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April 3, 2021
Mastercard Helps Small Businesses Digitally Enhance their Operations with New Microsoft, QuickBooks, and Zoho Benefits.
Purchase, NY, April 1, 2021 — As small businesses accelerate digital transformation, new offerings improve small business productivity and digital enablement.
Small businesses continue to move their operations online and access digital tools to future-proof their business in response to the pandemic. According to a Mastercard survey, 76% of small businesses in North America suggest the pandemic prompted them to make their business more digital, yet 64% say they are challenged to transform digitally.
To help small businesses maximize their digital presence, Mastercard is announcing new offerings with Microsoft, QuickBooks, and Zoho to its suite of U.S. small business benefits. Now available across Mastercard BusinessCard® and World Elite Mastercard for Business® in the U.S., small businesses can drive awareness of their business online with Microsoft Advertising, digitally manage payroll, and engage with their customers through Zoho’s marketing capabilities.
“Now more than ever, having a digitally-led approach is critical for small business owners. Mastercard remains committed to helping provide small businesses the solutions required to meet the needs of the evolving consumer and operate in our digital world,” said Chiro Aikat, EVP of Products & Innovation in North America for Mastercard. “Together with our partners, we are delivering a solid foundation of digital offerings and tools for our small business cardholders that help them sustain their business today and accelerate their growth tomorrow.”
Beginning April 1, Mastercard small business cardholders will start to automatically enjoy new benefits and access to the tools and solutions to help grow their business and digitally transform. It includes:
Microsoft Advertising: Drive more leads, phone calls, appointments, visits, or purchases using paid search to reach customers interested in your business.
Intuit QuickBooks® Online Payroll: Manage payroll and access health benefits and HR support for your clients. Cardholders will save 40% off QuickBooks Online Payroll for six months.
Zoho Social and Marketing Plus Discounts: Mastercard BusinessCard cardholders receive 50% off one year of Zoho Social, a social media management tool that helps small businesses grow their social media presence.
“Many businesses have experienced an accelerated digital transition this past year. They now have an array of tools that can help them grow and promote their businesses across digital marketing channels — web, social, email, events, and more,” said Raju Vegesna, Chief Evangelist at Zoho. “We are thrilled to partner with Mastercard to offer our social media management tool and end-to-end digital marketing platform — Zoho Social and Zoho Marketing Plus — so that small businesses can fast-track their growth.”
Mastercard’s small business value proposition provides seamless digital resources and partner discounts in addition to these new offerings. These include Salesforce’s customer relationship management solution Salesforce Essentials, an all-in-one app that provides for sales and customer support tools built specifically for companies of their size.
As small businesses continue to accelerate digital transformation, Mastercard’s Digital Diagnostic can help them assess their digital footprint and identify efficiencies, Mastercard said.
According to Mastercard, its Digital Doors program provides small business owners access to insights, tools, solutions, and guidance to help them set up shop online. The program helps them grow and manage their business, accept payments, and keep their business protected.
Source: Mastercard
|GlobalGiants.Com|







Edited & Posted by the Editor | 2:58 AM | View the original post
April 2, 2021
College Consensus Publishes "Aggregate Consensus Ranking" of the 100 Best Public Colleges and Universities for 2021 and 100 Best National Research Universities for 2021 in the USA.
Photo: A building at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Image credit: Corey Seeman.
HILLSBOROUGH, N.C., April 1, 2021 — College Consensus, a unique college rating website that aggregates publisher rankings and student reviews, has published its ranking the Best Public Colleges Universities for 2021 and the Best National Research Universities for 2021 in the USA.
Public colleges & universities are a vital part of higher education in America. Public schools generally provide a more affordable and accessible option for students than private colleges, helping to democratize higher education and build a more broadly educated citizenship.
