Before COVID-19 disrupted the education journeys of more than 1.5 billion students around the world, higher education institutions were already exploring ways to grow enrollment, reach more students, and better engage the “digital natives” of Generation Z.

Digital skilling has taken center stage in 2020 – and as the importance of well-rounded, at-home learning has grown, this will continue to shape culture and education in the year ahead.

Each day of term – at least, each day of term in a normal, non-Pandemic Year – 1,300 students from K-12 make their way into the very heart of Sydney, to St Andrew’s Cathedral School.

This October, we launched the first-ever Minecraft Education Global Build Championship. This worldwide challenge invited students to imagine places where humans and animals could safely and happily coexist. Learners could design a school, home, workplace, or public space and select one of five biomes.

Sign up for Microsoft 365 Education – free for students and educators at eligible institutions. Get access to programs like Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, and now Microsoft Teams, plus additional classroom tools. Use your valid school email address to get started today.

Winter break may look different this year, but that doesn’t mean it has to be any less fun.

Microsoft and Code.org are excited to announce a partnership that gives every student from elementary school to high school the opportunity to learn about artificial intelligence (AI).

One of Australia’s leading regional institutions, the University of Newcastle (the University) has its main campus in that city, with satellite facilities throughout the Eastern Seaboard of Australia as well as a campus in Singapore.

The Microsoft School Transformation Program is a free school-wide professional learning program that sees school leaders, teachers, learning support teachers and IT professionals build their capacity to transform their school and support students using the technology they already have at their fingertips.

In September we launched Imagine Cup Junior 2021, a great opportunity for students aged 13-18 to learn about artificial intelligence (AI) and how it can be used for good.

As a veteran teacher, I usually had a pretty good idea of how I could support parents and guardians with their students’ education. But sometimes a family-teacher conference would reveal something I didn’t know. I realized that together, we could work on a solution.

Artificial intelligence is an exciting horizon in the world of computer science, empowering technology to advance in ways never before possible. The implications of AI will reach into every sector of society, from government to entertainment, from business to environmental protection.