A Conversation with Cicy Ding, Co-founder and Head of Education at WuKong Education
2023 EdTechX Award Winner — Americas Region
Recognised as the recipient of the prestigious 2023 EdTechX Americas Region Award, WuKong Education is uniquely addressing EdTech’s largest regional market. Their innovative approach combines cutting-edge technology and academic rigor to inspire students and foster their educational growth. We had the privilege of speaking with Co-founder and Head of Education, Cicy Ding, to gain deeper insights into the company’s initiatives and their dedication to empowering students’ learning experiences.
Can you tell us about your background and how you came to start WuKong Education?
When my family moved from China to New Zealand, it was important for my daughter to learn her native Chinese language. I soon discovered that while New Zealand embraced innovative educational practices, the country had few Chinese language instructors. That’s when I began searching for an online learning solution that would deliver the best of both worlds — with accomplished teachers of the Chinese language employing the latest, evidence-based teaching methods.
After weeks of searching, I couldn’t find the solution I wanted. I turned to my friend Vicky Wang, who comes from a family of educators, has worked in Edtech, and holds a natural passion for education. Vicky helped me research schools, even interviewing principals of Chinese schools to find the right fit for my daughter.
In discussing the findings of her research with Nicky Shang and me, we realized that families worldwide were facing similar challenges. Not sharing your first language with loved ones is difficult, and not passing it on to your own child can be especially hard. As parents, we expect exceptional value for our children’s education and language skills. Online education is everywhere. But interactive, personalized online learning with top-rated teachers wasn’t available yet.
With my interest in developing a comprehensive online learning platform combined with Vicky’s passion for learning and Nicky’s business background, we launched WuKong Education in 2016 to solve this problem.
What is WuKong Education’s mission and what is your vision for the organization?
At WuKong Education, our mission is to create opportunities for students to learn or enhance their language and math skills, and as we like to say, ‘unleash their inner genius.’
We carry out this mission by delivering global, student-centered online education in Chinese, English, and math. Our platform combines a mix of computer-based and live teaching modules that give students the flexibility to learn anytime, anywhere. Plus, we make sure it’s easy for children to navigate and ignore online distractions so they can focus on learning.
Looking ahead, I see us expanding our platform to evolve with education trends and the capabilities of new technology to offer more personalized learning. Given the company is still in its early stage, it will be interesting to watch the development of our students over the years, especially ones who started using the platform at just 3 years old.
Like the example I gave of my daughter, some users join the platform to learn their ancestral Chinese language. I’m excited to get to the point where our current students are passing the platform on to their own children.
What momentum have you seen most recently?
We experienced some exciting momentum in the past few months! We closed series B fundraising, led by Marcy Venture Partners and Bessemer Venture Partners. We’re also excited to see investments from individuals — specifically, “American Born Chinese” actor Daniel Wu, and Super Bowl Champion Bobby Wagner.
Many of our investors have children who use WuKong Education’s platform and have witnessed its impact firsthand. It’s been great to receive support from partners who share our passion for delivering high-quality, accessible online education on a global level.
Our next goal is to continue our global growth and enhance our platform. The United States is currently our biggest market, so we’re excited to now house our headquarters in Silicon Valley to further our expansion and be closer to our largest customer base.
What makes online learning effective (specifically for children)?
While statistics show that online learning can help students retain between 25% and 60% more information, it’s important not to take that at face value. The effectiveness of online learning really depends on the platform being used.
We witnessed this first-hand in 2020 when the world suddenly pivoted to online education, forcing students and parents to adapt quickly. Whether it was a simple platform not designed for digital education or an online platform that was education-specific, students struggled to focus and parents had to help bridge the gap.
