BWI: Microsoft and Gujarat Ink Education MOU to Empower Students and Teachers with Latest Technologies

Press release from Business Wire India
Source: Microsoft Corporation India Private Ltd
Thursday, January 15, 2009 02:28 PM IST (08:58 AM GMT)
Editors: General: Consumer interest; Business: Advertising, PR & marketing, Business services, Education & training, Information technology; Technology
Release no: 18969
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Microsoft and Gujarat Ink Education MOU to Empower Students and Teachers with Latest Technologies


Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India, Thursday, January 15, 2009 -- (Business Wire India) -- Microsoft India Pvt Ltd signed an MoU with the Gujarat government with an intention to enhance the adoption and use of IT in the state education sector. The agreement was signed in the presence of the Honorable Chief Minister of Gujarat, Mr Narendra Modi at the "Vibrant Gujarat" Global Investors Summit. As part of the agreement, Microsoft will invest in enabling educators in the state to connect with each other, increase access to technology and training for learners in classrooms and campuses and thereby enhance career opportunities.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr Karan Bajwa, Director - Public Sector, Microsoft India, said, "Today Gujarat is symbolic of the best in India. As it moves into its next stage of the development process and focuses on enhancing it's the socio-economic index, we believe IT will play a key enabling role. A continued focus on education is imperative to help people achieve their potential. We are proud and excited to partner with the state of Gujarat in its efforts."

A focal part of the agreement will involve building IT readiness in both pre-and in-service school teachers under Microsoft's Partner's in Learning. Partners in Learning is Microsoft's global program that provides the education community with resources and training. In India alone, more than 270,000 teachers have already been trained and empowered by it. Microsoft will also set up an IT Academy at Ahmadabad equipped with the state of the art IT systems and will focus on curriculum innovation and upgrading master trainers under this program.

The MoU also entails the adoption of IT curriculum developed by Microsoft for students of classes VI through X; as well as a Joint Certification for higher education students after completion of the MS Digital Literacy curriculum. This is expected to have the additional benefit of enhancing the employability skills of the youth.

Another important component of the agreement includes DreamSpark - a Microsoft program that offers thousands of dollars worth of free Microsoft software development tools to all higher education students. The state colleges will also be eligible to implement the Live@Edu program that makes sharing, collaborating and just staying connected easier for both the faculty and students.

The engagement will also include implementation of Education Management and Information system and Campus Management, a comprehensive solution that addresses all stake holders in education and helps in easy administration, collates information from schools, clusters, block and district on all parameters that are required to monitor and evaluate educational ecosystem across the state.

About Microsoft

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (NASDAQ "MSFT") is the worldwide leader in software for personal and business computing. The company offers a wide range of products and services designed to empower people through great software - any time, any place and on any device. Microsoft Corporation India Private Ltd is a subsidiary of Microsoft Corporation USA. It has had a presence in India since 1990 and currently has offices in 16 cities - Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Chandigarh, Chennai, Coimbatore, Hyderabad, Indore, Jaipur, Jamshedpur, Kochi, Kolkata, Lucknow, Mumbai, Nagpur, New Delhi and Pune.


CONTACT DETAILS
Vishal Gaba, Associate, Genesis Burson-Marsteller, +91 9999240369, vishal.gaba@bm.com
Sabah Hamid, Manager - Corporate Communications, Microsoft Corp (India), +91 (0124) 4158000, sabah@microsoft.com

KEYWORDS
CONSUMER, MARKETING, BUSINESS SERVICES, EDUCATION, IT, TECHNOLOGY,

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