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Edge Support Association, co-founded by Mr Pokky Choi Poi-ki (Alumnus of EdUHK) and his partner Mr Ikey Cheung Ho-yuen, is a start-up launched with the support of the seed money from the University’s Education and Social Entrepreneurs (EASE) Fund Scheme in 2019. The team is the first-of-its-kind service provider to offer systematic solutions, through the “Efficacious Support for ALL (ESA) Platform” developed by them, to address social service gaps in education institutions. Recently, with the potential social values and economic impact of the ESA duly recognised, the Edge Support Association has been accredited by the Social Enterprise Endorsement (SEE) Mark launched by the Hong Kong General Chamber of Social Enterprises.
Both Mr Choi and Mr Cheung, who are also guest lecturers at the University, share the same observation that there are social service gaps in terms of the provision of special educational needs (SEN) services. However, it is difficult for schools to make an informed decision under the current procurement procedures such as tendering or competitive bidding (e.g. service quality may not be guaranteed by the lowest bid). Moreover, the tendering or bidding process creates workload for teachers and/or relevant officers in schools. Therefore, with support of the seed money from the University’s EASE Fund Scheme, the team has been developing their novel interactive “Efficacious Support for ALL (ESA) Platform”, which collects authentic information on service providers’ track records and administers pre-qualification assessments for new service providers, to provide information on quality and verified user feedback. It enables schools to select quality external SEN services and other educational services for students, such as school-based speech therapy sessions, individualised trainings, and counselling services, with reduced workload.
The team has just completed the initial phase of the project, which is a consultancy collaboration with I-WELL for determining the preliminary matrix and methodology benchmarks of the ESA platform. In addition to providing professional consultancy services, I-WELL helped the team coordinate focus group interviews with school professionals and service providers regarding the platform. After inputting all the collected data to the platform, the next key milestone for them is to recruit pilot schools to join the project, with the pilot expected to commence in October 2020.
Alumnus Choi said, “We are thankful for the entrepreneurial resources offered by the University’s KT Sub-office, which enabled us to get recognised in the education and start-up industries. The support ranges from seed funding to realisation of our business ideas, as well as marketing and networking opportunities, such as exhibiting our project in the Learning and Teaching Expo and the HKTDC Entrepreneur Day.”
The Social Enterprise Endorsement (SEE) Mark, launched by the Hong Kong General Chamber of Social Enterprises, is an accreditation scheme aiming to enhance public recognition in social enterprise’s value, with a mascot label with red glasses to help the public identify quality social enterprise easily.
For more information about Edge Support Association, please click here.
From left: Mr Pokky Choi Poi-ki (EdUHK Alumnus) and Mr Ikey Cheung Ho-yuen, co-founders of Edge Support Association
Introduction of the ESA Platform
Social Enterprise Endorsement Mark
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