Punjab govt partners with Microsoft to launch Industry Certification Program

RAWALPINDI, Nov 14 (APP):Quaid-e-Azam Academy for Educational Development (QAED), an ISO Certified premier teacher training institute of Punjab, partnered with Microsoft Pakistan under the wing of the School Education Department Government of Punjab to embark upon its Digital Transformation Journey.

This initiative was endorsed by Punjab Education Minister Mr Murad Raas, who recently announced 10,000 Microsoft Certifications for teachers of QAED in Phase 1.

Murad Raas said that “This partnership between Microsoft and Government of Punjab is another step towards the PM’s vision of digital Pakistan., adding the government is committed to supporting these collaborations helping to bring the digital revolution to our society.”

He said that our primary focus was to enhance the capability and capacity of teacher’s to utilize available digital technology to adopt modern techniques for learning purposes and as a first step government would train 10,000 teachers in the first phase, which will be upscaled to all public sector teachers under School Education Department.

“We believe that digitalization of education will bring more transparency to the whole system”, .he added.
Director-General QAED Mr Muhammad Ali Ammer stated that digital transformation was the need of the time, and QAED had successfully developed a digital framework leveraging Microsoft tools for capacity building of Punjab’s School Teachers through these certifications to ensure that they were equipped to manage and take maximum advantage of the latest technological tools for disseminating knowledge and enhancing communication with their students.

“We are striving hard to uplift education standards in Pakistan through a partnership with leading technology firms; adding this partnership with Microsoft affirms our motive of creating highly specialized Teaching faculty that imparts knowledge through modern digital tools”.

“Acquiring skills on the latest technologies helps educators to become better collaborators, communicators, critical thinkers, innovators, problem solvers and citizens of our global economy. Microsoft believes that technology skills are essential to the prosperity of both individuals and nations.

These skills contribute to economic growth through increased productivity and by creating greater capacity to adopt new technologies, ways of working, and new sources of innovation,” said Mr Jibran Jamshad, Country Education Lead, Microsoft.

QAED was leading innovation throughout its schools and programs by advancing computer science skills for teachers through industry-recognized certifications of Microsoft.
These Certifications will provide educators with the curricula and validation they need to succeed in a technology-driven economy.

The Microsoft Certifications Program called Imagine Academy will provide industry-leading assessments of skills and knowledge through the new project-based testing, giving educators real-world exercises to appraise their understanding of Microsoft tools and technology.

QAED already has 400,000 teachers onboarded on Microsoft Office 365; Microsoft teams have become the official communication & training platform for implementing a Single National Curriculum & Other Teacher’s pieces of training across the Punjab province.

Using Microsoft Technologies, QAED enables its teachers to teach critical 21st Century skills, help guide and solve complex problems, and holistically analyze issues using specialized technologies that lead toward mastery, foster community, and cultivate ethical impact.

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