The spirit of entrepreneurship in Finland is strong. No longer do ambitious youngsters automatically think about getting a job. Creating a start-up straight out of college is now seen as a valid and exciting career choice.
Putting technology in the hands of individuals who make a difference, is always inspiring. Alfred Nobel, himself would have been impressed to hear the youth gathered in his home town of Stockholm recently to share their innovative, change-making ideas to take on some of society’s tougher issues. Microsoft Innovate4Good is a global initiative that aims to empower youth to change their world and...
Microsoft OneNote has helped reduce student drop-out rates in Norway. The country has made large investments in ICT education in recent years. What are the effects of these investments? How have they provided optimal learning and better outcomes for students?
Traditionally, young people are educated to become competent employees. This has been the goal for many years and has proved to be essential for the development and growth of modern society. For many years the educational systems has fostered an increasing number of educated and trained individuals for the benefit of the individual and society.
If you were an employer looking for a young person to recruit, would you rather hire someone with impeccable academic credentials or someone who you knew can communicate effectively, has good organizational skills, can take decisions independently, bring the best from others to achieve common goals?
Europe is at risk of being left behind by countries such as India, which is reshaping its future with new entrepreneurial creativity and social policy innovation. Currently the EU member states lose €153 billion every year by not being able to reconcile a quality transition and easier access to the labour market for the 14 million out-of-work, disengaged young Europeans.
You’ve all seen the figures over the past year and more that show high youth unemployment across some European Union Member States. But do people know that technology can have an enabling role in Europe and beyond?
Recently, both at European level and at Microsoft, we have had many discussions on how can industry improve and bridge the productivity skills of youth transitioning from school to work, and one of the things that we have found out is that it cannot happen without investments efforts and good will at national level in all European countries.
Unleashing the powers of creativity and innovation among our youth is one of the biggest opportunities to address some of the world’s most pressing challenges and unveil the synergies and potential of youth creativity, technology, and health innovation for real impact. Empowering youth to reach their potential is a promising investment for positive change, especially in this technological day and age....
The Grand Coalition for Digital Jobs was launched last week to address the shortfall of Europeans with digital professional skills and to exploit the employment potential of ICT. The EU's competitiveness is "under threat" according to Neelie Kroes, Vice President of the European Commission, if it cannot fill the expertise gap.