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.
