Google Partner in Pakistan

Tech Valley Pakistan Sets to Empower Schools of Sindh in collaboration with the Sindh Education & Literacy Department After successfully piloting the digital transformation of schools in other provinces, Tech Valley, Pakistan has joined hands with the Sindh Education and Literacy Department, which comes under the jurisdiction of the Government of Sindh Karachi, 25th August 2022: After successfully piloting the digital transformation of schools in other provinces, Tech Valley Pakistan has joined hands with the Sindh Education and Literacy Department, which comes under the jurisdiction of the Government of Sindh. A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed between CEO Tech Valley, Umar Farooq, and Secretary Education and Literacy Department Sindh, Ghulam Akbar Laghari.   As part of the digitization of schools, Tech Valley Pakistan, a country partner of Google for Education, will incorporate Google’s digital learning tools in the schools of Karachi to make learning more fun and interactive. The program includes tools like Google Classroom, where teachers can upload class resources, update students regarding the assignments, take online quizzes and collaborate with students in real-time.    Secretary Education and Literacy Department Sindh, Ghulam Akbar Laghari, highly encouraged the idea of adding value to the existing education system of Sindh and said, “COVID-19 taught us how important it is to implement digital technology in the education system. Now is the right time to equip our local schools as well. My team and I are excited about this pilot program and hope to expand it further.”   Under this digitization project, teachers and IT staff will also be trained on the Google for Education tools to leverage the technology to improve the teaching and learning process of the schools. The selected schools’ infrastructure will also be modernized and enhanced with Chrome OS Flex, a cloud-first, fast, easy-to-manage, and secure operating system.    CEO Tech Valley Umar Farooq mentioned, “InshaAllah, with this program, we would be able to see all of the Google for Education tools and the complete digital ecosystem operating in schools of Karachi. Through this pilot program, we will also be able to comprehend Karachi’s local challenges and dynamics.” Tech Valley Pakistan is a trusted partner of Google for Education, Google Workspace, and Google Cloud in Pakistan. Its mission is to inculcate the culture of technology and entrepreneurship through digital innovations.

Google CS First Phase 4 to be Launched in collaboration with the Sindh Information, Science & Technology Department After the successful implementation of Google CS First in selected cities, Sindh Information, Science & Technology Department has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Tech Valley Pakistan, a local country partner of Google for Education. Karachi, 25th August 2022: After the successful implementation of Google CS First in selected cities, Sindh Information, Science & Technology Department has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Tech Valley Pakistan, a local country partner of Google for Education, to launch CS First Phase 4, with the support of Google and Ministry of IT & Telecom, in Pakistan’s one of the biggest metropolitan cities, Karachi now.   The past three phases of Google CS First were conducted throughout Pakistan in cities like Islamabad, Lahore, Peshawar, Rawalpindi, Faisalabad, Mainwali, Quetta, and trained more than 130 trainers and 600 students on early-age coding.    CS First, a program of Google, empowers teachers to teach computer science to kids between 9 to 14 years with easy-to-use tools and resources. Through this program, students learn through instructors, video tutorials, and block-based coding in Scratch, which helps in enhancing their creative and analytical skills.   Mr. Asif Ikram, Secretary, Information and Science Department, Sindh, while signing the MOU, said, “This partnership would take our mission of making a difference in the lives of citizens through digital interventions. We need such capacity-building programs so that when our kids reach the advanced level, they have sufficient background knowledge and necessary skills such as coding.”   Under Phase 4, Google for Education’s Partner in Pakistan, Tech Valley, will collaborate with the Sindh Information, Science & Technology Department to organize training sessions in different government schools in Sindh and equip kids with basic coding knowledge.    Tech Valley, the local country partner for Google for Education, has localized the global CS First curriculum to suit the Pakistani context and has developed a detailed implementation plan.   CEO Tech Valley Umar Farooq said during the ceremony, “Tech Valley is grateful to Google and its team for supporting this excellent initiative in Pakistan. Apart from teaching kids coding through Art, Storytelling, and Game Design, we have also clubbed the Be Internet Awesome Program in these training sessions so that students can be smart, responsible, safe, and aware while surfing the internet.” Tech Valley Pakistan is a global innovative consulting firm working with various development organizations, INGOs, and private and government organizations. Its mission is to inculcate a culture of technology and entrepreneurship through digital innovations.

