The British Education and Training Technology Show (BETT) will act as the stage for Microsoft and the company's partners to focus on the role played by technology in the evolution of education via not only tech demonstrations, but also high-level briefings and strategic announcements. The Redmond company is just at the start of a weeklong round of initiatives designed to showcase the intimate connection between superior education outcomes globally and technology. In the end, the software giant underlined that technology was the key enabling people to reach their full potential via education.

“Education represents the catalyst for unlocking human potential in today’s knowledge economy,” L. Michael Golden, corporate vice president for the Education Products Group at Microsoft, explained. “We believe that with the right partnerships, processes, and technologies in place, we can help educators and students develop and implement better ways to ensure they are prepared for the 21st century.”

Connecting to the process of enabling opportunities through learning, Microsoft is looking at a total of three strategic initiatives, set up as the targets for investments, namely enabling local innovation, transforming education, and fostering jobs and opportunities. At the BETT annual education exhibition, the software giant will literally put its money where its mouth is, and not only discuss and demo the integration of technology into the learning process, but also announce investments illustrative of its commitment to foster high-quality education.

One initiative that will come into focus at BETT will be the Partners in Learning program. The company headquartered in Redmond, Washington, plans to bring to center stage the success of the global Innovative Schools pilot program, and use the experience already gathered as a model for future enterprises. In addition to BETT, the manufacturer  will also engage with education ministers and additional government officials at the Learning and Technology World Forum, by the end of this week. The company plans to also join government representatives at the Education Leaders Briefing on January 14, in order to make 21st century learning a reality for students everywhere. In addition, Microsoft U.K. is set to reveal a fresh implementation of education services as a world's-first, and to kick start the Digital Literacy Curriculum for students under 16.