• College Consensus 100 Best Public Colleges and Universities 2021
- The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor — Ann Arbor, MI
- University of Virginia-Main Campus — Charlottesville, VA
- University of California-Los Angeles UCLA — Los Angeles, CA
- University of California-Berkeley — Berkeley, CA
- The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill — Chapel Hill, NC
- California State University-Stanislaus — Turlock, CA
- University of Florida — Gainesville, FL
- California State University-Chico — Chico, CA
- The University of California, Santa Barbara — Santa Barbara, CA
- University of California-Davis — Davis, CA
- University of California-Irvine — Irvine, CA
- University of Wisconsin-Madison — Madison, WI
- The University of Texas at Austin — Austin, TX
- Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus — Atlanta, GA
- Purdue University-Main Campus — West Lafayette, IN
- University of Washington-Seattle Campus — Seattle, WA
- The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign — Champaign, IL
- California State University-Long Beach — Long Beach, CA
- Massachusetts Maritime Academy — Buzzards Bay, MA
- William & Mary — Williamsburg, VA
- University of California, San Diego — La Jolla, CA
- Citadel Military College of South Carolina — Charleston, SC
- Texas A & M University-College Station — College Station, TX
- California State University-San Bernardino — San Bernardino, CA
- California State University-Northridge — Northridge, CA
- Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Blacksburg) — Blacksburg, VA
- California State University-Dominguez Hills — Carson, CA
- California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo — San Luis Obispo, CA
- California State University-Sacramento — Sacramento, CA
- Western Washington University — Bellingham, WA
- James Madison University — Harrisonburg, VA
- California State University-Channel Islands — Camarillo, CA
- University of Georgia — Athens, GA
- North Carolina State University at Raleigh — Raleigh, NC
- University of Northern Iowa — Cedar Falls, IA
- Ohio State University-Main Campus — Columbus, OH
- Michigan State University — East Lansing, MI
- Appalachian State University — Boone, NC
- University of Connecticut — Storrs, CT
- CUNY John Jay College of Criminal Justice — New York, NY
- Eastern Illinois University — Charleston, IL
- University of Minnesota-Twin Cities — Minneapolis, MN
- Florida State University — Tallahassee, FL
- California State Polytechnic University-Pomona — Pomona, CA
- Keene State College — Keene, NH
- Maine Maritime Academy — Castine, ME
- Rutgers University-New Brunswick — New Brunswick, NJ
- Indiana University-Bloomington — Bloomington, IN
- California State University-Fullerton — Fullerton, CA
- University of Maryland-College Park — College Park, MD
- Truman State University — Kirksville, MO
- California State University-Monterey Bay — Seaside, CA
- Virginia Military Institute — Lexington, VA
- New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology — Socorro, NM
- University of Mary Washington — Fredericksburg, VA
- The University of Illinois at Chicago — Chicago, IL
- University of Michigan-Dearborn — Dearborn, MI
- University of Iowa — Iowa City, IA
- University of Arizona — Tucson, AZ
- San Francisco State University — San Francisco, CA
- The College of New Jersey — Ewing, NJ
- University of Wisconsin-La Crosse — La Crosse, WI
- The State University of New York at New Paltz — New Paltz, NY
- California State University-Los Angeles — Los Angeles, CA
- California State University-Fresno — Fresno, CA
- The University of Maine at Farmington — Farmington, ME
- University of Massachusetts-Amherst — Amherst, MA
- Clemson University — Clemson, SC
- University of Delaware — Newark, DE
- CUNY Bernard M Baruch College — New York, NY
- Binghamton University — Vestal, NY
- Farmingdale State College — Farmingdale, NY
- Stony Brook University — Stony Brook, NY
- University of California-Riverside — Riverside, CA
- Central Washington University — Ellensburg, WA
- Salisbury University — Salisbury, MD
- California State University-San Marcos — San Marcos, CA
- St. Mary’s College of Maryland — St. Mary’s City, MD
- San Jose State University — San Jose, CA
- Iowa State University — Ames, IA
- Colorado School of Mines — Golden, CO
- California State University Maritime Academy — Vallejo, CA
- CUNY Brooklyn College — Brooklyn, NY
- Longwood University — Farmville, VA
- Arizona State University-Tempe — Tempe, AZ
- The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire — Eau Claire, WI
- Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus — University Park, PA
- Radford University — Radford, VA
- University of Central Florida — Orlando, FL
- SUNY Maritime College — Throggs Neck, NY
- West Chester University of Pennsylvania — West Chester, PA
- SUNY College at Geneseo — Geneseo, NY
- Towson University — Towson, MD
- Michigan Technological University — Houghton, MI
- CUNY Lehman College — Bronx, NY
- George Mason University — Fairfax, VA
- California State University-East Bay — Hayward, CA
- Montclair State University — Montclair, NJ
- Sonoma State University — Rohnert Park, CA
- SUNY College at Brockport — Brockport, NY
Photo: A signage at Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut. Image credit: John.
