Microsoft and online learning platform, Ed4All, have partnered with National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) in India to empower students with digital tools and skills and make learners job-ready in a digital economy. Through this partnership, Microsoft and Ed4All aim to reach over 170 million learners across the open schooling system in India.
Established in 1989 to increase literacy and aimed forward for flexible learning, the National Institute of Open Schooling is the board of education under the Union Government of India. It is the world’s largest open school platform.
As part of this collaboration, Microsoft and Ed4All have launched a customized tech platform for the NIOS Virtual Open School – BLEAP for NIOS. BLEAP stands for Blended Learning and Pedagogy, and also refers to the platform being a Big Leap in school education. BLEAP for NIOS is built on the Microsoft stack of Teams, Microsoft 365, and Azure.
The first-of-its-kind customized tech platform provides learners a personalized learning experience for improved learning outcomes. The platform offers easy-to-consume modules including live demos, hands-on workshops, and assignments along with skill-based courses and certifications. Students across NIOS will also have access to digital courses on technologies like artificial intelligence, cloud computing, cyber security, and data sciences among others.
Navtez Bal, Executive Director – Public Sector at Microsoft India believes that the initiative is an important step in ensuring equity in education and skilling. As India, and the world, rapidly moves towards a digital economy, the skills of the future will look very different from the skills that are needed today.
