Microsoft

INTERVIEW WITH STEVE BESWICK, MICROSOFT’S DIRECTOR OF EDUCATION ON THEIR SCHOOLS’ PARTNERSHIP PROGRAMME

“Most people reading this will be familiar with Microsoft. What they are, perhaps, less familiar with is Microsoft’s role within the education sector and particularly how this fits in with Microsoft’s corporate social-responsibility policy.”

“I think that the best place to start is to look at Microsoft and see what we stand for as an organisation. A lot of people may have seen advertising from us about realising potential. And that’s realising potential of both individuals and businesses, and I think that there is nowhere more important where you can see this in action than in the education sector here in the UK. So we really are trying to realise the potential of children as they go through the education system. We have been working on projects in the education sector for over 10 years — working on how we can look at and see best practice and how we can advise other schools and universities what’s going on in the use of ICT by really showing and demonstrating that ICT is a valuable asset in the learning process.”

“So within that structure presumably you work fairly closely with other institutions, particularly the two new government education departments that replaced the DfES — the Department for Children, Schools and Families and the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills.”

“We certainly do. We work closely with government and government agencies. We work with schools, with teachers, with parents as well as with government agencies. There are several examples of this. Firstly, we work closely with the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust [SSAT]. We work with them on a sponsorship programme that we started some four or five years ago with 100 schools across the UK. We are providing software to the schools but, more importantly, we are providing expertise in terms of how the educational ICT strategies are evolving within those schools and, at the same time, we are getting continual feedback on how the children and teachers are using ICT. Getting that feedback is very important for us as well.”

“You have talked in terms of sponsorship . . . is this the same as providing funding or are you actually sponsoring those schools in kind, so to speak?”

“I think funding and sponsorship are two very different things . . . we tend to provide sponsorship. This is a combination of financially providing some software to those schools but, much more importantly, it is working in partnership with the schools, getting feedback from them, as well as providing time and people to help those same schools develop their ICT. And much of the feedback that we get from the schools is that the personnel from Microsoft and the expertise we can provide right across the technology are as important as any of the financial contributions that we make.”

“In addition to the sponsorship or funding itself, what benefits do the schools, particularly those seeking specialist status, get from their association with Microsoft?”

“We work very closely with the SSAT, since many organisations are applying for specialist school status. In nearly all of those applications the ICT within the school is a very important aspect. we can provide expertise and help in developing that ICT strategy, supplying the technology and the skills as they apply for specialist status in the marketplace.”

“What benefits has Microsoft provided to the children by sponsoring their schools?”

“Well, I think first of all by sponsoring them that it gives them confidence in the use of ICT. But I think, just as importantly, these kids really enjoy using the ICT as part of their lessons and they get more engaged as a result. So certainly the feedback we have had from many children is that they like going to school when there is an rich ICT environment. From the feedback we get about the work that we do in the education sector, it is clear to us that we are building confidence in the use of ICT through the education system and that can transcend into business. All the time ICT is moving forward at a rapid pace, and if we can get children coming out of the education system thinking that ICT can be a big enabler to them, to business change and, potentially, to social change as well, then it will be hugely beneficial for all of us.”

“Presumably then, those benefits spin over into business.”

“Yes, there is a knock-on benefit for everybody involved, because, as we know, in the UK there is a shortage around ICT skills. The feedback we have received from many of our customers is that they need children who have ICT literacy and good in-depth knowledge of the way computers work, of the software and how that can be used in a business application. As they come out, not only are they getting more engaged and learning but they are also equipped with the skills that employers want. If we look at the statistics and the need for those skills, today there are 3.2 million unskilled jobs in the UK. It has been predicted that by 2020 that will go down to 600,000, so we have got a big re-skilling exercise to do, not only with the children who are in education today but we also have to look at people who are already in employment in unskilled jobs.

“We have talked about the last 5–10 years and your relationship with the education sector, tell me, what does Microsoft propose to do next in the education field? What’s next in the pipeline?”

“We look at government policy very closely and see how we can map onto that, and several aspects we find very interesting. First of all the personalisation of learning — individualising the learning process within education today; we certainly believe that ICT has got a massive role to play in that. If we look also at how children learn, how they can do their homework and connect with the IT systems at school: we believe that the home-access opportunity is going to be very important. The whole skills agenda that I have mentioned already is a very, very important indicator of how the UK economy will move into a knowledge-based economy in the future. To that end, we think we have a big role to play in enabling children to come out of education with excellent ICT skills. And, finally, the Every Child Matters Agenda is very important to us . . . again, a valuable government policy . . . not only producing good exam results, which is clearly important — and we think ICT can contribute greatly to that — but also ensuring that every child has healthy start and an equal chance in life . . . we believe that ICT has an essential role to play in this.”

Biography of Steve Beswick, Director of Education, Microsoft Corporation

Steve Beswick is Director of Education for Microsoft UK and is responsible for managing relationships with Microsoft’s partners and customers within the education sector and driving forward Microsoft’s vision for education.

Steve and his team work with schools, teachers and other education partners to deliver educational solutions, support and examples of best practice to the sector, building on the success of initiatives such as the Partners in Learning and Innovative Teachers programmes. Within this role, Steve’s team help schools understand and realise the value of technology in transforming the education process.

Steve has been at Microsoft for over 10 years and has worked in a number of public sector-related roles. His career at Microsoft started as NHS Business Manager, before moving into sales and partner positions and then becoming Director of Central Government, where he was responsible for helping to support the Transformational Government agenda. Prior to joining Microsoft, Steve worked at Digital Equipment for six years.

For further information, visit www.microsoft.com/uk/education