Reaffirming its commitment towards partnering the state of Rajasthan to transform its education landscape, Microsoft India signed an MoU with the Department of College Education, Govt. of Rajasthan today to improve the integration of technology in teaching and skilling of students and educators in government colleges. The agreement was signed today at an event in Jaipur in the presence of Honorable Minister of Higher, Technical and Sanskrit Education, Govt of Rajasthan, Shrimati Kiran Maheshwari; Dr. Subodh Aggarwal, Additional Chief Secretary – Higher, Technical and Sanskrit Education, Govt of Rajasthan; Pratik Mehta, Director Sales - Education, Microsoft India and other dignitaries. Through this initiative the government aims to build tech capacity and enhance digital literacy among students and faculty in colleges under the ambit of the Department of College Education, Govt. of Rajasthan, as well as improve digital citizenship in the state.
This agreement follows the announcement by the Minister of Higher Education during the last Vidhan Sabha session that Microsoft would impart training to students and faculty members. Speaking about the agreement, Minister Shrimati Maheshwari said that this initiative would enhance employability of youth in the state in addition to empowering them with technical education. She further said that on completion of the first phase, the training will be imparted to additional students. The Department of College Education is undertaking various initiatives for the benefit of students and during this academic session, it is introducing programs related to employment generation. She said the collaboration with Microsoft will prove vital for nurturing the technical development of youth in the state.
Commenting on this project and on the collaboration with Microsoft, Ashutosh Pednekar, Commissioner - College Education, said, “This initiative by the department will act as a blessing for students. It will enhance their technical know-how and build capacity, and sharpen their skills, furthering the government’s efforts”. He added that under the aegis of Digital Learning Program the department was starting Microsoft Office Specialist Training in 50 government colleges from August to November. Microsoft will train a total of 9,500 students and 500 faculty members from across 50 colleges in the state during these four months. Students will be awarded certificates on the successful completion of the course.
Speaking on technology playing an important role in transforming education, Pratik Mehta, Director Sales - Education, Microsoft India, said, “At Microsoft we believe that education is the single-most important investment in the future of individuals, and key to the growth of a nation. We are deeply invested in empowering India’s education ecosystem with technology, necessary for success in the 21st century. The combination of quality content, partnerships, capacity building of students, teachers and administrators is as essential for this as access to technology. We are delighted to continue our collaboration with the state of Rajasthan in this journey.”
Microsoft will also train educators from government colleges through the Microsoft Innovative Educator Program, building capacity for crucial 21st century skills in effective and innovative use of ICT in the classroom. Professional development content for educators such as the Microsoft Teaching with Technology (TwT), will also be made available through the Microsoft Educator Network. Over and above this, Microsoft will also provide free resources, tools and software through the Microsoft Educator Network, which will enable educators to participate in and garner learnings from global discussion groups and mentoring sessions.
Additionally, on completion of the curriculum on the online platform https://dsaksharta.in, Microsoft will grant students a Digital Literacy Certificate. The content will be provided to government colleges in both online and offline modes completely free of cost.
Through such initiatives Microsoft continues to prepare teachers to transform education by using technology as well as creating an immersive and inclusive experiences that inspire lifelong learning and stimulate development of essential life skills in students.
Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT” @microsoft) enables digital transformation for the era of an intelligent cloud and an intelligent edge. Its mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. Microsoft set up its India operations in 1990. Today, Microsoft entities in India have over 8,000 employees, engaged in sales and marketing, research and development and customer services and support, across 11 Indian cities – Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Chennai, New Delhi, Gurugram, Noida, Hyderabad, Kochi, Kolkata, Mumbai and Pune. Microsoft offers its global cloud services from local datacenters to accelerate digital transformation across Indian start-ups, businesses, and government agencies. In 2016, Microsoft opened one of its eight Cyber Security Engagement Centers in the country, to address security needs of both public and private sectors.