Malaysia-Finland: Forging Ahead Together, One Teacher & Student at a Time

The HundrED Education Innovation Summit 2024 recently took place from 12–14 November in Helsinki, Finland. Since its inception in 2016, HundrED has been dedicated to showcasing the importance of innovation in education and celebrating hundreds of innovators committed to improving the lives of students, teachers, and the wider education community. Each year, the organisation curates its Global Collection, featuring 100 of the brightest education innovations worldwide. The goal is to inspire impactful and scalable innovations that improve education while being mindful of diverse contexts and adaptability.

The summit aligns with Helsinki’s vision to position itself as an international Education Capital, sharing valuable insights to develop the future skills of children, young people, and adults globally. This year’s 7th collection continues to inspire a grassroots movement, helping pedagogically sound and ambitious innovations to spread and adapt across multiple contexts worldwide.

Among the innovators celebrated this year was Ms. Carol Yap Yee Yee, founder of YelaoShr from Malaysia, an inspiring change agent transforming the education landscape. Representing her pioneering program, "From Educator to Edupreneur," Carol captivated the global audience with her story of empowering teachers and reshaping education.

YelaoShr is a trailblazing education organisation that provides teachers with opportunities to establish their own education centers. The "From Educator to Edupreneur" program offers comprehensive support in curriculum, management, and professional development, ensuring teachers achieve fulfilling careers while delivering high-quality education.

Carol shared her journey of addressing a critical challenge: the financial instability faced by many teachers, which often forces them to leave the profession. Drawing from her experience as an after-school teacher, she envisioned a sustainable solution that would enable teachers to establish their own education centers with full support under the YelaoShr brand. Over two decades, this vision has grown into a network of 70 centers, offering stable careers for teachers and exceptional education for students across Malaysia.

In her presentation, Carol emphasised the broader mission of "From Educator to Edupreneur," highlighting the need to empower teachers not just as educators but also as entrepreneurs and changemakers. The program was initially shortlisted by HundrED’s Research Team from a pool of approximately 700 applications, alongside 243 other innovations. After being rigorously evaluated for its impact and scalability by a panel of education experts, the program earned a place in the prestigious HundrED Global Collection 2025.

Carol’s invitation to the summit was a recognition of her innovation’s significance, offering her a platform to connect with education innovators, experts, and stakeholders from around the world. It was an opportunity to share her knowledge of Malaysian education innovations while learning from global peers.

At the time of writing, Malaysia and Finland are working towards finalising a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in the field of Education and Research. Such a framework is expected to bridge the best practices in education between the two nations, benefiting forthcoming generations. We hope this collaboration will not only strengthen bilateral ties but also uncover and celebrate more inspiring innovators like YelaoShr in the future.

(Note: The writer is the Chargé d'affaires, Embassy of Malaysia, Helsinki.)