Microsoft and Higher Education Commission of Pakistan held a meeting in Islamabad, to review progress on the “Education Alliance”.
This initiative has been launched by Microsoft and HEC to provide access to Microsoft software, improve technical skills, trainings, infrastructure & cloud services programs to university students and faculty members all over Pakistan. The benefits of this program are available to about 156 public and private sector universities across Pakistan
During the Executive Meeting, the Chairman – Prof. Dr. Mukhtar Ahmed, Executive Director – Mansoor Akbar Kundi and Director General IT – Anwar Amjad were present; whereas Microsoft was represented by the General Manager for North Africa East Mediterranean & Pakistan (NEPA) – Leila Serhan, Public Sector Lead NEPA – Harb Bou-Harb & Technology Strategist for Public Sector and Education – Jibran Jamshad who shared the feedback with HEC officials about the performance and progress of the alliance.
One of the key decisions made during this meeting was to initiate Microsoft IT Academy program to improve the technical skill-set across the institutions, covering both students and faculty on various Microsoft Technologies. In addition, the establishment of Microsoft Innovation Center (MIC) in Islamabad was also agreed upon between the two organizations as advised by the Director General of IT – Anwar Amjad. It was also resolved that all MICs in Pakistan need effective role of Microsoft especially towards engaging technologies’ experts from the region to provide mentorship to the students.
Commenting on the progress, Microsoft’s General Manager (NEPA) – Leila Serhan stated that; “It is a pleasure to note that our collaborative initiative is helping the students and educators in Pakistan to realize their potential and elevate the standards of higher education in the country. The project is designed to ensure access to latest Microsoft software products and relevant trainings workshops conducted by qualified Microsoft trainers. It is creating opportunities for the Pakistani students to compete in local as well as global market”.
The Director General of IT at the HEC – Anwar Amjad expressed his views on the progress of this programme and said; “We appreciate the support of Microsoft in this initiative, which is well on its way to nurture a highly evolved academic culture in Pakistan, by integrating global advancements and cutting-edge tools, to bring the domestic curriculum and learning at par with the leading universities of the world. Thus, empowering our students to contribute and compete in the global workforce. However, we still have a long way to go together”.
The HEC and Microsoft are successfully moving in cohesion for the past 5 years, benefiting more than a million students and faculty members across the higher education sector in Pakistan.
