions from 94 different countries. Nine concepts were selected for an intensive round of testing and three finalists have emerged. The three finalists will receive $200,000, $100,000 and $50,000 CAD in compensation for their design and for sharing it with the world in the fight against COVID-19. Montreal General Hospital Foundation relied on Blackbaud Raiser’s Edge NXT® to power the fundraising component that has made this challenge possible. Montreal General Hospital Foundation is currently preparing a second challenge specifically to expedite refinement, cost-reduction and regulatory compliance of the final designs.

Stay up to date on the Code Life Ventilator Challenge by following updates here.     

To learn more about how Blackbaud is supporting its global customers during COVID-19, visit Blackbaud.com/COVID-19-resources.

About Blackbaud

Blackbaud (NASDAQ: BLKB) is the world’s leading cloud software company powering social good. Serving the entire social good community—nonprofits, higher education institutions, K–12 schools, healthcare organisations, faith communities, arts and cultural organisations, foundations, companies and individual change agents—Blackbaud connects and empowers organisations to increase their impact through cloud software, services, expertise and data intelligence. The Blackbaud portfolio is tailored to the unique needs of vertical markets, with solutions for fundraising and CRM, marketing, advocacy, peer-to-peer fundraising, corporate social responsibility, school management, ticketing, grantmaking, financial management, payment processing and analytics. Serving the industry for more than three decades, Blackbaud is headquartered in Charleston, South Carolina, and has operations in the United States, Australia, Canada, Costa Rica and the United Kingdom. For more information, visit  www.blackbaud.com or follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook.

Media Inquiries 
media@blackbaud.com

Forward-looking Statements

Except for historical information, all of the statements, expectations, and assumptions contained in this news release are forward-looking statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties, including statements regarding expected benefits of products and product features. Although Blackbaud attempts to be accurate in making these forward-looking statements, it is possible that future circumstances might differ from the assumptions on which such statements are based. In addition, other important factors that could cause results to differ materially include the following: general economic risks; uncertainty regarding increased business and renewals from existing customers; continued success in sales growth; management of integration of acquired companies and other risks associated with acquisitions; risks associated with successful implementation of multiple integrated software products; the ability to attract and retain key personnel; risks associated with management of growth; lengthy sales and implementation cycles, particularly in larger organization; technological changes that make our products and services less competitive; and the other risk factors set forth from time to time in the SEC filings for Blackbaud, copies of which are available free of charge at the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov or upon request from Blackbaud’s investor relations department. All Blackbaud product names appearing herein are trademarks or registered trademarks of Blackbaud, Inc.

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PR Newswire

World’s First Graduate-level AI University Appoints Renowned Experts to Leadership Team

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ABU DHABI, UAE, May 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence (MBZUAI), the world’s first graduate-level, research-based artificial intelligence (AI) university, has appointed two leading experts in AI, education and technology, to its leadership team.

Dr. Behjat Al Yousuf
Dr. Behjat Al Yousuf

Dr. Ling Shao has been appointed as Executive Vice President and Provost of MBZUAI. He will lead MBZUAI’s academic affairs and research, ensuring the University delivers world-class higher education and research in the field of AI. In addition to his role at the University, Dr. Shao serves as CEO and Chief Scientist of the Inception Institute of Artificial Intelligence (IIAI), an Abu Dhabi-based international research organization that is partnered with MBZUAI to supervise PhD students, curriculum development, and research collaboration.

MBZUAI has also appointed Dr. Behjat Al Yousuf as Executive Vice President for Outreach and Engagement. Dr. Al Yousuf, a highly accomplished Emirati expert, will oversee the University’s external partnership mission, including outreach with the broader community, government agencies, and industrial partners. She will support the development and implementation of AI research initiatives, as well as develop, oversee, and provide AI advisory and consultancy services to public and private sector organizations, including government agencies, large businesses, small and medium enterprises, and AI startups. 

Speaking on the leadership appointments, Professor Sir Michael Brady, Interim President of MBZUAI, said: “Our vision from the very beginning was to develop a world-class higher education institution that will set new standards in the field of AI. With Dr. Shao and Dr. Al Yousuf on board we have further strengthened our leadership team, which will steer our University towards becoming a global leader in our field, delivering the best possible AI education to students, and serving as a prominent partner for research.”

Dr. Shao said: “As the first establishment of its kind to focus solely on AI education and research, MBZUAI will play an important role in the future of our societies. It is a privilege to have the opportunity to guide the next generation of AI leaders.”

Dr. Al Yousuf said: “It is an honor to have the opportunity to further contribute to the UAE’s scientific and technology sector through the Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence. I look forward to leveraging the capabilities of the University while working with public and private sector entities within the UAE and across the world to find new solutions that will propel global society into an AI-empowered era.”

With the first academic year scheduled to start in January 2021, the University is in the process of vetting thousands of applications from more than 80 countries. The University Admissions Office will begin to send acceptance letters soon. 