The top research universities include some of the most prestigious names in higher education. Students who attend these schools have access to today’s leading thinkers and practitioners.
“We define national research universities as institutions that draw a student body from across the U.S. and world, rather than a primarily regional population, College Consensus clarified. “Carnegie Foundation has recognized all these schools and classified them according to the Carnegie tiered classification.”
According to College Consensus, it uses an aggregate scoring system that combines data across the internet. The Publisher Rating averages scores from U.S. News & World Report, The Wall Street Journal, and WalletHub. The Student Rating combines scores from sites like Unigo, My Plan, and Students Review. The Publisher and Student ratings combined make up a school’s Consensus score.
• College Consensus 100 Best National Research Universities 2021
- Yale University
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- Stanford University
- Princeton University
- Harvard University
- Duke University
- Vanderbilt University
- Dartmouth College
- University of Pennsylvania
- Brown University
- University of Michigan—Ann Arbor
- University of Notre Dame
- Rice University
- Cornell University
- Columbia University in the City of New York
- University of Chicago
- University of Virginia
- University of California — Los Angeles
- University of California — Berkeley
- Washington University in St Louis
- California Institute of Technology
- Northwestern University
- The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
- University of Florida
- Georgetown University
- University of California—Santa Barbara
- University of California—Davis
- University of California—Irvine
- University of Wisconsin—Madison
- The University of Texas at Austin
- Georgia Institute of Technology
- Tufts University
- Purdue University
- University of Washington—Seattle Campus
- The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
- Johns Hopkins University
- William and Mary
- University of Southern California
- Emory University
- University of California—San Diego
- Texas A & M — College Station
- Boston College
- Carnegie Mellon University
- Virginia Polytechnic and State University (Blacksburg)
- Lehigh University
- Wake Forest University
- Brigham Young University — Provo
- University of Georgia
- North Carolina State University at Raleigh
- Ohio State University
- Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI
- University of Connecticut - Storrs, CT
- University of Minnesota-Twin Cities — Minneapolis, MN
- Florida State University — Tallahassee, FL
- Northeastern University — Boston, MA
- George Washington University — Washington, DC
- Boston University — Boston, MA
- Brandeis University — Waltham, MA
- Rutgers University-New Brunswick — New Brunswick, NJ
- University of Rochester — Rochester, NY
- Indiana University-Bloomington — Bloomington, IN
- Tulane University of Louisiana — New Orleans, LA
- University of Maryland-College Park — College Park, MD
- University of Miami — Coral Gables, FL
- The University of Illinois at Chicago — Chicago, IL
- Southern Methodist University — Dallas, TX
- New York University — New York, NY
- University of Iowa — Iowa City, IA
- University of Arizona — Tucson, AZ
- Villanova University — Villanova, PA
- University of Massachusetts-Amherst — Amherst, MA
- Clemson University — Clemson, SC
- University of Delaware — Newark, DE
- Case Western Reserve University — Cleveland, OH
- Binghamton University — Vestal, NY
- Stony Brook University — Stony Brook, NY
- University of California-Riverside — Riverside, CA
- University of San Diego — San Diego, CA
- Illinois Institute of Technology — Chicago, IL
- Iowa State University — Ames, IA
- Colorado School of Mines — Golden, CO
- American University — Washington, DC
- Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute — Troy, NY
- Arizona State University-Tempe — Tempe, AZ
- Syracuse University — Syracuse, NY
- University of Tulsa — Tulsa, OK
- Worcester Polytechnic Institute — Worcester, MA
- Howard University — Washington, DC
- Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus — University Park, PA
- University of Central Florida — Orlando, FL
- Marquette University — Milwaukee, WI
- Michigan Technological University — Houghton, MI
- George Mason University — Fairfax, VA
- Montclair State University — Montclair, NJ
- University of New Hampshire-Main Campus — Durham, NH
- University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus — Pittsburgh, PA
- Rutgers University-Newark — Newark, NJ
- University of California-Santa Cruz — Santa Cruz, CA
- University at Buffalo — Buffalo, NY
- The University of Utah — Salt Lake City, UT
Source: College Consensus
|GlobalGiants.Com|







Edited & Posted by the Editor | 9:25 AM | View the original post
April 1, 2021
Global University Leaders Commit to Joint Action on Reaching UN 2030 Sustainability Goals at an Online Event hosted by Zhejiang University in China.
