Starburst Edutech's KIVA Kids Wins Two Bronze Stevie® Awards at the 2026 International Business Awards

Starburst Edutech has won Bronze Stevie® Awards in two categories of the 2026 International Business Awards (IBA), presented by the Stevie Awards. This year's IBA received more than 3,800 nominations from 78 nations and territories, judged independently by more than 210 business professionals. The awards ceremony was held on October 28 (local time) in Paris, France.

Two awards at a glance

• Company/Organization category (Education & EdTech), Bronze: "KIVA Kids: Building Speaking Confidence for Young Learners Across Asia"
• Achievement in International Expansion, Bronze: "KibaKids: Beyond Children's Voices — Building English Confidence in Teachers, Too"

Where it started: English lessons that differ by classroom

Even with the same age group and the same curriculum, how much English children heard and how well they learned to speak varied from classroom to classroom. Teachers differ in English fluency and teaching experience, and every institution runs differently. Hiring native-speaking teachers or offering short training sessions could not fully solve teacher turnover, gaps in experience, or differences in pronunciation.

A system that supports teachers and protects lesson quality

KIVA Kids did not try to raise the skills of each individual teacher. Instead, it built a system that supports the quality of every lesson.

• MTS learning device: a patented classroom device we developed ourselves, which repeats words and sentences in meaningful chunks.
• At least 10 minutes of consistent English every day: children listen and repeat through videos, songs, chants, and stories, and teachers can lead the lesson by following a set flow, even without English expertise.
• On-site support: field managers support each institution through a nine-step annual cycle, from operational checks to teacher training, parent consultations, and open classes.

In Korea, the number of institutions using the MTS device has grown from about 1,400 to about 2,500, and about 80,000 children use it every month.

From Thailand to Mongolia: our international growth in numbers

• Thailand: Since our localized launch in 2019, about 90,000 children across 51 institutions have learned with the program, and 9,370 copies were shipped in 2025. Since May 2025, we have been expanding to about 110 private kindergartens and more than 10,000 children.
• Mongolia: After a local partnership in October 2024 and an MOU with the Mongolian Private Kindergarten Association, official supply began in 2025. Monthly shipments grew from 97 copies in January to 1,501 in September, reaching 4,183 copies in the first year.
• 2025 total: 13,553 copies were shipped across the two countries. In 2026, we are also in discussions with educational institutions in China.

Show first, then invite them to see for themselves

Our international expansion goes beyond exporting materials. We demonstrate lessons for local directors and teachers at kindergartens already using the program, and we invite those who are interested to our model kindergartens in Korea to see the change in the classroom for themselves. In 2025, the Mongolian Private Kindergarten Association visited three model kindergartens in Korea on two separate trips. The same approach worked in two countries where English is not a native language, and that is at the heart of our International Expansion award.

Our thoughts on the awards

One child's potential (STAR) growing into the growth of an entire classroom (BURST) is the education we call "Where Learning Shines." We see these two awards as a sign that this light can carry on beyond borders. Our sincere thanks go to the teachers and directors who keep their classrooms going every day, and to the children who found their voice in English, one sentence at a time.

We will keep preparing so that children and teachers in classrooms in more countries can build confidence in English together. You can read more about our vision in Where Learning Shines: the education Starburst Edutech envisions.