NAVER Whalespace Joins Hands with the Largest EdTech Company in Vietnam to Enter the Global Market
NAVER Whalespace Joins Hands with the Largest EdTech Company in Vietnam to Enter the Global Market
NAVER Whalespace Joins Hands with the Largest EdTech Company in Vietnam to Enter the Global Market
- On 26th, NAVER signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Phenikaa Group to build a smart learning environment in Vietnam
- Aims to optimize Whalespace as a localized EdTech platform … “Plans to expand growth potential at the global market driven by the technology which has been recognized by 17 provincial and metropolitan education offices in Korea”
- Expected to discuss the introduction of Whalebook in Vietnam … Qualcomm APAC CEO also attended to discuss the possibility of cooperation in device technology.
30th. August. 2022
NAVER Corporation (CEO Choi Soo Yeon) Whale will enter the global market with its advanced educational technologies.
At 3:00 pm (local time) on 26th, NAVER signed an MOU with Phenikaa Group, the largest Vietnamese Edu-tech company, to build a smart education environment in Vietnam using Whalespace and Whalebook. Le Anh Son, CEO of Phenikaa Group, and Kim Hyo, the head of NAVER Whale, attended the ceremony held at Phenikaa University in Hanoi, Vietnam, and signed the MOU.
Le Anh Son, CEO of Phenikaa Group, (left), and Kim Hyo, the head of NAVER Whale (right), are signing the MOU
Phenikaa Group is an IT ㆍEdTech company that operates IT businesses such as autonomous driving, operates Phenikaa University in Hanoi, Vietnam, as well as elementary, middle, and high schools, and develops learning management systems (LMS) and school transport systems.
Whalespace is set to become an EdTech platform optimized for the Vietnamese environment
NAVER and Phenikaa Group agreed to develop and release Whalespace, tailoring to educational sites in Vietnam. Whalespace is a platform that provides various educational solutions on the web, allowing users to utilize the solutions anywhere, anytime, using a single Whalespace account. In Korea, about 50 educational solutions are provided through Whalespace.
In particular, the administrator of Whalespace can determine the types and scope of solutions that members can use, and the ownership of data rights belongs to the educational institutes. Because schools can directly set solutions and interfaces they want to provide students and design education proposals based on data, Whalespace is gaining good feedback from educational institutions in Korea. In fact, 17 provincial and metropolitan education offices across Korea are adopting Whalespace, and the Chungcheongnamdo Office of Education is studying the possibility of developing personalized learning based on the data of Whalespace.
Based on this technological design, education offices in Korea also optimize and utilize Whalespace in their unique educational environment. Cases in point are I-TokTok, Meta School, and Majuon, the integrated educational platforms of the Gyeongsangnamdo, Jeollanamdo, and Chungcheongnamdo Office of Education respectively, in which Whalespace was developed by each office in accordance with the educational sites.
NAVER plans to provide opportunities to Korean EdTech solutions startups currently affiliated with Whalespace to enter the Southeast Asian markets, including Vietnam, as well as discuss establishing an active partnership and development with Vietnamese technology solutions companies.
Le Anh Son, CEO of Phenikaa Group, and Kim Hyo, the head of NAVER Whale, are taking a photo. The far left is Qualcomm’s APAC President Kwon Oh Hyung, and the far right is the President of Phenikaa University Nguyen Phu Khanh who attended the ceremony.
In addition, they will also discuss the possibility of adopting a device called “Whalebook,” which creates synergy when used with Whalespace. Oftentimes, educational solutions should be compatible with devices for their features to be used for various purposes. Since Whalebook is an optimized device for the Whalespace platform, it can promote richer learning activities to take place at the educational site. For example, the Whalebook allows a student to share his Whalebook screen with the teacher in real-time so that the teacher can review the learning progress and send handouts and materials online.
Kim Hyo, the head of NAVER Whale, said, "This MOU is a recognition of the global growth potential of NAVER’s EdTech business, which the company has been conducting in Korea," and “We will do our best to develop Whalespace into an open EdTech platform that embodies the educational characteristics of different regions around the world.” He further added, “With the growth of Whalespace, we will also work hard to make Whale browser a go-to browser of global users.”
Le Anh Son, CEO of Phenikaa Group, said, “NAVER Whale is equipped with both web and hardware technology, making this MOU a big stride in building a smart learning environment in Vietnam.” He added, “I hope we together can come up with the best solution to support future education not only in Vietnam but also in ASEAN countries.”
Meanwhile, Kwon Oh Hyung, senior vice president of Qualcomm and president of APAC, also attended the ceremony with much interest to discuss possible cooperation in device technology between NAVER Whalebook and Qualcomm. Kim Hyo, the head of NAVER Whale, said, "We will actively review if the Whalebook, as a connected laptop that reduces the cost of education and demonstrates high web performance, would be able to create synergy with Qualcomm’s products such as Snapdragon 7c Compute Platform."
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