Chloe Conway Yr11 student from The Herts and Essex High School chose the evocative topic of globalisation to research whilst on her virtual work experience placement. 

In the modern day, globalisation shares a hand in hand relationship with technology. From technology enabling us to easily communicate with each other, to technology processing our data faster than ever before; technology has sky rocketed globalisation in the recent decades. This somewhat complex phenomenon has led to the world now being called by many as a “global village”. To put it in perspective how far globalisation has developed, would you believe that back then, it took 1000 years for the invention of paper to travel from China to Europe? However now in a matter of seconds, a message can be sent to the other side of the world to whom you may desire, at any time of the day.

Estonia is a small country with a population of just over 1.3 million. Since its separation from the Soviet Union in 1991, the independent nation has been revolutionary in becoming a leader of digital innovation in Europe by allowing entrepreneurs to set up a digital identity without having to visit its country. 

Image credit: e-Residency: Estonia

What is e-Residency?

The e-Residency programme was first launched by the Estonian Government on 1 Dec 2014, to create a borderless digital environment and has used more digital signatures than the rest of the EU combined. It has facilitated the growth of virtual businesses by offering trust, transparency, inclusion and legitimacy to establish a truly global digital society. 98% of Estonian’s own an ID card.

Recent reports show that 4 billion people (over half the world's population) are now online, with 250 million joining for the first time in 2017. Whilst on work experience Year 12 student Molly Dorman from Birchwood High School explored the way technology has revolutionised how we now communicate and its global implications.