Apple Makes New Donation to Teacher Training in Rural China
Toggle Dark Mode
Apple and company CEO Tim Cook have announced a new donation to the China Development Research Foundation (CDRF) fund, which works to expand education and environmental projects in rural China.
CDRF also organizes a climate conference. In 2024, Apple CEO Tim Cook spoke at the conference, discussing how Apple’s recycling process was already dependent on artificial intelligence.
The new donation is explicitly designated to aid CDRF in expanding its “Zhihui Gardener” project, which benefits teachers and students in China’s rural areas. The project launched in 2022, with an initial donation of 50 million yuan ($6.9 million) from Apple.
A Google translation of the Apple news release on its Chinese website cites Cook discussing the new donations.
“We firmly believe that education is a powerful force to create opportunities,” said Cook. “Through long-term cooperation with the China Development Research Foundation, we are committed to providing new learning opportunities for rural communities in China.”
“We are very happy to continue to work hard on the basis of bilateral cooperation, to provide teaching tools and training for more teachers,” he continued, “and tap into students’ potential to acquire key skills to adapt to today’s and future work.”
Apple’s announcement doesn’t include that amount of Apple’s new donation. Instead, the announcement emphasizes the company’s total commitment to the foundation since 2020, a total of 350 million yuan ($48.3 million).
The new donation will aid the China Development Research Foundation in expanding its “Smart Gardener” project to benefit additional students and teachers in rural areas.
“We sincerely thank Apple for its support over the years.” Fang Jin, Secretary-General of the China Development Research Foundation, said. “Digital technology is playing a role in revolution in education, and has brought about practical changes to teaching and learning in the classroom.”
The program is designed to provide teaching tools and skills training to primary and junior high school teachers in the rural areas of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and Guizhou Province. The program is intended to aid educators in bringing technology and digital skills into the classroom. Thanks to the program’s targeted training, pilot schools of the “Smart Gardener” project have seen educators show improvement in information technology, digital literacy, and innovative methods, using iPads and other tools to teach students.
The Zhihui Gardener project will expand to 30 countries in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and Guizhou Province over the next two years. The project will benefit 120,000+ teachers in the region, while other projects will help hundreds of thousands of teachers and students elsewhere.
“Before, we could only describe abstract mathematical theories through textbooks,” said Liang Xuehui, a math and science teacher at a rural primary school in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region with more than 19 years of teaching experience. “Now, by integrating new teaching modes and iPads into the classroom, the classroom content is more attractive, and the teaching results are more effective. This is not only for better teaching but also for students to maintain their curiosity, continue to explore, and learn more knowledge.
Apple has also partnered with the China Development Research Association to provide learning and development for thousands upon thousands of teachers and students across China and support several rural-targeted programs such as Smart Classrooms, One Village One Garden, China Children’s Development Fund, and Rural Children Digitalization Project.
