is an international education company that specializes in language training, educational travel, academic degree programs and cultural exchange. The company was founded in 1965 by Bertil Hult,[1] in the Swedish university town of Lund under the name Europeiska Ferieskolan (European Holiday School). The company is privately held by the Hult family[2] and is headquartered in Lucerne, Switzerland.[3]
EF is the largest privately held education provider in the world, with 16 subsidiaries and non-profit organizations in more than 52 countries.[4] Approximately 37,000 people are working at EF.[5]
EF was the official supplier of language training services to the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing,[6] the 2014 Olympic Games in Sochi,[7] and has been awarded the same role for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.[8] As many as 110,000 Olympic staff and an additional 900,000 volunteers, contractors, and schoolchildren are to be trained using EF's online English training platforms in preparation for the 2016 games.[9]