Twenty years of international education, nearly 500 educators, and teachers from 38 countries and regions: the 2024 Dipont Annual Conference was an event to remember. On August 26 and 27, managers and teachers from more than 30 of Dipont’s international curriculum centers gathered at the InterContinental Hotel in Wuxi.
The theme for this year was “20 Years of Dipont, Education for Tomorrow.” As well as bringing new and returning teachers together, the conference marked a major milestone: 20 years of Dipont running and managing international high school programs.
Twenty years of leadership
Running international curriculum centers is one of Dipont’s most established and important areas of work. In 2003, Dipont became a Cambridge International affiliated center, and in 2004, working with the High School Affiliated to Renmin University of China, it set up the first international high school curriculum center to be registered with China’s Ministry of Education.
Over the following two decades, Dipont brought leading international curricula to outstanding Chinese high schools, developing proven systems for managing centers, curricula and international teachers. It was also the first to introduce US-style university and career guidance into Chinese public schools. These systems set a benchmark that many others in the sector have followed.
Building on this experience, in 2018 Dipont opened a new chapter, partnering with leading schools in China and overseas to launch its own K-12 schools, which bring together the best of Chinese and Western education.
Innovation for the future
CEO Zhang Bowen described Dipont as a company that thrives on innovation, and whose story is closely tied to the internationalization of education in China: a history full of change, opportunity and challenge.
Education is always moving forward, he said, and only continued innovation keeps an organization competitive. With a changing global landscape, tighter policy, a slower economy, falling birth rates and growing competition, Dipont must keep raising its standards and improving its services to meet the expectations of partner schools, parents and students. He thanked every member of the Dipont team for their dedication over the past 20 years, and encouraged everyone to embrace challenges, keep learning, reflecting and innovating, and help the next generation face an uncertain future with confidence.
Five commitments to quality
Stephen Fulton, Director of Education for Dipont’s high school programs, then gave a talk titled “Where we are now, where we are going, and how we are going to get there.” Reviewing the academic quality team’s work over the past year, he set out five commitments at the heart of Dipont’s programs:
- Excellent teaching, so that every student receives the highest standard of education.
- Strong partnerships with everyone Dipont works with, to move education forward together.
- Professional development that helps teachers and students keep growing.
- Better and broader services to meet a wider range of needs.
- Continuous innovation, keeping Dipont at the forefront of international education.
Teachers then worked in mixed groups to share how these commitments play out in their own centers. Many discussions turned to the impact of information overload and AI on teaching, and how new technology can improve management, strengthen teachers’ skills and keep each center’s education world-class.
Nearly 70 workshops
Over the two days, managers and new and returning teachers ran nearly 70 workshops. Some focused on teaching across the A-level, IB and AP curricula, from lesson planning, classroom management, feedback and exam analysis to interdisciplinary teaching and project-based learning. Others brought colleagues together by role across cities and centers: leadership and management sessions for managers; an introduction to Dipont’s culture, and to life and work in China, for more than 100 new teachers; and sessions for center principals and university counselors to share their experience.
In its 15 years, the conference has grown from around 100 participants to nearly 500. This year, alongside international and bilingual teachers, Chinese teachers and university counselors from the centers were also invited, creating an even broader space to share ideas. The conference has become a place where teachers find career guidance, build confidence and put their beliefs about education into practice.
Looking ahead
The 2024 conference celebrated two decades of Dipont as a pioneer of international education in China and set a clear direction for the years ahead. Together with every one of its educators, Dipont will keep improving its teaching and services, giving students the resources to grow into future leaders with a global outlook and a strong sense of social responsibility.
