Microsoft IT Academy inaugurated

Mumbai: Microsoft Corporation today announced the formal launch of its first IT academy in Karnataka. Located at Gulbarga, the IT Academy, which will serve to be a pivotal point for imparting IT training to teachers across the state, is a key deliverable of the MoU signed between Microsoft and the government of Karnataka, for implementing Microsoft's 'partners-in-learning' programme.

Under the MoU with the government of Karnataka, Microsoft has committed to set up 3 IT Academy Centres in the state at Gulbarga, Bangalore and Dharwad respectively for training over 20,000 teachers and 400,000 students studying in class III to class XII over a five year period. The Gulbarga IT academy is located at the Sarvajanik Shikshan Ilake, the state education department campus.

The IT academy was inaugurated by chief minister Dharam Singh, who siad, "Driven by the commitment to take the benefits of information technology to the grass root, our government is concentrating on integration of IT in the curriculum and accelerating IT literacy at the school level. We believe that by providing early access to the latest technologies at the school level, we can redefine the traditional classroom environment and create an empowered student and teacher community. The IT academy inaugurated today will play a key role in delivering on our vision."

The IT academy is a world class facility equipped with a state-of-the-art IT lab complete with latest hardware and software, a comprehensive IT curriculum and well-trained staff for effective delivery of IT training for school teachers. While a combination of Tablet PCs and 20 desktop PCs are used for the routine training process, a laptop has been provided to the IT academy manager who is required to visit various schools across the state to ensure consistency in delivery process.

The IT training courseware has been translated in Kannada for ensuring improved understanding of content by teachers. Microsoft will also run free 12 days of training for participating teachers to equip them to use technology in teaching students in a classroom environment.

About Microsoft's Partners-in-Learning Program
The 'partners-in-learning (PIL) initiative is about ensuring technology access and affordability; ushering in economic development and new education models, public-private partnerships that bridge the digital divide.