Cairo, Egypt: The British Council held its annual Partner Schools educational summit in El Alamein, where Microsoft, a global technology company, joined as a key participant.  The two – day annual strategic summit brought together educational leaders, school administrators, and educators from partner schools to create valuable networks within the educational society, explore key topics such as Digital Education leadership in the Era of Artificial Intelligence, Change, and Empowerment, in addition to school management and the different AI tools and opportunities enabling its advancement.

Organised by the British Council and with 210 + Partner Schools attending, the 2024 summit in El Alamein acted as platform for educational professionals shaping the British educational system in Egypt to connect and exchange experiences through featuring inspiring sessions, talks, panel discussions and group work activities.

Before the audience got to tune in with a Tech Talk about Exploring AI, Technology, and Gaming Innovations, Vasanti Ramdeen, Digital Education Lead British Council School, Madrid, delivered an interactive presentation on the first day of the summit on Leadership, Change, and teachers and stuff empowerment with AI productivity tools and levelling up their skills.

Moreover, Kudzayi Tarisayi, Senior Lecturer Faculty of Education Stellenbosch University, shared his valuable insights on Different AI tools Supporting school leadership and school management. Last but not least, the British Council Relations Management team took over with a live feedback session on delivery and engagement programmes, before ending the day on a high note with Experiential Learning Training group work activity.
As for the summit’s second day, Alexander Kingsley, GL Education, was successful in capturing the attendees’ attention with his session on Digital Safeguarding and fostering a safe culture for children online and at schools.
In light of Microsoft joining the summit for the first time and providing the needed supplies to British Council partner schools, Adel AbdelHamid, Channel Sales Manager at Microsoft, highlighted the importance of AI in education, stating, "Microsoft AI is transforming education, providing tools that personalize learning and enhance administrative efficiency, paving the way for a future where technology amplifies human potential and learning knows no bounds."

Moreover, on this year’s summit, Mark Howard, Country Director, British Council Egypt, expressed his excitement about Microsoft's participation and the success of the summit: "We are thrilled with this year’s overwhelming success of the strategic educational summit. The conference provided an opportunity for education professionals to receive key updates from the British Council and observe best practices from other schools. That’s of course in addition to the pride we take in the award ceremony, where we celebrate the success of partner schools highly engaged in various programs throughout the year”.

Within the same context, Ms Iman Sabry, Assistant Minister of Education said, "The Partner Schools summit organized by the British Council in Egypt provides a unique platform for educational leaders to shape the future of learning. By exchanging ideas and exploring innovative unprecedented AI potentials and opportunities that are surely to cooperate in shaping a better educational future in Egypt.

Globally, British Council Partner Schools work with more than 2,000 schools, support over 100,000 teachers and touch the lives of about one million students. With attendees from schools across Egypt, this event helps to support the mission of the British Council in building connections, understanding and trust through education.