Students Inspired To Transform Their World Through Technology with Microsoft and Teach for Malaysia

“TFM Week: Flipped” pairs Malaysian students with Malaysia’s most respected corporations, organizations and individuals for the trip of their lives

KUALA LUMPUR, 9 September 2012 – Microsoft Malaysia (“Microsoft”) recently partnered with Teach for Malaysia for TFM Week: Flipped, an initiative supported by the Ministry of Education to arrange a series of memorable, amazing field trips from designed to excite and inspire local students as well as open new doors for students from high need schools who may not have these opportunities otherwise.

Held from 3-10 September 2012, TFM Week: Flipped is a follow-up to the inaugural Teach for Malaysia Week event held in April 2012, which saw the organization invite an array of highly respected industry leaders and public figures into the classroom to experience first-hand the kind of education inequity teachers face each and every.

For TFM Week: Flipped, students were hosted at Microsoft Malaysia’s new offices at Tower 3, Petronas Twin Towers, KLCC. There, they had conversations with several Microsoft executives who shared their experiences about what it was like to work in the ICT industry as well as the global competencies required for thriving in a multinational setting. The students were also regaled with technologies showcased throughout their trip, which included gaming consoles, touch screen technology and even a Skype session with regional executives who shared more extensively about Microsoft’s commitments and investments in the region!

“We are delighted to partner with Teach for Malaysia to transform Malaysia together – we share their enthusiasm to provide equal access to quality education. For 20 years now, we have maintained a strong and fervent commitment to Malaysia believing in the power of technology to truly accelerate development and fundamentally impact the way we all live for the better. We certainly hope that the students we hosted today were inspired and had their horizons widened to the vast potential opportunities that technology can bring – as much as they inspired all of us at Microsoft Malaysia with their enthusiasm and exuberance!” said Ananth Lazarus, Managing Director of Microsoft Malaysia.

“During Teach For Malaysia Week, students were inspired during one-on-one sessions with some of the country’s most respected industry leaders and public figures,” said Teach For Malaysia Co-Founder and Managing Director Dzameer Dzulkifli. “TFM Week: Flipped is a chance to take that impact even further, by providing an avenue for students to experience some truly unforgettable trips. We are very grateful to each of the organisations that has committed their time and resources to creating an itinerary that kids will never forget.”

Ananth added, “We believe that the work Teach for Malaysia does is very timely – in that it also aligns closely to the recently launched National Education Blueprint (2013-2025) by the Malaysian government.”

The National Education Blueprint was launched by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak and outlines 11 shifts required to transform the national education system to be on par with and comparable to that of developed nations, over the next 13 years. Shift 1 specifically addresses the need to provide equal access to quality education of an international standard while Shift 7 highlights the need to leverage ICT to scale up quality learning across Malaysia.