Gilgit Baltistan welcomes Google for Education tools to their schools through Country Partner Tech Valley Tech Valley Pakistan, a trusted partner of Google for Education in Pakistan, has joined hands with the Government of Gilgit Baltistan to digitize schools of Gilgit Baltistan under a pilot project. Gilgit Baltistan, 16th August 2022: Tech Valley Pakistan, a trusted partner of Google for Education in Pakistan, has joined hands with the Government of Gilgit Baltistan to digitize schools of Gilgit Baltistan under a pilot project. A letter of understanding was signed between Rana Muhammad Saleem Afzal, Secretary of Education, Gilgit Baltistan, and CEO Tech Valley, Umar Farooq. During the signing ceremony, Honorable Secretary of Education Rana Muhammad Saleem Afzal said, “Recently, the Government of Gilgit Baltistan has launched multiple initiatives to upgrade the region’s education system while battling with the connectivity issues. Now, we anxiously wait for the intervention of Google as Gilgit Baltistan has one of the highest literacy rates in Pakistan, and its youth deserve best-in-class tools.” He also called this project a gift to the youth of the region.  The project will equip the classrooms with the latest tools to help students learn in a technologically advanced environment. Under this pilot project, selected schools will be entirely digitized with the help of Google for Education, and students can learn, interact and communicate with each other remotely. The aim is to provide hands-on experience to students so they can be encouraged to leverage available resources and tools. In addition to this, To ensure the pilot schools have connectivity to carry out the project, Tech Valley has also engaged Special Communication Organization in Gilgit Baltistan which has shown full support to contribute to the project. CEO Tech Valley Umar Farooq said, “We have been here for the last two days to analyze the situation on the ground, we will start with the selected schools to show you how tools can help, and then we can further scale up this model.” He also added that “We see ourselves as an end-to-end enabler providing not only the tools but also training teachers to use them effectively and motivating students to explore STEM.” He further thanked the Chief Secretary Office of Gilgit Baltistan for coordinating the visit and helping the Tech Valley team connect with the relevant stakeholders in the region.  Tim Paolini, Google APAC Sales Lead, also joined the ceremony online and ensured Secretary Education that Tech Valley is one of their preferred global partners to work with, and he looks forward to visiting Gilgit Baltistan during his next trip to Pakistan.  Tech Valley Pakistan is a global innovative consulting firm working with various development organizations, INGOs, and private and government organizations. Its mission is to inculcate the culture of technology and entrepreneurship through digital innovations.