Since then, we learned what makes online learning truly effective. And digital transformation of recent years has helped us get there. The key is to personalize education and give students the flexibility to learn at their own pace via their preferred learning style. Making these lessons engaging helps instill in them a lifelong love for learning. Research shows that students retain 25% more knowledge with gamified learning. This sets them up for success, giving them the confidence to achieve their academic goals from an early age and prepares them for higher education and future careers. That’s why our WuKong Education platform is so effective — it leverages the best of both live group and 1-on-1 classes, along with self-paced learning, to deliver interactive, collaborative, and personalized instruction.
What differentiates WuKong Education from other online learning solutions?
Online learning platforms are successful when they personalize instruction according to students’ needs. While technologies such as AI and big data can help track student learning behavior and results, an effective platform also incorporates the expertise of accomplished teachers to create courses around standard learning processes as well as state and national standards. That’s what sets WuKong Education apart from the rest.
Our platform takes advantage of proven education technology, from AI and large language models to data analytics. We also collaborate with more than 4,000 teachers around the globe to develop inquiry-based online education, teach live group classes, and work one-on-one with students. This way, we ground our platform in evidence-based, child-friendly approaches that develop students’ initiative for learning, spark interest in their classes, and achieve better learning outcomes. Now, parents won’t have to closely monitor their children to make sure they understand the curriculum and complete assignments. They can trust that the learning platform will adjust based on where students are facing challenges, so they can make steady progress and achieve long-term goals.
How does the WuKong Education platform keep students engaged?
Our platform leverages a multi-pronged approach to engaging students. We use technology such as AI, large language models, and data analytics to personalize instruction according to students’ needs. This ensures the course appropriately challenges students.
Additionally, our programs include a mix of online live classes and self-paced, interactive learning, so students never get bored with just one mode. Our network of accomplished teachers develop content according to learning standards and work one-on-one with students to add a personal element to the platform.
We design our digital content to feature engaging characters and stories that take students on a journey, mirroring the storylines of popular children’s movies. This objective has always been a priority for my co-founders even at the early stages of the company when we had to choose a name. After much brainstorming, we decided on “WuKong Education” after “Sun Wukong,” the legendary Monkey King character from ancient Chinese literature. Sun Wukong embodies the same qualities of integrity, bravery and kindness that we hope to instill in our students every day. Centering our platform around this character reminds us to create consistent content that engages and ultimately inspires students.
What trends do you see impacting the future of education? What role do you think technology will play in that?
Researchers predict the global K-12 online tutoring market will increase by more than $97 billion by 2027. While educators have prioritized catering to different learning styles for many years, it can be a challenging goal to achieve in a classroom with 20+ students. During the 2020 worldwide shift to online learning, parents could see first-hand the importance of personalized instruction. It’s likely we’ll see more families turning to online platforms to supplement their children’s in-person learning in a flexible way that’s tailored to their unique needs.
That’s where technology will come into play. As the demand for personalized learning platforms grows, AI and large language models will support that need for a more individualized approach to learning. As platforms gain the ability to collect more data on student learning habits, the use of AI algorithms to interpret that data will become more critical and will help support even greater personalization.
WuKong Education is now headquartered in Silicon Valley. How do you believe your online learning solution will stand out as a global brand?
Our solution stands out on a global level for its ability to deliver personalized, engaging online educational content that combines both computer-based and human-based instruction. Many online programs on the market lack the teachers, technology and worldwide breadth to deliver courses that meet these standards.
By having our live teachers establish a learning plan that works for each child’s preferences and strengths, we set students up for success and help instill in them a lifelong passion for learning. Children gain an early understanding of how to pace themselves to achieve rewarding results, which in turn sets a strong foundation for their academic future.
While our courses support students in language and math, we also build students’ broader critical thinking skills by incorporating inquiry-based learning into our curriculum. What does this look like? We engage students with challenges that activate previous knowledge and provoke questions. We explore these challenges and generate new ideas. We explain the answer and apply new knowledge. We elaborate on new knowledge by using it in new situations, deepening learning. We evaluate what students learn through student reflection and assessment.
