With a shared commitment to enable digital equity, SAP India and Microsoft announced the launch of a joint skilling programme, TechSaksham, for empowering young women students from underserved communities to build careers in technology. Through this joint initiative, SAP India and Microsoft will skill 62,000 women students in Artificial Intelligence, cloud computing, web design, and digital marketing.
The programme will partner with the AICTE Training and Learning Academy-ATAL and State Collegiate Education departments, to support professional development of faculty at participating institutes. In the first year, the initiative will train 1,500 teachers and each faculty trained will be equipped to support over 50 students in one year, impacting 60,000-75,000 students.
A collaborative, pan-India initiative, this programme will be implemented by Edunet Foundation, which will develop future-ready skills in young women graduating in sciences, engineering, computer applications, and vocational studies. The programme offers a core curriculum to understand the application of technology and activity-based engagements to implement the skills under expert mentors, ensuring job readiness. Students will also get an opportunity to showcase their work to business leaders and experts from local industries, helping establish early linkages with industry ecosystems.
Kulmeet Bawa, president and managing director, SAP Indian subcontinent, said, “We have always been at the forefront in advancing digital inclusion and equity across India through our flagship programmes like Code Unnati where we have enabled more than 1.8 million adolescents and children. Our partnership with Microsoft is an expansion of this vision where we focus on equipping the young women of our country with skills in emerging technologies like AI and cloud computing empowering them to be a part of the future ready workforce.”