I've written a lot about Microsoft Innovative Teachers Network here in Northern Ireland, the UK and Ireland. There is also a lot of information about Microsoft Innovative Schools. Now thanks to the hard work of two of my colleagues in Dublin,, Martha Rotter, Microsoft Developer Evangelist and Liam Cronin, Microsoft Academic Engagement Manager  we have a newsletter for Students.

There are great links to blogs from the Microsoft Student Partners (both North and South) so keep up to date on what they do and how being an MSP has impacted and influenced their University careers.

This is a terrific resource and every student should sign up for it. Thanks to Martha and Liam for putting this together. Maybe, one of these days I'll get a chance to contribute a piece.

Stay tuned

Yesterday I had the good fortune to attend the launch of DigiYouthz at the Microsoft offices in Dublin. There were almost 100 Students and Teachers in attendance and the energy was very high. The Microsoft team did a terrific job of showing how ICT and Computing can be a great course choice in University level and Further and Higher Education.

About DigiYouthz from their website:

"What's it all about?

The first Microsoft DigiYouthz is taking place in Dublin this November. Our aim is to educate and inspire teenagers while breaking down the stereotypes typically associated with careers in technology. During the event, students interact with Microsoft employees and managers to gain exposure to careers in business and technology and to get an inside look at what it's like to work at Microsoft. This exciting event provides students with career planning assistance, information about technology and business roles, thought-provoking exercises, and interesting Microsoft product demonstrations. By participating in the Microsoft DigiYouthz Day, young people can find out about the variety of opportunities available in the high-tech industry and can explore future career paths."

I've been involved in a similar scheme in Northern Ireland working with Momentum NI called

Bring IT On. 

Hopefully, we' be able to share our experiences and feedback in the coming months and make a real difference as to how students look at ICT and Computing in 3rd level Education.

More to follow

Last evening we had the big Gala dinner for this year's Innovative Teachers Forum with the winners announced in the 3 specialist areas of Content, Collaboration and Community. We had 1 finalist in Community with Kathleen O'Connor's submission - "Coal Mining-an Underground Story". We also had 3 finalists in the Content group. They were Eileen McStocker's submission- "Conservation Online", Ciaran McLaren and Tom Fitzsimmons submission- "GCSE Double Award Engineering with Mathematics" and Kate O'Connell's submission- "Flying High- Exploring Aviation".

Kate was the only winner from Ireland on the night with a 3rd place win in her category. Well done Kate for a great project. Her she in with Piggly the school mascot that been writing a daily blog on everything  going on. You can see it all HERE. Here is Kate getting her prize from Ralph Young, Microsoft VP WW Public Sector

Be sure to check out the photo album of the week titled "Hong Kong ITF"

A big congratulations to Eileen, Tom, Kathleen and Ciaran for making it so far in the competition. The buzz around their work has been incredible and there are several projects already in the pipeline with several teachers from around the world, so watch this space

Latest update from Hong Kong:

 All 4 projects from Ireland (N+S)

make the cut to the Semi-final round !!

The final round for this year's Worldwide Innovative Teachers Forum Awards takes place this evening and all 4 of our entries have made it. It's the 1st time ever that 4 schools from 1 Microsoft subsidiary have done this, so a huge congratulations to Tom, Ciaran, Eileen, Kate and Kathleen. This means that 4 of the very best 28 Teachers in the world have come from our little island. UNBELIEVABLE !!

We'll let you know how it turns out later today but just getting this far is really unbelievable. There were 80+ entries from over 60 countries in a competition that had almost 100,000 entries worldwide.

GO IRELAND (N+S)

Well, it's been an exciting and amazing trip so far. We've had an opportunity to see a lot of Hong Kong and this really is an unbelievable place. If you like shopping, I guess this would be your heaven.

Here I am at the top of Victoria Peak with Angela, the STIC Manager from Johannesburg, South Africa. The view was truly unbelievable.

The Teachers from Northern Ireland and Ireland have been getting on like they've known each other for years. Here are a few photos:

The Irish Team

The big competition finishes today with the winners announced tonight. Wish them all luck and I'll let you know what happens tomorrow.