Microsoft is closely collaborating with schools in Qatar to develop a technology that will help students to be as competitive as their counterparts in other parts of the world in the global digital revolution. Anoop Gupta, Corporate Vice President of Microsoft Unlimited Potential Group, told The Peninsula in an interview Microsoft has been working with 37 schools in Qatar to develop a programme that orients students, parents and teachers towards the modern trends in Information and Communication Technology. “We see great progress. Clearly we see a very forward-looking leadership,” Gupta said as he underscored the serious efforts of the Qatar government to develop a digitally-enabled society and knowledge-based economy. Gupta said over the last two years, Microsoft has been developing a knowledge-sharing system called “schools of the future”, which would provide students access to global ICT to put them on par with their counterparts in other parts of the world. For his part, Mohammad Hammoudi, Country Manager of Microsoft Qatar, said they had already made a model here wherein a school in Qatar, along with 11 other schools in other parts of the world, engaged with Microsoft in designing and transforming the whole education experience to suit the demands of the modern trends in ICT. “We’re happy to report that we have been successful not only in the use of technology in the education experience but also in changing the educational experience to make it more exciting and interactive,” Hammoudi said. Gupta, however, pointed out that developing this technology globally still poses a great challenge since most schools in the world are still teaching using the traditional classroom methods that have not changed in the last 100 years, and lag behind in the digital race. “The digital lifestyle has transformed in many ways but the learning style has remained quiet the same,” Gupta said. He said the modern ICT-based education system involves students in solving a project in collaboration with experts outside the country or in a company they can work with. “We believe all of these ways are compelling and engaging the students a lot more (to learn)”, the top Microsoft official said. http://thepeninsulaqatar.com/Display_news.asp?section=Local_News&subsection=Qatar+News&month=April2009&file=Local_News2009041913659.xml

Follow us on our social media channels: @ILQlive @ILQlive @ILoveQtr ILoveQatar