Microsoft Co-Founder and Chairman Bill Gates

Microsoft Corp Chairman Bill Gates today announced a significant worldwide expansion of the company’s Innovative Schools programme as part of his keynote address at the Microsoft Government Leaders Forum (GLF) Europe, in Edinburgh, Scotland.

Tailored to meet local community needs, the Innovative Schools programme will be rolled out in the following 12 locations: Brazil, Canada, Chile, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong SAR, Ireland, Mexico, Qatar, Sweden and the UK.

“Education is key to economic development and competitiveness,” Gates said before the event. “It’s key to fostering the social and economic conditions needed for entrepreneurs to succeed, for workers to prosper in the knowledge economy and for everyone to realise their full potential. Microsoft is committed to helping strengthen education by working in partnership with educators, policymakers and students around the world.”  

Preparing students for the 21^st-century workforce is a huge challenge and one that educators should not have to shoulder alone. Microsoft’s Innovative Schools programme assists local partners with efforts to modernise schools to meet the challenges of 21^st-century learning by providing schools with strategic planning, best practices, support personnel and technology solutions.

“Microsoft represents the business world and as a principal, there are significant benefits to using the same tools that companies use to hire, train, assess and motivate their people,” said Seamus Ryan, principal of Dunshaughlin Community College, Ireland, one of the 12 schools chosen to take part in the Innovative Schools programme. “Microsoft is also an essential partner as schools continue to develop their technology capabilities and provide students with an education that prepares them for life after school.”

The programme has been developed out of collaborations with Singapore’s BackPack.Net Technology programme, the Building Schools for the Future (BSF) project in the UK, and School of the Future projects in Taiwan and the US. In the latter, Microsoft and the School District of Philadelphia joined forces to create a 750-student high school that aims to improve student achievement through new uses of technology. Microsoft has provided technical guidance to help the high school deploy many innovations, including a secure web portal for parents, students and teachers. Via the portal, students and educators are able to access assignments, class schedules, grades, and community announcements, while parents can see their children’s class schedules, grades and teacher comments.

In Taipei, Zhong Lun High School graduates have improved their acceptance rate into prestigious national universities from 36 to 50 per cent since the high school became a School of the Future two years ago. The programme also led to the creation of an industry-standard, city-wide distance education facility for teachers that includes studios for design, development and publishing of e-learning and interactive content.

In the UK, Microsoft supported the BSF programme, an unprecedented £45 billion investment by the UK Government to transform secondary education in the country with the support of local industry partners. Microsoft has been working with government agencies and local authorities — Kent, Knowsley, Lewisham, Sandwell, and Sheffield — to create tools and processes that help integrate technology across the education ecosystem.

“The BSF programme is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to transform education and deliver schools to support the 21^st-century knowledge economy,” said Damian Allen, executive director of Children's Services, Knowsley Metropolitan Borough Council. “Strong emphasis on solid partnerships between government, industry, the private sector and school is a critical success factor to transform the education system. Schools can benefit from the private sector’s experience. In Microsoft’s case the company has provided a clear roadmap to improve operations, learning and communication between the classroom and home through the use of technology.”

The Innovative Schools programme is part of a larger initiative, Partners in Learning. Under Partners in Learning, Microsoft is working with governments, ministries of education, and other key stakeholders in 101 countries around the world to offer a spectrum of education resources including tools, programmes and practices. The fundamental premise of this vision is that technology in education can be a powerful catalyst to promote learning and that education changes lives, families, communities, and ultimately nations.