Innovative technologies can enhance the effectiveness of learning and enrich the learning experience, and mastering IT is critical for young people to secure their future employment opportunities or to start up their own business. With robust support for students and educators in the 21st century, Microsoft helps youth to realize their talents and move from "opportunities imagined" to "opportunities realized".
Empower students with 21st century learnin
Microsoft is committed to harnessing the power of IT to transform education. The Microsoft Partners in Learning (PiL) program provides professional development to school leaders and educators to help them with new approaches to learning and teaching, using technology to help students develop 21st century skills.
Inspire young graduates to imagine possibilities
Through outreach, training and mentorship, Microsoft aims to empower youth of different ages and backgrounds to change their world. We help talented young people, particularly including females, to understand career opportunities in IT in order to increase the diversity of the IT talent pool and cater to the needs of our fast-changing world.
Equip working youth with IT to find a better career
Under the YouthSpark program, Microsoft partners with local youth organizations to improve local youth's access to quality computer science education. To achieve this goal, Microsoft has invested HK$11.5M into YouthSpark to benefit nearly 1,500 local youths through 3 NGOs.
Microsoft in Education
Since 2004, Microsoft has collaborated with the Hong Kong Education Bureau to jointly promote IT in Education. By harnessing the power of information technology and next-generation eLearning practices, educators and students are empowered to stay competitive while building a sustainable knowledge-based economy.
In the first five-year stage, 2004-2008, more than 11,000 educators and 80,000 students benefited from software and training support from Microsoft, successfully improving education quality with technology. From 2008, more than 12,000 additional educators joined the training, accumulating a total of 3,750 hours of training. In 2017, nearly 150 educators who are passionate about eLearning have joined the Microsoft Innovative Educator Hong Kong Community for further training. Each year, educators who have achieved excellence in using technology to pave the ways for their peers and inspire their students to learn more will be selected to become Microsoft Innovative Educator Expert (MIEE) and get the chance to join the Microsoft Educator Exchange (E2) Global forums to share their experiences with educators around the world.
In 2013, Microsoft's partnership with the Education Bureau entered its third stage (2013-2018) through the signing of a third MOU, with Microsoft continuing to provide innovative technology for the next generation of eLearning. With the new cloud technology (Microsoft Office 365 service), schools can deploy cloud computing, which enables an integrated cloud-based learning platform fit for the next generation of eLearning development. The service will provide support for educators and students to teach and learn anytime, anywhere, and accommodate the trend of adopting mobile devices such as tablets and smartphones in education.
Microsoft will provide Office 365 cloud services to 1,000 primary and secondary schools in Hong Kong for free, benefitting 50,000 teachers and 800,000 students. Up to 2017, more than 60%+ primary and secondary schools in Hong Kong (over 600 schools) have registered the Office 365 cloud services. Through Office 365, Microsoft offers end-to-end solutions covering tools for Flipped Classroom, self-directed learning, sharing and collaboration, and coursework management. This will build up the professional capacity of teachers to enable self-directed learning opportunities for students with information technology empowered by Microsoft. At the same time, the Hong Kong Education Bureau will support Microsoft by connecting with schools and teachers and providing training venues.
Microsoft actively supports the STEM development in Hong Kong. In 2017, Microsoft worked with Hong Kong Education City to co-organize the 2nd Master Code Competition to stimulate student interest to learn coding in their favorite gaming environment Minecraft. The competition has reached over 50 local schools and over 680 educators and students through Minecraft and coding workshops as well as the competition. Students leverage the open world of Minecraft to build their dream smart city using creativity and coding skills.
Key initiatives include:
- Offering online training resources for 50,000 teachers in Hong Kong and promoting overseas exchange through the Microsoft Educator Community
- Providing 10,000 educators with more than 2,000 hours face-to-face eLearning solutions training
- Expanding the Microsoft Innovative Educator (MIE) Program and further developing 100 Certified MIEs to participate in train-the-trainers with their peers, ultimately enabling more than 10,000 teachers to benefit from this program
- Providing 500 IT technicians with more than 200 hours of hands-on technical training
Microsoft Youth Spark
Programme Highlights:
Computer Science & Digital Skills Trainings
aged 12 – 24 to equip them at different stages with digital skills. Trainings include Microsoft Certified Trainings, Microsoft Productivity Tools, Coding & Programming and Latest Technologies.
Career Related Training
Coding Campaigns
Visit the Programme Website for the lastest training, activities and resources available.
Microsoft GirlSpark
Microsoft GirlSpark Camp 2018, concluded in January 2018, continues to provide an exciting, hands-on series of activities that enable university women to better understand the diversity of career pathways in ICT industry as well as harnessing the power of technology to spark a better future. Co-organized by Microsoft Hong Kong, LinkedIn Hong Kong and The Women’s Foundation, the program has provided:
- GirlSpark e-Classroom on the Latest Technologies & Productivity Tools to 500+ female university students
- 4-Day Camp
- GirlsHack - social innovation competitions with the use of Microsoft technologies
- Keynotes, Panel Sharing & Small Talk Circles by Industry Elites - Opportunity Day with Microsoft, LinkedIn and other leading companies to line up job opportunities
- Post-camp Mentorship with mentors from Microsoft HK and other leading companies
The Microsoft Academy for College Hires (MACH) Program
MBA MACH Program
Program Highlights
Global Exposure - International footprint, promote a highly diverse and open environment for individuals motivated by global challenges and growth mindset
Diversity & Mobility Boundless growth - Free to go beyond of defined job roles, functions and geographies to collaborate with different teams
Make impact with innovation - Regardless of experiences, original ideas are highly encouraged and celebrated in a fun environment; collaborative relationships are fostered
Cloud Career - Extensive resources to enable passionate individuals to kick start their cloud career
Young Talent Community - You will be invited to learning circles, networking sessions, social activities, yammer group, Microsoft Teams, etc. which will give you the opportunity to learn from and connect with our leaders, business professionals and MACH, in order to expedite your learning
Click here to know more about the MACH experience!
The application period usually starts in September every year. For more information, please feel free to contact us at hkcamp@microsoft.com
Internship Program
Program Highlights
Leadership Roundtable - You will have the opportunity to meet with our business leaders to share your ideas and collect their feedback
MS Young Talent Community - You will be invited to learning circles, networking sessions, social activities, yammer group, Microsoft Team, etc. which will give you the opportunity to learn from and connect with our leaders, business professionals and MACH, in order to expedite your learning
Mentorship - You will be assigned with our industry professional as mentor who can help you with career advice and share business insights and new perspectives to widen your horizons
Hackathon - You can share innovative ideas and work with other MS young talents to make your idea comes true by winning our Hackathon competition
Graduate Career Opportunity - Interns with exceptional performance will be invited to apply for our MACH program and continuously work in Microsoft Hong Kong after graduation
The application period usually starts in February every year.
For more information, please feel free to contact us at hkcamp@microsoft.com