Photo: University presidents from 30 countries unite to announce action on climate change. March 30, 2021. Image provided by Zhejiang University.
HANGZHOU, China, March 31, 2021 — On March 30, 2021, university presidents from 30 countries united for the first time to announce action on climate change. They signed a Joint Statement of Global University Leaders 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. UN officials witnessed the event.
That first global online forum for university leaders was hosted by Zhejiang University in China. Presidents from 56 universities across six continents committed to working together to meet sustainable development goals (SDGs).
The initiative includes five key aspects all signatories have agreed:
- Implementing the concept of sustainable development,
- Improving sustainable development competence,
- Supporting scientific research in response to global challenges,
- Working with international partners to provide innovative solutions
- Constructive transnational cooperation on specific issues.
Among the top 50 universities on the QS World University Rankings, 80% have developed their university-level sustainability strategy, plans, or operational activities. According to Zhaohui Wu, President of Zhejiang University (ZJU), the forum’s purpose was to bring together leaders from some of the best universities to share these visions and best practices on SDGs and explore opportunities for potential cooperation in safeguarding a sustainable future.
With less than nine years to meet targets and the pandemic slowing progress, the forum allowed leaders to share essential expertise on how to scale up efforts to deliver on the 2030 Agenda. The event gave academics a platform to clearly outline their action plans for human-oriented, innovation-driven, and down-to-earth sustainable development.
UN officials, including Nikhil Seth, UN Assistant Secretary-General, and Stefania Giannini, UNESCO Assistant Director-General for Education, joined the speakers’ panel. The speakers included Peter Salovey, President of Yale University; Pam Fredman, President of the International Association of Universities; and Eric Labaye, President of Ecole Polytechnique.
Speakers reinforced how universities can work together to harness technology’s power to expand access to quality education. They also discussed how they should draw on their academic ecosystem to support scientific collaborations and knowledge transfer across disciplines.
Universities that have signed the initiative include:
- Peking University
- Kyoto University
- Korea University
- The National University of Singapore
- Harvard University
- Yale University
- The University of Toronto
- University College London
- Ecole Polytechnique
- The University of Oslo,
- Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University
- The University of Sydney,
- Stellenbosch University
- Universidade Estadual de Campinas.
Nikhil Seth, Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations, said: “SDGs belong to each of us, and everything we make impacts on the achievement, in the aggregate, to SDG achievement.”
Stefania Giannini, Assistant Director-General for Education at UNESCO, said: “The organization of the forum is timely, especially given the increasingly pivotal role of universities not only in fostering understanding and knowledge but also in contributing to building knowledge-based societies.”
Pam Fredman, President of the International Association of Universities, Paris, said: “Cooperation and cohesion among Higher Education Institutions and organizations will foster knowledge development and sharing.”
Zhaohui Wu, President of Zhejiang University (ZJU), said: “The ‘Global ZJU for Social Good’ plan establishes five objectives and associated actions to improve our sustainability-related education, research, and practices within the ZJU community and among other stakeholders in China and beyond. We aim to advocate for responsible sustainability, educate for a sustainable future, advance scientific collaborations, partner for collective well-being, and create greener campuses.”
Zhejiang University (ZJU) is an elite university located in Hangzhou, China. Founded in 1897, Zhejiang University is one of China’s oldest and prestigious institutions of higher education.
Source: Zhejiang University
|GlobalGiants.Com|







Edited & Posted by the Editor | 9:22 AM | View the original post