NEW YORK, Sept. 12, 2019 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Prodigy Learning, the Dublin-headquartered multi-award winning education technology (EdTech) business announces the opening of its US headquarters located in New York City. Today's news builds on the Company's recent announcement of its entry into the US education market with the launch of 'Coding in Minecraft' - a revolutionary new computer science curriculum, skills assessment and credentialing program developed by Prodigy Learning.
Certiport, a Pearson VUE business and the leading global provider of online examinations and testing, was announced in July as the distributor of 'Coding in Minecraft' initially in the United States and then through the 12,000 Certiport Authorized Testing Centers worldwide.
With existing offices in Dublin, London and Sydney, today's development adds to Prodigy Learning's international footprint and provides a global platform in the fast-growing EdTech sector.
Commenting, Prodigy Learning CEO, Andrew Flood, said: "We are delighted to establish our US presence in New York with 'boots on the ground' to support our great US partner, Certiport, and customers in the region. The United States education market is a massive opportunity for us. The sheer scale of the US school going population with over 56 million K-12 students and the growing demand for digital skills, including coding, presents a deep market for our education products, including 'Coding in Minecraft' which we have just launched in partnership with Certiport," he said.
Mr. Flood said: "The technology sector is global and without frontiers. Skills requirements, particularly in computer science, are also shared. Our future as an Irish technology firm is built around growing our international customer base and driving export-led revenue growth, but all from our core Irish management and product development base. Over 70% of our revenue is export-driven with the UK our largest market. This international expansion allows us to further diversify our business in the face of significant market uncertainties closer to home, principally surrounding Brexit."
Prodigy Learning works with Enterprise Ireland, the Irish State agency that partners with Irish enterprises to help them start, grow, innovate, and win export sales in global markets.
This Monday, September 9th, the Irish Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation, Heather Humphreys will attend an event at the Rockafeller Center, NYC, to mark the opening of Prodigy Learning's New York office. At the event, Minister Humphreys will discuss the impressive success of Irish companies in the U.S and the support they have had from Enterprise Ireland.
In the past year two years alone Enterprise Ireland-supported companies opened 119 new offices in the U.S. Minister Heather Humphreys is in New York and Nashville this week to engage with key decision makers in the healthcare, engineering and construction, agritech and ICT sectors to raise the profile of the innovative capabilities of Enterprise Ireland-supported companies and the world class solutions they provide.
"Market diversification has never been more important than it is now with Brexit on the horizon. Irish companies already make a significant impact to the US economy, but I want to see that footprint growing even further," said Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation, Heather Humphreys. "In the coming days, I will be engaging with key decision makers at the highest levels in Government and industry in Nashville and New York. My key goal will be to promote Ireland as both a source of world-class products and services and as a world-leading destination for FDI."
Commenting, Julie Sinnamon, CEO, Enterprise Ireland said: "Since establishing itself almost twenty years ago, Prodigy Learning continues to build scale and break into new global markets. Not only is it an award-winning exporter contributing to Ireland's overseas footprint, but it is providing a software product that will ultimately inform a whole new generation of innovators and teach them skills that will fuel their creativity.
"Ireland's ed-tech industry and digital economy is primarily driven by companies such as Prodigy, that are continuing to expand and attract buyers and partners in some of the world's best markets. We are thrilled about the meaningful impact that Prodigy is having on the digital software sector worldwide, especially given the obstacles that Irish SMEs are facing.
"Their continued success reminds us that despite these challenges, with the right business strategy they can be overcome and eventually they can lead to real opportunities for growth."
Having built up a significant presence in the Irish market since incorporation in 2000, Prodigy Learning successfully expanded into the UK with its London office in 2008, started serving European partners from its Dublin base in 2016 and, most recently, opened its Sydney, Australia office in 2017. All geographies are now core components of the business. The Company was recently announced as 'Certiport EMEA Partner of the Year 2019' and received the Exporter of the Year Award sponsored by Enterprise Ireland at the SFA Awards 2019.
About Coding in Minecraft
Coding in Minecraft is a new computer science curriculum, skills assessment and credentialing program delivered through Minecraft: Education Edition with assessments hosted on Microsoft's Azure cloud computing platform. It has been developed by Prodigy Learning to break down barriers for both students and teachers and transform the uptake of computer science in schools.
Through game-based learning, children from aged 9 to 16 are introduced to coding through an immersive, collaborative and creative environment that opens opportunities to fulfilling careers in technology. By earning evidence-based credentials, students are positioned to continue their path to a rewarding computer science education and industry recognized certification programs such as Microsoft Technology Associate (MTA).
Coding in Minecraft has been piloted among 114 schools, 200 teachers and 4,000 students in the U.K. and U.S. over the past 12 months.
For access to a free demo and to learn more about Coding in Minecraft visit: http://www.codingcredentials.com.
About Prodigy Learning
Prodigy Learning (Prodigy), is a multi-award winning global EdTech business providing digital skills certifications and learning solutions for Adobe, Autodesk, Microsoft and other technologies. These IT certifications deliver job-ready skills, improving employability for students and productivity for employees.
Prodigy was established in 2000 and now has offices in Dublin, Ireland, London, UK, Sydney, Australia and New York, United States. To learn more, visit http://www.prodigylearning.com.
"Certiport" is a registered trademark of NCS Pearson, Inc. in the United States and other countries. The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.
"Minecraft" is a trademark of Mojang Synergies AB. Not an official Minecraft Product. Not approved by or associated with Mojang.
Press Contacts:
New York
Sharon Sorohan
Brand Definition
503 412 9985
sharon(at)brand-definition.com
Dublin, Ireland
Jim Devlin
Cunningham Devlin Communications
+ 353 87 2631057
jim(at)cunningahmdevlin.ie
Aisling Ni Cheallaigh
Prodigy Learning
+353 1 293 2924
anc(at)prodigylearning.com
SOURCE Prodigy Learning
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