About — Our Founder
Maria Shukit
Founder & Chief Executive Officer
“True eloquence isn’t about perfect grammar. It’s about profound emotional intelligence and the unshakeable confidence to speak up.”
Maria Shukit, Founder & CEO
Maria Shukit believes education should do more than help students pass examinations. It should teach them how to connect, lead and thrive in the real world. As Founder and CEO of Erudite Academy, she partners with institutions across Hong Kong to build comprehensive programmes in public speaking, debate, creative writing and leadership.
Her background
A rigorous route into the work
Credentials matter here — not for their own sake, but because they set the standard every Erudite Academy educator is held to.
Master of Arts in Educational Leadership in Practice
The University of Manchester
Bachelor of Social Science in Government & Public Administration
The Chinese University of Hong Kong
Trinity Level 5 CertTESOL
Trinity College London
Trinity Level 6 Certificate for Practising Teachers
Speciality: Teaching Soft Skills through Drama
Trinity College London
Teaching Phonics for Young Learners
English for Asia
“I never met a child who had nothing to say.
I met a great many who had never been taught how to say it.”
A Message from Our Founder
Every school I have taught in was full of capable, curious students. What struck me was not what they lacked in knowledge, but what they lacked in voice. Bright children hesitating before raising a hand. Sharp thinkers apologising before disagreeing. Students who could write a flawless essay and then freeze when asked to defend a single line of it out loud.
I noticed something else, too. The students who got the most attention were at the two ends — those who needed urgent support, and those who were already winning things. In the middle sat the majority: capable, willing, perfectly able, and almost never chosen. Nobody was failing them. Nobody was developing them either. That is the Invisible Middle, and it is the reason this Academy exists.
We built Erudite Academy to teach these skills properly: with structure, with qualified educators, and with real outcomes rather than vague reassurance. Our students leave having delivered a speech, argued a motion, chaired a committee, published a story or passed an internationally recognised examination. Something they can point to. Something that is theirs.
Whether you are a parent choosing where to place your child’s time, or a school choosing a partner for your enrichment programme, my commitment is the same. We will be rigorous, we will be honest with you about progress, and we will treat your students as the capable people they already are.
Maria Shukit
Founder & CEO, Erudite Academy