Shillong, India – 3 July 2015: With a commitment to transform education through technology, the Government of Meghalaya today launched the ‘Smart Classroom’ program, in collaboration with Microsoft India, at Pine Mount School. The State Government partnered with Microsoft India for this project to effectively implement technology in education and creating an environment where students and teachers communicate, collaborate, create, access and consume content using Microsoft technology.
The ‘Smart Classroom’ program was launched by Dr. Mukul M. Sangma, Hon’ble Chief Minister of Meghalaya in the presence of Shri Barkos Warjri, IAS, Chief Secretary, Shri D.P. Wahlang, IAS, Commissioner & Secretary IT of the State, and Mr. Neeraj Gill, General Manager – Public Sector, Microsoft India. In the presence of these dignitaries, students expressed their excitement and showcased their learning from the program by taking them through the projects they completed using Windows-based tablets.
Marking the successful completion of this project and launching the ‘Smart Classroom’ program, Dr. Mukul M. Sangma, Honorable Chief Minister of Meghalaya said, “We are committed to digitization of education and improvement of digital literacy in the state of Meghalaya. We believe that technology opens doors to countless opportunities for today’s students to become tomorrow’s leaders. Microsoft’s longstanding commitment to education and its expertise in digital classrooms made it an ideal partner for this project that led to the launch of our ‘Smart Classroom’ program. We commend Microsoft’s efforts towards understanding the needs of our students and educators, and providing them with the tools, training and experiences to succeed in today’s digital era.”
Encouraged by the successful completion and the positive response towards this project, the Government of Meghalaya will be launching additional digital classrooms in the state which will be using Windows based devices. Additionally, the state will also be conducting a series of digital awareness and literacy events with Ramakrishna Mission over the course of the next few days to mark the ‘Digital India Week’.
Speaking on the occasion, Neeraj Gill, General Manager – Public Sector, Microsoft India, said, “Microsoft is committed to supporting the Indian Government in its vision of a Digital India. We believe integrating technology in education can play an instrumental role in helping realize this vision and building engaged, aware and digitally empowered citizens. We are delighted to partner with the Government of Meghalaya to run this project at Pine Mount School to create digital classrooms, and contribute to their vision of expanding digital literacy. We are deeply invested in empowering India’s education ecosystem with technology, necessary for success in the 21st century, and we will continue our support to the state of Meghalaya in its digital transformation journey.”
Through the course of four weeks, Microsoft India conducted several training and mentoring classes for 105 students and eight teachers of VIII standard at Pine Mount School in Shillong. Using Windows-based tablets, these classes were aimed at fostering digital learning and teaching using Microsoft Office tools such as Sway, Office Online: Word Online, Excel Online, PowerPoint Online, OneNote Online and Office 365 for study projects in varied subjects such as History, Geography, Biology, Physics and Chemistry.
Expressing enthusiastic support to the project, Mrs. Aiom Ksiar Deingdoh, Principal, Pine Mount School, said, “We are delighted by the opportunity that our teachers and students have received through this project by Microsoft India. The smart classroom has been a very exciting and enriching experience for our teachers and students, alike. In line with the government’s commitment towards digital education, we hope to continue in our journey to transform digital education in our school.”
Over the last 25 years, Microsoft has been functioning as a key contributor towards a truly Digital India in the areas of education, digital economy, digital inclusion and cyber security, among others. Microsoft is a longstanding partner in India’s growth and remains committed to supporting the Government in realizing its vision for a Digital India. Microsoft believes technology offers renewed possibilities that can empower both educators and students in the country in this new mobile-first, cloud-first world. In the last 10 years, Microsoft’s education, skill development, entrepreneurship and digital literacy programs have touched over 5 crore people in 20 different states of India. Microsoft has invested over INR 670 crore in not-for-profit programs such as YouthSpark, BizSpark, Imagine Cup and Partners in Learning in India in the last decade alone. For more information, please visit http://www.microsoft.com/about/corporatecitizenship/en-us/youthspark/ .
About Microsoft India
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software, services, devices and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential. Microsoft set up its India operations in 1990. Today, Microsoft entities in India have over 6,500 employees, engaged in sales and marketing, research and development and customer services and support, across nine Indian cities – Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi NCR, Hyderabad, Kochi, Kolkata, Mumbai and Pune. Microsoft is committed to touching and transforming lives and businesses in India through technology.
