HEI Schools signs agreement to bring Finnish Early Childhood Education studies to Malaysia

News Release: HEI Schools, a Finnish early education company, and SEGi Group of Colleges Malaysia have signed an agreement to cooperate in developing SEGi’s Early Childhood Education Diploma program in Malaysia. With this new partnership, the SEGi Group of Colleges will incorporate and use the content of the HEI Schools Teacher Certificate program in its 2.5 year ECE Teacher Diploma program across three college campuses (Kuala Lumpur, Subang Jaya, and Penang) beginning in June 2021. The students enrolled in SEGi’s 2.5-year Teacher Diploma program will receive the HEI Schools Teacher Certificate on progressive Finnish ECE when graduating from the program.

The HEI Schools Teacher Certificate program consists of ten modules that cover the principles of Finland’s early education pedagogy, from special needs and inclusion to play-based learning. Experienced Finnish teachers worked closely with Professor Lasse Lipponen from the University of Helsinki and other early education experts to create a cutting-edge online program. They utilized the latest educational research provided by the Department of Teacher Education at the University of Helsinki, which ranked 22nd in the world according to QS University Rankings. The SEGi students enrolled in the 2.5-year Teacher Diploma program will also receive HEI Schools Teacher Certificate when graduating.

Professor Lipponen commented, “I have had the privilege to lecture and connect with many early education professionals and academics in Southeast Asia, and I have seen first-hand the growing interest in Finnish early education in Malaysia and other countries in the region. The cooperation between SEGi Group of Colleges in raising a new generation of teachers in Malaysia is a great opportunity for growth on both sides, and I look forward to seeing where this partnership will lead.”

This is the first partnership SEGi has entered into with a Finnish education concept. SEGi has long been recognized as a premier leader in early childhood teacher training, championing professionalism in the early childhood industry since 1999. In 2011, the Malaysian government was appointed to champion the improvement of the nation’s preschool teachers under the Economic Transformation Plan (ETP). SEGi has also been on the executive committee of the Malaysian ECCE Council for the past ten years.

“We see this collaboration as part of our ongoing efforts to strive for educational excellence,” says Ms. Stella Lau, CEO,  SEGi Group of Colleges. “The HEI Schools Teacher Certificate program offers us a perfect platform for incorporating the successful Finnish ECE approach into our Early Childhood diploma. With the HEI program embedded nicely within our diploma, we are confident that our students will be immersed in a stimulating and powerful learning experience that impresses upon them the lifelong impact that they will have on young children. They will graduate with the confidence and skillsets that discerning employers seek, both within and beyond Malaysia. Early childhood practitioners in our country need more than just the mandatory Diploma in Early Childhood to make a difference, which is why SEGi has chosen to partner HEI Schools.”

Milla Kokko, Co-Founder, and CEO of HEI Schools, also commented: “At HEI Schools, our mission is to bring high-quality education to as many children and families in the world as possible. With this partnership, we will get much closer to achieving that goal and we cannot wait to get started.”

Students will begin enrolling in the SEGi Teacher Diploma program including the HEI Schools Teacher Certificate program in June 2021.

 

Professor Lasse Lipponen

 

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