Tencent co-founder Dr Charles Chen believes in the power of education to create innovative individuals who are needed to drive the economy and solve the world’s most pressing problems.
The phrase ‘necessity is the mother of invention’ may be a common one but according to Dr Charles Chen, the co-founder of Chinese Internet giant Tencent, a more updated one may be more apt.
“Today, in a world where many people’s basic needs for survival have been met, to me ‘education is the mother of innovation,’” said Dr Chen, the inaugural speaker of the SMU Visionary Series Lecture that was held at the Mochtar Riady Auditorium on May 31.
He noted that researchers in Ghent and Cambridge have found that when individuals become better educated, they develop a more open mindset, which in turn increases a country’s innovation potential.
That innovation is needed not just for economic growth in a knowledge-based economy but for finding solutions to the biggest problems facing the world today.
One of the biggest achievements of the modern world is increased literacy rates and the widespread implementation of basic education, he said. This provides the foundation for young people to develop the self-esteem, confidence, and opportunity to connect with the fast changing world.
“It is through learning that we are able to break through our boundaries. Teachers help guide and empower young people to take risks by removing real and perceived barriers.
“Through learning, we develop an inquisitive mindset, the capacity to cooperate and collaborate, for self-learning, to experiment, to experience failure and to persevere to try again.”
The pool of educated and empowered young people will drive innovation, which relies not on just one person but many.
“Innovation is never a solo endeavour. When we think of innovation, we have a mental picture of a single lightbulb moment. But the truth is that innovation is a collaborative transformative mission of an industry that is never achieved by one person or one organisation.”
It also does not take place merely within one field of expertise but in a productive partnership across domains, he said.
However, for education to fulfil its role as the mother of innovation, educators and policymakers need to know how to create an education ecosystem that creates a supportive environment for innovation.
To help with this effort, the Yidan Prize Foundation — which Dr Chen started — commissioned the Economist Intelligence Unit to produce a report on education systems around the world to find out which were the most effective.
In the 2018 report, small, globally connected economies like Finland, New Zealand and Singapore were cited as good examples of what that ecosystem should look like: “Their key success factors are strong comprehensive policy, well-trained teachers and strong assessment frameworks to test for students’ future skills,” he noted.
Dr Chen highlighted Singapore’s achievements in particular. “I would like to applaud you for the perfect performance in the coverage of 21st century skills in your national education policy. Your effort in reviewing your education policy by giving considerable attention to future skills, putting in place an extensive, developed framework that emphasises problem-based learning and adjusting the scoring system for university entrance to consider factors beyond grades is admirable,” he said.
He noted that different countries produce different results and as such, there are gaps. To help bridge the gap, the foundation set up the Yidan Prize to recognise people whose work in education is “future-oriented, innovative, transformative and sustainable.“
Professor Carol S. Dweck, a professor of psychology at Stanford University, is one of the Prize’s inaugural laureates. Prof Dweck’s research showed that people can be placed on a continuum based on where they believe their abilities come from.
People with a fixed mindset believe that their basic abilities, intelligence and talent are fixed whereas people with a growth mindset believe their talent and abilities can be developed through efforts, persistence and good teaching.
She also showed that students with fixed mindsets can change and have growth mindsets.
“The implications of her work are far reaching,” said Dr Chen. “She has shown us not only the generative potential for students in school but also the limitless potential for humanity.”
In his talk, Dr Chen also drew on Taoist philosophy to highlight the importance of education. He noted that according to Taoism, the world was created when the tau begets one, the one begets two, the two begets three, and three begets infinity. Extending this idea to the sphere of education, he said that likewise, after one person is educated, the impact eventually extends far beyond that individual.
“None of the major developments we see in the world today are created by one or two people. Each member of society, no matter how insignificant he or she may seem, holds the infinite potential for making the world a better place.”
To the assembled audience, Dr Chen said: “Be bold. Dare to take risks. Never doubt you hold the key to infinity.”
Dr Chen’s talk was held just a day after he defended his PhD thesis which was entitled ‘Toward a holistic approach of evaluating higher education institutions’. Dr Chen enrolled in November 2016 in the Doctor of Business Administration programme in a PhD programme offered by the Lee Kong Chian School of Business (LKCSB) together with Beijing’s Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business.
Following his talk, Prof Gerry George, the Dean of LKCSB, provided the closing remarks and acted as the moderator for the question-and-answer session that followed. During the session, Prof George asked Dr Chen to talk about his learning journey and about his experience with overcoming failure.
Dr Chen spoke about not doing well at the college entrance examinations in China and as a result, he did not end up going to his dream school. In addition, while he wanted to study banking, he ended up in Chemistry instead
Despite this, he made the most of his time at Shenzhen University and joined many campus activities. It was there that he met the woman who would later became his wife.
“I feel that we can be positive about challenges or disappointments. These can be used to learn. Failure and challenges can provide nutrition for us.”
