Microsoft India hosted Microsoft Showcase School Leaders Forum on ‘Innovation in Education’ in collaboration with The Aga Khan Academy. This unique initiative brought together Microsoft Showcase School leaders to facilitate collaboration between schools and create a confluence of ideas, collaborative experimentation and chart out new milestones for collective achievement. By exchanging insights and best practices of technology driven education, the forum laid the foundation for a think-tank drawn from Microsoft Showcase School Principals to share best practices on innovation in education.

The opening session was led by leaders from different industries with a panel discussion on ‘Inspirational Leadership & Implications for Education’ that sparked conversations around how the current skills gap is a major challenge to educators preparing the young for the workplace. The wide ranging discussion addressed issues such as need for experiential learning and importance of collaboration among teams for complementary skills.

The forum attended by over 30 delegates from the education field across India also focused on three sessions through the day – Change management for schools, Best practice for technology rich learning environments and Inter disciplinary perspectives on learning and innovation. Each sessions brought out rich insights into how schools can undertake the digital transformation journey, challenges and priorities for educators across India, teaching and learning initiatives to help students build 21^st century skills for the future.

Speaking on the occasion, Pratik Mehta, Director – Education, Microsoft India said, “Microsoft views technology as a means to promote learning, drives inclusion and opens a world of opportunities. Showcase Schools are great examples of those applying technology innovatively to provide personalized education to students and empower them to achieve more. Through this forum, we hope to encourage school leaders to share their experiences with other schools in their community to continue finding innovative ways to equip students with the right tools to encourage deeper learning.”

“Integrating technology for classroom teaching and learning has been central to The Aga Khan Academy’s education policy since its early inception. We are thrilled to partner with Microsoft and leverages its tools, applications and network to make learning more engaging. We hope to continue our efforts to drive digital literacy using innovative technology practices,” said Dr. Geoffrey Fisher, Head of Academy, The Aga Khan Academy, Hyderabad.

The Microsoft Showcase Schools program is a leadership-focused initiative to highlight innovative leading and teaching across globally recognized schools. These schools are selected for demonstrating strong vision for educational change through the effective deployment of Microsoft technology school-wide and applying this vision to the transformation of their local schools. Showcase Schools have also established their capability in creating a conducive environment for both students and educators to thrive, by placing students at the center of their own learning and giving educators’ opportunities to embrace innovation in the classroom. In the 2015-2016 class of Education Innovators 45 schools were selected as Microsoft Showcase Schools from across India and are part of Microsoft’s global community of 400 Showcase Schools who have integrated technology in everyday learning process, contributing towards transforming the education ecosystem.