Timeliness

McGraw Hill has announced an exclusive partnership with Binary Logic, a leading company in Information Technology and ICT Education. According to a related announcement, the partnership is marked in order for the two sides to work together to enhance access to credible educational programs in Information Technology and ICT, with McGraw Hill becoming the exclusive distributor of Binary Logic’s leading solutions in English-speaking markets worldwide, including USA.

So students around the world will leverage McGraw Hill’s platforms and content to enhance their job market readiness and IT and ICT skills. By leveraging McGraw Hill’s reach, more educators will be able to gain access to Binary Logic’s core IT education materials – the only integrated blended learning curriculum for grades K-12 recognized with the ISTE Seal of Alignment of the International Society of Technology in Education.

The offer will provide flexible approaches to integrating IT and ICT into the classroom at every grade level and help students develop and apply essential technology skills, including programming and robotics. The new partnership will also allow educators to tap into a wide range of specialized curricula covering important technical and professional areas, such as Artificial Intelligence, programming and cyber security, as highlighted in a related announcement.

“Binary Logic’s range of high-quality educational resources in this area perfectly complements McGraw Hill’s existing curricula for the K-12 and professional education markets worldwide,” said Anthony Lorin, President of McGraw Hill International Group. “It is becoming increasingly important for students to develop skills in the software and technologies used in the workplace and academia to become digital citizens of the future. The creation of this partnership allows us to offer relevant and interesting solutions in an increased number of scientific fields in global markets where we see increasing demand from educators. We are excited to begin this new relationship with a company whose commitment to improving education and learning outcomes in a variety of settings mirrors our own.”

“Partnering with McGraw Hill is an important milestone for Binary Logic,” said Yannis Malkogiannis, CEO of MM Educational Group, which owns Binary Logic. “Its global reach and strong presence in the education sector worldwide and particularly in the US education community will enhance our ability to provide high-quality IT and ICT educational materials to a wider audience. This partnership will not only strengthen our ability to support school and vocational education, but also ensure that students worldwide are equipped with the essential digital skills necessary to succeed in today’s technology-dominated world. We are excited to join forces with a company that shares our commitment to advancing education and achieving meaningful learning outcomes.”

The world’s growing geo-economic fragmentation worsens the situation of a country heavily focused on exports, while Scholz is paralyzed by infighting within the majority. Germany at its worst in recent history.

What a difference two months make! In June, on the eve of the European Football Championship, the central topic of discussion in Germany and Europe was whether the tournament would bring sporting and organizational successes capable of restoring optimism to the country and giving new impetus to its struggling economy.

It’s early August and things have taken a very different turn. The Mannschaft, despite playing well, went out in the quarter-finals of Euro2024. The chaos of the German railways left an indelible mark on the memory of everyone – journalists, spectators and even footballers – who had anything to do with the event.

Above all, however, the economic indicators of the second quarter and July say that the Europe’s largest economy is stagnating again, indeed shrinking, while the business world is in a bad mood. And to stick to sports, the mediocre (by usual standards) tally of German athletes at the Paris Olympics almost sounds like a metaphor for this situation, where Germany was “relegated” to tenth place on the medal table.

Shrinking continuity

In the second quarter of this year the German economy started to shrink again: -0.1% compared to the same period in 2023. And even if the June figures are only based on forecasts and the coming weeks could hold surprises, it is clear that the optimism with which Germany started the year, when GDP grew by 0.2% in the first quarter, has faded.

This is confirmed by Ifo data, the index measuring business confidence and expectations for six months, which fell to 87% in July from 88.6% in June, and by the increase in unemployment, which last year month had more than 82,000 people losing their jobs, the second worst number in the last 20 years. Germany currently has 2.8 million unemployed, equal to 6% of the working population. Overall, the size of its economy is smaller than it was two years ago.

The question is not so much whether Germany, as it was in the late 1990s, is again the “big sick man of Europe”. The real issue is that in the absence of significant structural adjustments, as well as mindset, the country is destined to oscillate between hopes and disappointments, small signs of recovery and sudden falls, on a development path that is at best very tenuous. Nothing like what Europe needs, which, despite the current fog, continues to see Berlin as an economic engine and political beacon.

Negative factors

Germany is actually suffering the impact of five negative factors.

The shrinking of its workforce, i.e. the number of people aged between 15 and 64. The tiny percentage of public investment compared to GDP between 2018 and 2022: according to OECD – IMF data, among the sixteen countries with the highest income, Germany is second to last with 2.5%. Only Spain did worse, with 2.4%, but Italy is not doing well either, third from the bottom with 2.6%. Third factor, German per capita income compared to the US has decreased from 89% in 2017 to 80% in 2023. Fourth, Germany is still seriously behind in the digital economy, where in the Angela Merkel years it did not exist and was not never in strategic investments. Finally, the growing geo-economic fragmentation of the world, characterized by protectionist policies of the various blocs, has more serious consequences for a fully export-oriented economy and therefore dependent on world trade like Germany’s. Furthermore, with the US economy… freezing and the Chinese economy slowing, there is little or no prospect of a strong export-led German restart.

Instability is a catalyst

More serious is the catalyst, which is instability, which has gripped the political scene in Berlin for months, where the government led by Chancellor Olaf Solz has been paralyzed by infighting. Irene Soave said everyone was surprised by the story of liberal Transport Minister Volker Wissing’s letter to Ursula von der Leyen, where she called for changes to the rules on diesel emission limits, which risk putting 8 million vehicles out of service in Germany. However, it is far from clear whether Wissing is speaking for the entire government, while his green allies have opposing positions on the green transition. It wouldn’t be the first time in Brussels, where it’s a fashionable joke that if you talk to three German ministers, you feel like you’re talking to ministers from three different countries.

Ultimately, what tears the Berlin coalition apart is the budget issue, which contains the mother of all issues: namely whether or not to keep the Schuldenbremse, the fiscal brake that sets a limit on annual debt, which is considered anachronistic and harmful by all the economists. It is strongly defended only by liberals, for whom it is almost a matter of identity and survival. In June there appeared to be agreement on the maneuver, without touching the mechanism. After the summer holidays, in the light of what will happen in September, in the regional elections of Thuringia, Saxony and Brandenburg, the budget issue will explode again. And this time it could be very serious…

Source: TA NEA print edition