Persona Education partners with BenQ in the UK

Press Release
Bristol, UK, 23rd February 2023

BenQ and Persona Education have agreed a partnership linking the popular student personal development platform Persona Life Skills directly from the app store ‘BenQ Suggests’, available on over 3,000 interactive BenQ Interactive Displays installed in UK secondary schools and colleges.

Image: Persona Education

Persona Education, the online personal development provider, and BenQ, the interactive displays for education vendor, have entered a partnership in which the popular social-emotional learning platform, Persona Life Skills, will now be linked directly from BenQ’s app store ‘BenQ Suggests’. BenQ Suggests is accessible on over 3,000 interactive BenQ Interactive Displays* installed in UK secondary schools and colleges. 

Research shows that developing social-emotional skills – such as goal-setting, active listening, critical thinking and empathy – can have a significant positive impact on young people’s personal development, in social, learning and work contexts.

In July 2022 The Pearson School Report, representing the views of more than 6,500 educators in England, found two-thirds of teachers want to see core life skills, such as communication skills, social skills and responsible decision making, incorporated into the national curriculum.

An analysis by Public Health England of 213 UK schools found those with well-developed social-emotional skills programmes had 11% higher exam results.

A review of 17 research studies by The Centre for Education & Youth found a robust causal link between such personal development and improved wellbeing, and the Global Happiness Council has found employees with higher levels of wellbeing are 20% more productive.

BenQ Interactive Displays transform any classroom into a healthy learning space that maximises student engagement and enables impactful lessons. The displays increase involvement, making lessons more dynamic for students by allowing them to engage with the technology.

BenQ is the first interactive display provider to offer Persona Life Skills in the UK. Teachers and school leaders can now find out about Persona Life Skills with one touch of the interactive display, and choose to register for a free trial of the platform with a second touch.

Persona Life Skills is the popular online social-emotional learning platform with a unique personality insights framework at its heart, where students age 13-19 develop life skills that help to boost their wellbeing and employability. The platform guides students in developing 22 life skills grouped into six skillsets: 1. Being Realistic; 2. Communication Skills; 3. Open-mindedness; 4. Problem Solving; 5. Resilience; 6. Self-control.

Persona Life Skills was developed in response to widespread and deepening concern over teenager wellbeing and employability, with funding from Google and the UK government’s innovation arm UK Research and Innovation (UKRI).

To date, over 400 schools in 40 countries have signed up to use the platform with 114,000 students.

The platform offers a scaffolded, age-appropriate online learning curriculum for Year 9-13/Grade 8-12 (KS3, KS4, KS5) students, built around Persona’s personality insights framework rooted in behavioural science, and complementing existing school RSE, PSHE, life skills, careers and wellbeing curricula.

“One of the biggest challenges in education is the effective delivery of social-emotional skills and personal development for young people age 13 to 19. During these often difficult years for teenagers, it is a hugely important issue that has a direct impact on their academic attainment, careers and life satisfaction. Many schools and colleges lack expertise and resources in this area, and this partnership between Persona and BenQ will immediately give them and their students access to a ready-made resource that will help them address the problem,” said Pete Read, CEO and Co-founder of Persona Education.

Following the UK rollout, the partners will assess both uptake and impact and provide training and support to schools and colleges where needed. New content is added to Persona Life Skills each year, guiding students on tackling different life challenges, and this will be made available via the BenQ Interactive Displays as it becomes available.

The partnership is expected to be expanded to cover the Middle East, Asia, Africa and North America eventually, to help make the platform even more widely available, supporting BenQ’s mission of transforming modern classrooms and enabling hybrid learning.

* Note: RE03, RM03 and RP03 screens only.

ENDS

About Persona Education Ltd

Persona Education is a UK based edtech start-up developing life skills solutions for secondary students and educational institutions. Its web and mobile online learning platforms are built around a scientifically proven personality insights framework, that is social, practical and memorable. For further information contact info@persona-life.com or +44 (0)117 313 2897.