[ASK-Y] Session 5: Why Does Education (Still) Matter?

The New Disruptors: Basic and Higher Education

December 6, 2021 — Following our previous session, "Why Can't We Understand Each Other? | The New Disruptors: Culture and Media," Asia Society Korea held the fifth session of our Asia Society Korea Youth (ASK-Y) program on education and sustainability.

Does education still matter? Some think providing the right information and learning can not only change people's values and behaviors but also encourage them to adopt more sustainable lifestyles. The transformative power of education lies in its ability to lift people out of the cycles of poverty, malnutrition, and disease that impact countless communities worldwide.

Asia Society Korea Executive Director Yvonne Kim invited H.E. Nguyen Vu Tung, Ambassador of Viet Nam to the Republic of Korea, H.E. Sripriya Ranganathan, Ambassador of India to the Republic of Korea, and Faye Sahai, Managing Director at Vinaj Ventures, to discuss why education may still be the answer to some of the most pressing challenges of our times — and how we may improve the system where it's failing our students.

Moderated by Hwa Pyung Yoo, co-founder of Enspire, Jasmine Park, MA student at Seoul National University, and Gabriela Mayte Souza Pinedo, BA candidate in Informatics at Yuan Ze University, the panel discussion touched upon a range of questions including but not limited to the role of education, the gap between traditional institutions of learning and the skills demanded in the job force, spillover effects of COVID on education, and what role technology can play to move us forward.

H.E. Nguyen Vu Tung, Ambassador, Embassy of Viet Nam

A career diplomat, Ambassador Nguyen Vu Tung, assumed his role as the eighth Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam to the Republic of Korea in August 2020.

Prior to this position, Ambassador Nguyen was the President of the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam (DAV) since September 2016 where he served as Vice President of the academy the year before. Previously, Ambassador Nguyen served in various positions including Director General of Institute for East Sea (South China Sea) Studies; Director General of Institute for Strategic and Foreign Policy Studies from March 2014 to July 2020; Minister and Deputy Chief of Mission at the Embassy of Vietnam in the United States of America from July 2010 to January 2014.

Ambassador Nguyen received his BA in International Relations and Diplomacy from IIR in 1986; MA in International Law and Diplomacy from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University in 1997; and Ph.D. in Political Science from Columbia University in 2003.

He is married to Trinh Tu Lan, the Consul General of Vietnam in Canada and he has one daughter who is a Fulbright Scholar.

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H.E. Sripriya Ranganathan, Ambassador, Embassy of India

Ambassador Sripriya Ranganathan is a career diplomat who joined the Indian Foreign Service in 1994, immediately after obtaining her Masters’ Degree in History, with specialization in Modern Indian History, from Delhi University.

During her career, Ambassador Ranganathan has held a variety of positions in New Delhi and abroad. She served in Myanmar as the second in command at the Embassy of India, Yangon. Her other overseas postings were in Ankara and Hong Kong. During her multiple years’ experience in headquarters, she has served in various capacities in the Ministry of External Affairs as well as in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. She served as Joint Secretary (Director General) responsible for relations with Bangladesh and Myanmar. She has also headed the SAARC Division and the Policy Planning Divisions in the Ministry. Earlier, she served as Director in the Disarmament & International Security Affairs Divisions and as Under Secretary in the Administration and Europe West Divisions. In the course of her secondment to the Department of Commerce, she served in the Export Promotion (Agricultural Products) & the Trade Policy Divisions.

Ambassador Ranganathan speaks Tamil, Hindi, and English and has some knowledge of Turkish. She is deeply interested in issues relating to women’s leadership and empowerment and tries to make time for activities related to these issues. Her other interests include reading, hiking, travel, yoga, and music.

Ambassador Ranganathan is married to Mukund Santhanam, a financial services professional. They have one daughter. They also have a dog.

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Faye Sahai, Managing Director, Vinaj Ventures

Faye Sahai is currently Managing Director at Vinaj Ventures, investing in digital wellness and behavioral health startups for young people with the telosity.co Fund and advising corporations on innovation. Prior, she has 25+ year experience in healthcare, financial institutions, and insurance innovation and investment executive at Kaiser Permanente, Schwab, AIG, Blue Shield and Deloitte Consulting and founded three of her own startups.

She has served an Advisor and Board member to over a dozen companies including UCSF Catalyst, ANA Innovation Advisory, Samsung Emerging Technology Advisory, Innovation Executive Forum, Summer Search, Autonomous ID, and Ascend Leadership NorCal Chair.

Faye has been recognized by Insurance Business Hot 100 and Elite Women in Insurance Business America, Ascend Leadership Award, Computer World’s Top Premier IT Leaders, Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Kaiser Permanente Asian Community and Innovation Enterprise Best Ideation Award.

A sought-after speaker, Faye has spoken to 40+ stages on global corporate innovation in technology, health care and insuretech to thousands of people. Faye has presented at Consumer Electronic Show CES, Chief Innovation Officer Summit, Venture Beat, The World Summit, UCLA, Monte Jade Science and Technology, Institute for Health Technology Transformation, C200, Alchemist Accelerator, Plug & Play, EY Disruptive Innovation, Innovation Enterprise, Silicon Valley Innovation Summit, Worth Conference, Insure Disrupt, CDX Silicon Valley Brand Innovation Summit, Women in IT, WITI, Financial Services Women, Anita Borg, Computer World, IDG Agenda 20 and others.

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