Qatar’s Education ministry signs MoU with Microsoft, Starlink

Doha, The Gulf Observer: Qatar’s Ministry of Education and Higher Education (MoEHE), Microsoft Qatar and Starlink have signed a tripartite memorandum of understanding to enhance cooperation in accelerating technology adoption in the education sector in the State of Qatar.

The Undersecretary of the Ministry of Education and Higher Education HE Dr. Ibrahim bin Saleh Al Nuaimi, General Manager of Microsoft Qatar Lana Khalaf, and CEO of Starlink Munera Fahad Al Dosari signed the MoU.

In a statement on Saturday, MoEHE said that the MoU aims to activate and strengthen the public-private partnership and develop the blended learning model through modern technical tools and resources, especially since this cooperation comes within the ministry’s strategy for e-learning, and in line with the human development pillar of Qatar Vision National 2030.

Dr. Al Nuaimi noted that the partnership with Microsoft and Starlink aims to provide the education system with expertise and best practices to enhance innovation and creativity and enable students and teachers to actively participate in the educational process, stressing the developing programs in line with the MoU will serve the educational process.

He added that this cooperation would accelerate the implementation of the Ministry’s e-learning strategy, and enhance the innovation of solutions that facilitate the learning and teaching process using technology, which increases students’ motivation and passion, and enhances their interaction with educational resources. He pointed out that this cooperation will enable everyone to obtain Microsoft educational devices and technologies to make the most of the advantages of electronic learning and education, in a way that enhances the capabilities and aspirations of students and teachers, as it mainly targets students who are not equipped with these devices.

Lana Khalaf stressed that the MoU strengthens the long-term strategic partnership with MoEHE and is in line with Microsoft’s global goals to enable every individual and every institution in the world to achieve its goals and capabilities.

Furthermore, MoEHE intends to launch an initiative to enable students, teachers, and academic staff to benefit from Microsoft devices and technologies.

The General Manager of Microsoft Qatar said that this initiative comes within the framework of MoEHE’s efforts to implement the e-learning strategy by facilitating the access of every student and teacher in Qatar to a smart (Surface) device with all the educational features necessary to develop their digital capabilities and prepare them for the labor market and the digital future.

CEO of Starlink Munera Fahad Al Dosari said Starlink established an online sales platform for this initiative with affordable payment plans and many other benefits to facilitate the process of choosing the appropriate package for each individual, noting that the initiative, which will be launched soon, will provide an opportunity for students, teachers, and parents to obtain educational packages that include Surface devices, programs and applications with different specifications at very low prices.