A collaboration agreement has been signed between Microsoft and the Ministry for Education, Youth, Culture and Sports with the aim of improving access to information and communications technology in primary and secondary education.
Microsoft said the Partners in Learning Agreement represents its continued commitment in investing in the Maltese and in enabling a "potential-oriented" education system which puts the talents of the individual first.
The framework was announced in an Innovation in Education Day organised recently by Microsoft with the support of Forestals, Smart Technologies Ltd and Promethean.
The 200 attendees included education policy-makers, college principals, heads of schools (from public, church and independent schools), e-learning support teachers and other educators. Representatives from the local private sector were also present.
Microsoft brought together a prestigious panel of speakers involved in global innovative educational practices as well as launched the findings of a European survey regarding the future of work and the skill requirements demanded by the knowledge economy.
The Partners in Learning agreement is the result of a shared vision between Microsoft and the Directorate for Quality and Standards in Education (DQSE) under the education ministry. Both parties acknowledge the fact that the European economy is undergoing a fundamental socio-economic transformation and the contribution of the local education system towards increasing Malta's productivity and competitiveness will be decisive.
Microsoft and the DQSE want to reveal opportunities and chances offered by technology and the Partners in Learning programme because it is the education sector which will spearhead the Maltese society towards a sustainable future.
Through this collaboration, a local school has already been selected as an Innovative School in the global Partners in Learning community. The St Paul's Bay Primary School within the Maria Regina College has been selected to participate in a global programme that brings together schools ready for the future to share its experience and learn from other mentoring schools about innovation-friendly learning environments.
As part of the agreement Microsoft will be investing in the local education system by providing access to its knowledge and applications particularly arising from its lab and research efforts to improve the application of technology in teaching and learning. Microsoft will also be actively promoting local and global networking and knowledge-exchange opportunities between educators and students.
One key element of this agreement is the availability of a comprehensive professional development programme for educators. These will be varied and shall be tailored to the needs identified by the central administration and colleges.
Since its launch in 2003, the Partners in Learning Programme has brought together 112 countries, trained almost seven million teachers, connected two million teachers through its online community, reached 170 million students, and through its Innovative Schools Programme directly assisted 1,600 schools.