INTEL INVOLVED EMPLOYEE VOLUNTEER PROGRAM RAISES NEARLY QUARTER-MILLION DOLLARS FOR EDUCATION IN MALAYSIA

Pilot Project Extended with Malaysia’s Ministry of Education

Dato' Dr. Craig Barrett, Chairman of Intel Corp interacting with the students of SMK Datuk Haji Ahmad Badawi, Kepala Batas

KEPALA BATAS, Penang, Malaysia, May 17, 2008 – Proving there is truth to the adage, “time is money,” Intel Corporation Chairman Craig Barrett presented the Malaysia Ministry of Education (MoE) with a check of nearly a quarter-million dollars toward education – the fruits of nearly 60,000 hours of volunteer labor logged last year.

Earmarked for twenty three Malaysian schools, the US$223,950 (RM710,000) was raised by Intel Malaysia employees who donated their time to schools as part of the community-minded Intel Involved Matching Grant Program. Barrett was joined by representatives of the MoE for the presentation that took place at SMK Datuk Haji Ahmad Badawi School in Kepala Batas.

“I am proud of the leadership our employees have shown through this initiative,” said Barrett, who is visiting Malaysia as part of a Southeast Asia trip. “Volunteer efforts tied to education can extend the impact of information and communications technology (ICT) in schools and help advance Malaysia’s social and economic development.”

Intel Involved Matching Grant Programme, cheque presentation from Dato Dr. Craig Barrett, Chairman of Intel Corp to Dr. Salbiah Director of Educational Technology Division, Ministry of Education Malaysia

Barrett also discussed the global benefits of such campaigns, and in the spirit of Intel’s 40th anniversary celebration this year, appealed to the 85,000 employees worldwide to donate 1 million hours of volunteer service toward projects that promote access to education, health care and Internet connectivity. Volunteer hours under the Intel Involved program are matched with grants by the Intel Foundation for schools and qualifying not-for-profit organizations worldwide.
Supporting Barrett’s remarks at the check presentation was Y.Bhg Dr. Salbiah binti Ismail, Director of Educational Technology Division, MoE Malaysia. “ICT plays a very important role in making our education move forward and ensuring the future human development of this country. We in the Ministry of Education put great emphasis on the need to accelerate the transformation of Malaysia’s current education system.”

Intel-MoE e-Learning Collaboration Expands
Complementing today’s events and announcements, Barrett paid a visit to a classroom at the Kepala Batas school and spoke with students and teachers about the benefits of ICT on education. The public school is one of 10 across Malaysia that has taken part in an innovative 1:1 e-learning pilot project. In the 1:1 e-learning model, each student has access to a PC in the classroom for interactive, student-centric learning. Introduced in selected elementary and junior high schools in April 2007, the project equipped one classroom in each school with Classmate PCs. The affordable, full-featured student laptop helps promote learning in part by allowing a teacher or student to share lessons on his or her Classmate PC screen with other Classmate PC screens in the schoolroom.

In addition to the 460 Classmate PCs installed in Standard 4 and Form 2 classes for the project, instructors at the pilot schools go through the Intel® Teach program, which trains teachers on ways to improve education in the classroom through the use of computers and other technology.
“ICT changed my classroom,” said Norhazli Bin Ibrahim, a science teacher at SMK Clifford school in Pahang, one of the schools participating in the initial phase of the 1:1 e-learning pilot project. “My students are more active and interested in their learning. They become more cooperative working as a group. The Classmate PC allows more communications among the students. They are given more chances to use their creativity and innovation to accomplish their projects.”

The pilot’s success has led Intel and the MoE to continue their collaboration with a second phase of the 1:1 e-learning model in more Malaysian schools. Immediate plans include extending the model throughout one entire school. The 1:1 e-learning project plays a key role in supporting the government’s focus on ICT in education as part of an economic development blueprint known as the Ninth Malaysia Plan.

“The second phase of the 1:1 e-learning project is expected to begin this year. In this phase, the Ministry of Education hopes to involve all the students in three selected schools in Putrajaya and Cyberjaya. Intel has agreed to provide CMPCs for one of the schools. At the same time, the Ministry of Education will look into purchasing the CMPCs for the second school, while Multimedia Development Corporation (MDeC) has agreed to look into the CMPC requirements for the third school”, added Dr. Salbiah.

Earlier in his Southeast Asia trip, Barrett visited Indonesia for a firsthand look at how similar 1:1 e-education initiatives are taking root and enhancing student learning. He will travel next to deliver the opening-day keynote address at World Congress on Information Technology 2008. He will also chair the steering committee and strategy council meetings for the United Nations Global Alliance for ICT and Development (UN GAID) while in Kuala Lumpur.

Barrett is visiting the region in his role as chairman of UN GAID and to observe progress of Intel’s global initiative to improve education, health care, entrepreneurship and government services by accelerating access to computers, connectivity and localized Internet content under the umbrella of the World Ahead Program. Additional information about the Intel World Ahead Program, a US$1 billion, 5-year effort, is available at www.intel.com/changingtheworld and www.intel.com/intel/worldahead/index.htm.