Beaconhouse and Tech Valley sign MoU to digitise education for Leaders of Tomorrow! Beaconhouse, a global network of private schools and institutes educating over 315,000 students in seven countries, has partnered with Tech Valley, an innovative digital consulting firm and trusted country partner of Google for Education in Pakistan. 12th August 2022: Beaconhouse, a global network of private schools and institutes educating over 315,000 students in seven countries, has partnered with Tech Valley, an innovative digital consulting firm and trusted country partner of Google for Education in Pakistan. A memorandum of understanding was signed between the two parties in Lahore to work towards incorporating different Google technologies in Beaconhouse schools, carrying forward its mission to inculcate global best practices to improve education delivery.  Under this MoU, Tech Valley, with the support of international Google for Education teams, will assist Beaconhouse in procuring and incorporating Chromebooks for their programmes such as Homebridge and the inception of the Bring Your Own Devices (BYOD) model on their campuses. Additionally, Tech Valley will conduct training for teachers and admin staff to help them effectively utilise Google technologies such as Google Workspace and Google Cloud Platform. Speaking at the signing ceremony, Ali Ahmed Khan, Chief Operating Officer of Beaconhouse, said, “Beaconhouse is extremely delighted to work with the Google for Education team and its local partner, Tech Valley. As its first education sector partner, we are excited to kick off this project and empower our students with Google tools and devices.” Umar Farooq, CEO, Tech Valley, noted that as a local partner of Google for Education in Pakistan, their goal is to revolutionise the education sector of Pakistan by empowering students, teachers, and administrators with a simple solution for intuitive, and easy-to-manage teaching and learning model through Chromebooks and other Google technologies. Paul Hutchings, Country Manager, Australia, New Zealand, and Pakistan; and Tim Paolini, APAC Sales Lead from Google for Education, also joined the ceremony remotely. The aim of this project is to equip students and teachers with the latest devices and acquaint them with technology through an easier and more flexible education model. Undoubtedly, it is time to move away from the traditional learning style and adopt technologies to help students adapt to the dynamic high-tech environment. —— Tech Valley Pakistan is a trusted partner of Google for Education, Google Workspace, and Google Cloud in Pakistan. Its mission is to inculcate the culture of technology and entrepreneurship through digital innovations. The Beaconhouse Group: Beaconhouse traces its roots to the Les Anges Montessori Academy, founded in Lahore, Pakistan, in 1975. Now in its 47th year, the Beaconhouse network caters to the education and training needs of a large and diverse group of individuals of varying ages, backgrounds and nationalities, in Pakistan, the Middle East, Europe, and Southeast Asia. Beaconhouse is a learning organisation that takes pride in its past while nurturing a culture of continuous professional development, self-review and reinvention.

Legacy G Suite Free Edition of G Suite will no longer be available from July 1st 2022 The Legacy G Suite free edition will no longer be available after August 1, 2022 and is encouraging them now to upgrade to a Google Workspace subscription for continued access to our services. Before December 6, 2012, Google offered a free edition of G Suite. As of December 6, 2012, Google stopped offering the free edition to new customers. While sign-ups stopped for new customers, Google continued to support existing customers who were using the Legacy G Suite free edition In Q1 2022, Google began notifying customers that the Legacy G Suite free edition will no longer be available after August 1, 2022 and is encouraging them now to upgrade to a Google Workspace subscription for continued access to our services. Customers can upgrade their subscription with the help of a Google Workspace Partner in their respective countries. If the customer chooses to upgrade to a Google Workspace subscription through Google Partner, they will have access to the new security and collaboration functionality of their new addition at no cost through August 1, 2022. Contact us now to Upgrade to Google Workspace and benefit from additional features with multiple discount offerings. What you will get: Double storage or more 24/7 support A specialist to troubleshoot unforeseen issues 99.9% uptime SLA for continued productivity Premium security and collaboration features All the great future Google Workspace innovations! Note: If you do not want to upgrade to a Google Workspace subscription, please contact us for your data migration. FAQs: Can the timelines be extended beyond August 1, 2022? Google is not offering any exceptions as we will no longer be supporting the Legacy G Suite free edition after August 1, 2022. Despite turning down new signups for the legacy free edition in 2012, Google has continued to support this edition with new innovations over the past 10 years. If you have the G Suite legacy free edition, you can upgrade now to the paid Google Workspace subscription that meets your needs and take advantage of special discounts. Upgrading does not affect your data or service availability. Learn how to Upgrade from the G Suite legacy free edition. Is there a no-cost option if I don’t want to upgrade? A no-cost option will be available for all customers who do not want to use Gmail with their custom domain (for example, your-name@example.com), or the ability to manage multiple users. Customers who choose this option will retain access to the no-cost version of Google Workspace services such as Google Drive and Google Meet, and additional Google services such as Google Search, Google Maps, and YouTube. You will also retain access to paid content such as movies purchased in the Google Play Store. What is the benefit of upgrading from our free edition to Google Workspace? What else do we get When you transition to Google Workspace you will benefit from double the storage or more, as well as 24/7 support with a specialist to troubleshoot unforeseen issues, 99.9% uptime SLA for continued productivity, premium security and collaboration features (refer to transition one pagers for specific features), and all the great future Google Workspace innovations.In 2021 alone, Google launched over 275+ new enhancements including smart canvas in Docs to supercharge collaboration, the launch of Spaces in Chat as a dedicated place for organizing people, topics, and projects, and over 30 improvements to Google Meet alone. We’ve also added important security enhancements like Client-side encryption.

