HP is stepping up to bridge 'the digital divide' in remote learning

As students across the globe continue their education online amid the coronavirus pandemic, HP is bridging the digital divide by providing technology to less fortunate educators and students. Michele Malejki, HP Global Head of Social Impact Programs, joins Yahoo Finance to share more.

Video Transcript

BRIAN SOZZI: As cases of the coronavirus rapidly increase, schools across the globe were forced to transition to online learning due to stay-at-home orders. But many students were left without the proper technology to do so. Michele Malejki hopes to change that.

She's HP's global head of social impact programs. Michele, good to see you this morning. HP and the HP foundation is donating $8 million to support recovery efforts through grants and products. What inspired HP to make that investment?

MICHELE MALEJKI: So, at HP, we have a true commitment to sustainable impact. And what that means is we're always around to support our planet, our people, and the communities where we live, work, and do business. And so, when we step back, you know, we actually think that this is an incredible, incredible and challenging time today.

We know that right now, as of this month, there are over 91% of students around the world who have had their schooling disrupted in some capacity. And what that means, Brian, just from a number's perspective, we're talking about 1.5 billion people. So, right now, we're in a very unique position to step up and support with our business.

And what that means is, when we step back and think about how do we reach students, how do we reach teachers, we keep hearing that they are hungry for content. And that content could come in a digital form, right. They're using their computers. They're accessing amazing content online.

And HP has stepped up with partners such as Time for Kids to think about how do we go about and bring this content online, make it free, make it freely accessible, and do that through the remainder of the school year. However, we also acknowledge that there's a whole other subset of this. And what I'm talking about is, really, the digital divide.

And this is where students, maybe, don't have access to devices at home. They don't necessarily have even internet in their home capabilities. And so what we've recently launched is an amazing program called HP Turn to Learn.

And we're working with different partners who include NASA, who include Britannica, and Time for Kids, again, to think about, how do we get their amazing content, take it from a digital capability, and work to get it onto our HP Piazza printing solution, work with our print partners, and get it into amazing printable bundles that then we can deliver to different schools across the United States and are looking to expand globally. And this is how we're able to bridge that divide for those who can access this content online and those who are able to get it in a printable format because never has there been a time that's been more relevant for printing than right now.

ALEXIS CHRISTOFOROUS: Michele, you know, I think that it's fabulous work that you're doing and, obviously, sorely needed throughout the world. Talk to me about post pandemic. I mean, I understand what you guys at HP are doing right now. But how might this spill over into education and be sort of a permanent thing for school systems and for students after this is over?

MICHELE MALEJKI: You know, I'm actually really glad you asked that question, Alexis, because, for us at HP, we have a commitment to education that's going to go far beyond COVID. To be frank, you know, there are 260 million kids right now that are not in school even without the pandemic.

And so, when we think about what this does, is it creates a real opportunity for us and all companies, really, to step up and think about, what are the long-term commitments that we want to see? How do we want to see companies working together? This is a great opportunity for us to think about, how do we support things like the sustainable development goals, work to achieve different things?

And that's why I love the role that I'm in at HP around corporate social responsibility is we can think about these long-term wins. And one of the things that I like to stress is, you know, when people talk about sustainability and they talk about the opportunity here, we're not just talking about philanthropy, right. There is a real business case to do what we do.

And, just to give you an example, you know, over 1.6 billion of HP's sales in 2019 were actually won thanks to sustainable impact and what we do as HP being a key differentiator for us. So there is a real long-term play here. And I think the other thing to really add to that is that, when companies make real crystal-clear and accountable commitments, this is something that shows that we're in it for the long run.

And, at HP, we've made a commitment to enable better learning outcomes for 100 million people by 2025. So this is stuff that's here before COVID and the pandemic. And it's going to be here as a commitment afterward as well.

ALEXIS CHRISTOFOROUS: Where do you see the greatest need right now? Is it geographic? Is it income level? I mean, where are you-- where's the bulk of the help and assistance going right now from your foundation?

MICHELE MALEJKI: So, right now, from our foundation side, we really are working with different organizations to think about how our grants can support things such as those who are needing just relief. You know, we've partnered with Direct Relief and thinking about how we can support their work across the country and thinking even globally. A lot of the programs that we have taken a real commitment to focusing on education for all and inclusive learning for all, thinking about this time of how do we support small businesses and bring opportunities to them.

And, for that, you know, we think about really targeting some of those who are the most underserved. For example, the HP Turn to Learn program, we've specifically focused on Title I school districts across the US. So we're supporting and working in our own backyard in places like Oakland. We're also bringing different content to places New York City such as different shelters that are supporting learners who are residents of domestic violence or have been facing problems with that. And so this is something that we're really trying to think about, how do we reach everyone everywhere as part of our company's overall commitment.

BRIAN SOZZI: Michele, before I let you go, one thing that caught my attention you are working on-- donating computers and equipment to a lot of low-income communities. Now that you're getting even closer into some of these schools, what are you seeing in terms of their technology? How outdated is it?

MICHELE MALEJKI: You know, I think that really depends on a case by case with different schools. And so what we are committed to doing is just making sure that we are listening, we're understanding what are the context on the ground, what do teachers need, what is going to be successful in those schools. And so, as an example, when we work with different populations around the world, we've been in places from refugee camps in places like Jordan and Lebanon and thinking about the requirements and the situations on the ground there.

But we're also working within the United States. We work with incredible partners. So there's an organization, the Global Business Coalition for Education. And we've partnered with them to work specifically with an organization called [? Copy ?] [? Adopt ?] in DC and in the Houston area, who are able to take our resources, our technologies, and help bring them to those who are in the most need. And this is all done by listening to our partners and understanding what they're looking for and how we can solve that as a company.

BRIAN SOZZI: Well, your team is doing some tremendous work, I will say that. Michele Malejki, HP global head of social impact programs. Thanks for taking a few minutes. We'll talk to you soon.

MICHELE MALEJKI: Thank you.