Hujiang Founder Cairui (Arnold) Fu Ranks on the Global EdTech Index top 50

SHANGHAI, June 8, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The first comprehensive global listing of EdTech thought leaders, titled "Makers and Shakers of Education Technology Index", has been released by EdTechxGlobal in association with WISE, the World Innovation Summit for Education.

The lineup recognizes the top 50 EdTech innovators from Europe, the Americas, MENA and Asia. Salman Khan, founder of Khan Academy; Reshma Saujani, founder and CEO of Girls Who Code; and Anant Agarwal, CEO of edX are just a few of the celebrated "Makers and Shakers".

The founder and CEO Cairui (Arnold) Fu of Hujiang, China's online education unicorn company, is also on the list, named as one of the top 50 global innovators, together with four other Chinese EdTech leaders including TAL Education Group CEO Bangxin Zhang, Guokr founder and CEO Xiaohua Ji, iTutor co-founder and CEO Zhengda Yang and Netease Online Open Courses founder Ms. Zhennan Huan.

The 2016 international Index honors these luminaries who have introduced innovative ways of learning to the market through interactive designs by means of digital and physical technologies.

According to EdTechxGlobal, the "Makers" are defined as the rising stars of education technology, innovating and pushing boundaries for future success, and "Shakers", as established leaders in their regions, inspiring worldwide Edtech changes. Each "Maker" and "Shaker" is assessed by their individual visions, overwhelming innovations, impacts and contributions.

"This Index seeks to recognize thinkers and doers who have pioneered innovative approaches to addressing challenges in education," said Stavros N. Yiannouka, the CEO of WISE.

"The Makers & Shakers of Education Technology is a global index that elevates Education innovators and thought leaders as 21st Century social rock stars. The index rewards talent, creativity, impact and influence in education," added Benjamin Vedrenne-Cloquet, Co-Founder of EdTechXGlobal.

As for Carui (Arnold) Fu, a young Chinese man who comes from a small town, he has never dreamed of becoming a millionaire. Instead, he hopes to help as many people as he can.

In 2001, as a junior in college, Fu founded Hujiang as a non-profit online platform that helps people learn from each other. Through this platform, everyone is able to learn English freely.

Five years later, he started commercial operations with a founding team of 8 members and start-up capital of 80,000 yuan. The initial team members were mostly Fu's college schoolmates, friends and some of his users. Unexpectedly, the start-up capital was raised from almost all the team members and, what's more, the rest of the 20,000 yuan was even borrowed from the father of one of his schoolmates.

All along, Fu has clung to the idea that online education is crucial to promoting fair education across the board by creating more equal access to educational resources, and he has adhered to this idea for several years.

Today, Hujiang has become a unicorn company in the online education industry, a corporation with company valuation over 1 billion US dollars and which serves more than 100 million users.

About Hujiang (HUJIANG.COM)

As the world's leading online education company, Hujiang is dedicated to providing convenient, high quality and comprehensive online education products and services. Since its establishment, Hujiang has built 4 business units, including the website to provide online learning information, online studying community, mobile applications for study, and online course platforms, covering contents such as multi-language studies, K12 curriculum, study-abroad examinations, vocational skills and various arts.

SOURCE Hujiang