Extended partnership further encourages IT in education in Hong Kong in the world of AI, Cloud and Big Data
September 21, 2018, Hong Kong –– Microsoft Hong Kong today announced the fourth Partners in Learning (PiL) Program in collaboration with the Education Bureau of Hong Kong SAR Government (EDB), equipping schools and teachers with the knowledge and skills to effectively prepare students for the jobs of tomorrow. As the fourth PiL Program, teachers and students in Hong Kong can continue to utilize Office 365, Microsoft’s cloud computing office productivity suite, for free. Since the last PiL Program in 2013, more than 600 schools are using Office 365 and 10,000 teachers have benefitted from more than 20,000 hours of training conducted by Microsoft’s experts.
“In line with EDB’s Strategy on IT in Education to nurture our students as self-directed learners, it is important for our teachers to be able to make good use of IT to unleash students’ potential through effective pedagogies. The signing of the fourth MOU on PiL Program signifies a new chapter of efforts to further promote IT in education in Hong Kong, especially on enhancing the professional capacity of teachers and digital literacy of students. The programs under the fourth MOU have aligned with the latest educational trend and curriculum emphases. I am confident that the partnership will bring fresh impetus for supporting schools in the use of IT to further enhance learning and teaching effectiveness and equip our students to face the challenges ahead,” said Mr. Kevin Yeung Yun-hung, JP, Secretary for Education.
“AI, big data and cloud are the primary catalyst for future growth. Today’s students are the first generation to grow up with AI. It is crucial that the young minds embrace these new skills to succeed in the future. Through this partnership with EDB, we are empowering teachers and students to dream big and achieve their full potential,” said Mr. Alain Crozier, Corporate Vice President, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Microsoft Greater China Region.
This partnership aims to help teachers and students to succeed in an increasingly digital global economy. According to a recent IDC research[1], 79% of jobs in Hong Kong will be transformed in the next three years and 60% of which will be redeployed to higher value roles, or reskilled to meet the needs of the digital age.
As part of the fourth PiL Program, Microsoft will also offer immersive learning experiences to unleash students’ creativity and imagination through the Education edition of its award-winning game Minecraft. Minecraft: Education Edition is specifically designed for classroom use and through its collaborative and versatile platform, educators can encourage immersive learning and classroom collaboration across many different subjects.
Additionally, Microsoft also provides up-to-date curricula and resources to train and certify students and educators through the Microsoft Imagine Academy. The academy helps students to succeed in this increasing digital global economy across four areas: Computer science, IT infrastructure, Data science and Productivity.
Aiming to further encourage primary and secondary school students to pursue STEM, Microsoft will also offer a brand-new Microsoft interactive learning platform. Targeting to launch later this year, this learning platform will combine online and offline learning experience and provide complimentary up-to-date curricula and resources on new digital skillsets such as AI, cloud and big data. Upon completion of various courses, students will receive badges and recognized certificates as an incentive to pursue their learning online.
Microsoft and EDB first joint hands to launch the PiL Program in 2004. Since then, over hundreds of training workshops were organized for more than 20,000 teachers in Hong Kong to equip them with the latest e-learning knowledge and skills for enhancing learning and teaching effectiveness. In addition to providing online training, Microsoft has organized monthly face-to-face gatherings for teachers to share best practices and keep abreast of the latest products for nurturing future ready students.
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[1] Unlocking the Economic Impact of Digital Transformation in Asia Pacific was produced by Microsoft in partnership with IDC Asia/Pacific. IDC surveyed 1,560 respondents in 15 markets including Australia, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam.
