Microsoft to launch Innovate, Teach, Inspire project in United Arab Emirates in collaboration with GEMS Education

In line with its commitment to broaden digital inclusion and promote technology in education, Microsoft today announced the launch of the Innovate, Teach, Inspire project in collaboration with GEMS Education, world’s largest provider of K-12 education. 

The initial phase of the project included delivering a ‘Train the Trainers’ workshop to 26 master teachers in the UAE between February 27^th-28^th, 2011. Through the Train the Trainer methodology, those teachers who are now certified as master trainers will be delivering the program to their peers in 26 GEMS schools in the UAE.  The Innovate, Teach, Inspire project is part of the Microsoft Partners in Learning Programme that aims at improving education through the integration of ICT. 

Microsoft Gulf Education Director, Mrs. Azza Al Shinnawy, expressed the company’s commitment to the Ministry’s reform agenda and said, “Microsoft has made a long-term commitment to working with governments, educators, students and industry partners to expand the world of learning through technology in order to implement better ways to transform education for the benefit of students and teachers. The Innovate, Teach, Inspire project is the perfect platform to demonstrate our commitment to the education sector by enriching classroom instruction and enhancing learning outcomes for students.” 

Mr. Manoj M. Varghese, Director IT, GEMS Education, said: “We are glad to partner with Microsoft on the Innovate, Teach, Inspire initiative. We are confident that this program will give our teachers the added advantage of keeping themselves abreast of latest technological offerings and tools for teaching. It will further enhance their creativity to express innovative ideas, aid teaching and support more powerful learning.” 

The participants have received training on several Microsoft tools, including Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2010, Windows Live Movie Maker, Windows Live Blogging and SkyDrive. The 26 master teachers were selected by GEMS.

After attending the two-day Training of Trainers, the master teachers will get the chance to share their newly acquired skills to their peers by organizing similar sessions within their schools. All those trained are invited to participate in a competition in which teachers have to design a Virtual Classroom Tour (VCT) project by using the newly learnt practices and tools. The competition is open to all GEMS teachers starting on March 1st. The winners will be announced during the closing event in April 2011. 

VP and General Manager of AMD Middle East, Turkey and Africa, Mr. Bernard Biolchini declared that “Educational institutions and students around the world rely on AMD to provide the technology they need to meet their needs, from world-class supercomputers and powerful workstations for advanced research, to cost-effective servers, desktops and notebooks. As an innovation leader and a technology partner to Microsoft, we are pleased to support the Innovate. Teach. Inspire. project in the Gulf region. By introducing master teachers to innovative teaching practices and tools that are then passed on to other teachers, the project is ultimately ensuring the success of the students.“

Salim Ziade General Manager HP Personal Systems Group ME said, "HP is one of the globe's leading and largest IT corporations and has grown to be so because education is at the heart of its most fundamental core values. We are glad to partner with Microsoft under the Innovate Teach Inspire project as we believe that education and ongoing learning are key to innovation and progress. By constantly improving education through the advance of technology we are investing in tomorrow's global intellectual capacity and leaving a legacy of real and lasting change."