Microsoft and the Partnership Brokers Association have joined forces in Malta to deliver a partnership brokering skills workshop for education partnership practitioners from across Central and Eastern Europe.

Twenty development partnership practitioners from 14 countries representing government, business, NGOs, intergovernmental and academic sectors have come together to learn how to refine their skills, network, work together and improve the partnerships necessary to raise education outcomes in their countries.

Greg Butler, senior director for Strategic Education Partnerships at Microsoft and current chair of the international Partnership Brokers Association, said: “We are proud to be able to work with the development community in developing skills with regional education leaders that will help to improve access to and quality of education across the region.

“The skills these leaders are developing can be directly applied to advance partnerships aimed at improving support for teachers and students’ education and learning.”

Sandra Hyzler, business development manager for the Comnet Foundation for ICT Development, said: “The sharing of expertise and resources through meaningful and sustainable collaborative arrangements among relative cross-sector players have proven critical in realising projects or initiatives with the widest spread of development.

“However, working within partnerships of multiple organisations having different mandates and interests requires delicate navigation indeed.

“I am delighted that Microsoft has chosen to run this important capacity-building initiative in Malta and grateful for the opportunity extended to myself and other local stakeholders to take this training in the scoping and managing of a partnering process.”

Delegates who complete this workshop will be eligible to proceed towards receiving an internationally recognised and accredited Partnership Broker award.

In the end, these skills have the potential to help foster the partnership that will make a huge difference for students and teachers across the region.