Google for Education Pilot Program extended to a complete digital transformation of the schools in Capital Territory of Pakistan, Islamabad. After the success of the pilot program, Google has decided to step up the program and partner up with the Ministry to revamp 450 more schools & colleges  in Islamabad. 24th June 2021, Ministry of Federal Education & Professional Training, Islamabad, Pakistan:  As the pandemic spread across globally, schools all over the world were challenged with an unprecedented dilemma. Educational institutions became potential hubs of covid19 spread and were shut down. As per UNICEF, more 168 Million Children have been forced to stay out of school for more than a year missing integral years of education. This led to an urgent technological disruption creating a new era of virtual schooling allowing children to continue education using the power of the internet. Teachers had to bring themselves up to speed to new ways of engaging and imparting knowledge to children of all ages. Majority of teachers had not yet been properly equipped with the knowledge and certification needed to teach remotely and digitally. To address this issue, the Ministry of Federal Education & Professional Training joined hands with Tech Valley and Google to scale up the Google for Education pilot program in government schools across Islamabad. Under the pilot program previously, Tech Valley Pakistan’s Google certified team added and incorporated 4500+ students and 500+ faculty members in Google for Education Admin Portal. 100+ teachers from all the schools were trained on how to use Google tools to carry out distance and digital learning at their schools, and more than 20 Google classrooms were activated  in schools across  Islamabad.  After the success of the pilot program, Google has decided to step up the program and partner up with the Ministry to revamp 450 more schools & colleges  in Islamabad. Farhan S. Qureshi, Director for South Asia Markets at Google, said, “We would like to thank the Ministry of Education for giving us this opportunity to demonstrate how Pakistani students and teachers can achieve learning outcomes with Google Workspace for Education’s free suite of tools. The tools are specifically designed to make collaboration easier, streamline instruction, and keep your learning environment secure.”  To officially launch the program, an MOU was signed between the parties at the Ministry of Federal Education where representatives from Google, Ministry and Tech Valley Were present . In this regard, Federal Secretary for Education, Farah Hamid, said, “We have a great working relationship with Tech Valley Pakistan projects and look forward to scaling up this program.In the future, we hope to include more Google programs and build a long term relationship with Google to work in the digitising of the education sector”. Umar Farooq, CEO Tech Valley Pakistan said, “Our team is extremely excited to digitize the government education institutes of Islamabad as per the vision of Prime Minister’s Digital Pakistan. Throughout the pilot project, Google & the Ministry of Education have been highly supportive in transforming the schools & colleges of Islamabad.” The Ministry of Federal Education has been putting in constant efforts throughout the pandemic to safeguard the student’s future and their educational interests along with putting their lives on priority. The present government is extremely invested in different Ed-tech initiatives and it has been included in core plans of government policy.  COVID has triggered technology intervention and digitizing the schools with Google tools will help ensure the safety of the students as well as enable them to continue learning in a distant virtual environment even after the pandemic.  ______________________________________________________________________________________ About Tech Valley Pakistan: Tech Valley Pakistan is a digitally enhanced social enterprise that was founded in 2015 with the mission to inculcate the culture of technology and entrepreneurship along with prioritizing Digitization and E-governance to pave a path for sustainable growth. Federal Secretary Ministry of Federal Education, Farah Hamid and CEO Tech Valley Pakistan, Umar Farooq signing MOU to digitize 450 more government educational institutes in Islamabad.