Microsoft Bahrain won the ‘Best Corporate Social Responsibility Award’ for its Partners in Learning programme at the Meet ICT Conference and Exhibition held recently.

The award recognises Microsoft’s commitment to the development and empowerment of the education sector in the kingdom, which include the long-term Partners in Learning (PiL) agreement with the Ministry of Education.

Ahmed Alhammadi, director of Information Systems, Ministry of Education, said: “We applaud Microsoft’s efforts to bring technology into classrooms and empower the teachers and students ICT skills to match the 21st Century requirements.”

“Through the PiL programme, we have witnessed success in the adoption of technology inside the classrooms and improvement in skills of both teachers and students throughout the last few years”.

Tareq Hijazi, regional country manager for Microsoft in Bahrain and Oman, said: “We are honoured to have earned such a valuable award in Bahrain this year.”

“This is a very special year for Microsoft ‘Partners in Learning’ programme as we celebrate this initiative’s 10th anniversary globally and in Bahrain,” he said.

Hijazi pointed out the importance of such a programme by saying that “technology in the classroom enables better learning which aims to empowering students to cooperate effectively in the classroom.”

“The creative adoption of collaborative technology that allows teachers to transfer knowledge and students to collaborate better fosters a creative learning environment. Microsoft is committed to continuing this synergy to support transforming learning and teaching styles in conjunction with ensuring students meet the requirements of an evolving matrix of workforce, skills requisites and increasing student engagement,” he added.

In 2004, the Ministry of Education and Microsoft Bahrain signed the first five-year ‘Partners in Learning’ agreement, which was renewed 2008 for another five years after a thorough review by the MoE on its outcomes and in-depth assessment of its benefits to the educational system and academic society in Bahrain.

The deal is based on two key pillars – ‘Innovative Schools,’ which aims to provide schools the resources, training, expertise and technologies education professionals need to better prepare their students for the 21st century; and ‘Innovative Teachers,’ which aims to provide educators with the tools and resources to encourage them to effectively integrate ICT in their teaching methods and training.

The programme also provided the teachers, educators and school administrators with a number of opportunities to represent Bahrain in regional and international educational gatherings, which allowed them to share advice, discover best practices, learn new ways to utilise technology in the classroom and gain unparalleled access to education experts.

The Bahrain Technology Companies Society (BTECH) awards companies, organisations and individuals who have positively contributed in the development of the ICT industry development, products and services, on a regional and global level. - TradeArabia News Service