MBZUAI will offer Master of Science (MSc) and PhD level programs to graduate students from across the world, while also engaging policymakers and businesses globally so that AI is harnessed as a force for positive transformation.

The University will provide all admitted students with a full scholarship, plus benefits such as a monthly allowance, health insurance, and accommodation. MBZUAI will work with leading local and global companies to secure internships and will also assist students in finding employment.

About Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence (MBZUAI)

MBZUAI is the world’s first graduate-level, research-based artificial intelligence (AI) university. Launched in October 2019 and located in Masdar City, Abu Dhabi, the University aims to empower students, businesses and governments to advance artificial intelligence as a global force for positive progress. For more information, please visit www.mbzuai.ac.ae.

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Dr. Ling Shao Executive Vice President and Provost at MBZUAI
Dr. Ling Shao Executive Vice President and Provost at MBZUAI
PR Newswire

Icelandic Genomes Elucidate Neanderthal Heritage of Europeans

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Archaic genetic fragments comprising nearly half the Neanderthal genome are circulating in the European gene pool today

The average European carries more than 500 such archaic fragments, including SNPs linked to prostate cancer risk, iron retention, blood clotting speed, and height

REYKJAVIK, Iceland, April 23, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — Scientists at deCODE genetics and colleagues from the Max Planck Institute and universities in Denmark and Iceland today publish in Nature the first study to use whole-genome sequence data from across a population to shed light on the present-day legacy of interbreeding between modern and archaic humans more than 50,000 years ago. In general terms, the findings support previous estimates that most people outside of Africa have approximately 2% archaic ancestry, predominantly the result of repeated contact and interbreeding between groups of Homo sapiens and multiple Neanderthal individuals. The results also show more significant than expected genomic fragments from Denisovans, another archaic human species that interbred with both Neanderthal and Homo sapiens.

Yet the principal significance of this study lies in the unprecedented magnitude of data that was used to understand the nature and impact of this archaic legacy. In its first phase, the study utilizes whole genome sequence (WGS) data from 28,000 Icelanders, nearly ten percent of the entire population, and 286 sub-Saharan Africans in the 1000 Genomes project. A limiting factor in previous studies has been an overreliance on searching modern genomes for sequence fragments derived from just three archaic individuals for whom we have good quality sequence data: two Neanderthals and one Denisovan. The authors here turn this approach on its head, using the African sequences as a baseline for Homo sapiens with no introgression from Neanderthals, and against which they compared the Icelandic sequence data. The resulting chromosomal fragments found in Icelanders but not shared by Africans comprise a vast catalogue of 15 million putative archaic fragments.

After combining identical and overlapping fragments, the authors identified more than 50,000 distinct archaic fragments covering 38-48% of the readable genome. These contain nearly 400,000 single-letter sequence variants, that are absent from the African samples. Intriguingly, in the Icelandic samples the authors identify nearly 300 “archaic deserts” where there are no archaic fragments; these cover nearly 25% of the genome, including the entire X chromosome.

To better understand the phenotypic impact of the archaic variants, the deCODE team examined them for association with 271 phenotypes in whole-genome data on 210,000 Icelanders. After winnowing suggestive associations in order to eliminate those driven be nearby non-archaic variants, they identified five archaic variants with genome-wide significant associations. One has previously been linked to decreased levels of prostate specific antigen (PSA) and risk of prostate cancer, but was not known to be of archaic origin; two decrease levels and mass of hemoglobin; a fourth increases the time it takes for blood to clot; and the fifth decreases height.

“Whether individually or collectively, our genome enables us to learn more about who we are by telling us where we come from. This paper is a kind of ancestry report for one branch of our species, and it’s telling us that in this particular neighborhood we are not just Homo sapiens but also the descendants of ancient archaic humans – cousin species whose lineage is thus not entirely extinct,” said Kari Stefansson, CEO of deCODE and a senior author on the paper. “We are scratching the surface of what this hybrid legacy means. What we know is that in the 50,000 years from their time to this, our adaptability and diversity have enabled us to mix and move, settle and thrive in every corner of the planet as they did not. In these dark days we would do well to remember that our differences are literally the mark of our success, and so to help each other as best we can.”

Based in Reykjavik, Iceland, deCODE is a global leader in analyzing and understanding the human genome. Using its unique expertise in human genetics combined with growing expertise in transcriptomics and population proteomics and vast amount of phenotypic data, deCODE has discovered risk factors for dozens of common diseases and provided key insights into their pathogenesis. The purpose of understanding the genetics of disease is to use that information to create new means of diagnosing, treating and preventing disease. deCODE is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN).

Contact:
Thora Kristin Asgeirsdottir
+354-894-1909
Thora.Asgeirsdottir@decode.is

The Neanderthal In All Of Us - Dr. Kari Stefansson and Dr. Agnar Helgason
The Neanderthal In All Of Us – Dr. Kari Stefansson and Dr. Agnar Helgason