Career readiness skills

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.

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.

The hack is back in an all-new way! Hack the Classroom: STEM Edition is a free virtual event series designed for K-12 educators, parents, and guardians. The sessions will feature resources and tutorials to help educators support students in learning future-ready skills.

Today I have the pleasure of announcing the winners of the Imagine Cup Junior 2020 AI for Good Challenge.

COVID-19 has impacted millions of people globally, especially with regard to their employment. Many jobs have been lost, others have been transformed, and as we look ahead, many more will be created for the first time.

The knowledge, skill, versatility, passion for their profession, and commitment to their students that teachers exhibit is always visible. But the incredible effort that educators around the world have made in recent months to quickly adapt to remote learning is worthy of special recognition.

From time to time, we feature guest blogs from educators who are making a difference in the lives of young people around the world.

Late last year, I announced the launch of Imagine Cup Junior, an exciting new opportunity for students aged 13-18, to engage with Microsoft’s AI for Good Initiatives and come up with big ideas to help solve big challenges.

The fourth industrial revolution is fueling accelerated change in society and the workplace. Technology advancements, the rise of cloud, socio-economic and demographic changes are shifting expectations and placing new demands on society.

From time to time, we feature guest blogs from educators who are making a difference in the lives of young people and who are eager to share their success with the Microsoft Education community.

As technology continues to evolve, we are faced with an incredible opportunity to leverage the power of new solutions and human expertise to unlock some of the biggest challenges we face in society.

I teach construction and technology to students ages 13 to 17 at Vechtdal College in the Netherlands. My hands-on lessons in woodworking, painting and working with heavy machinery prepare students for careers in the construction industry.