Melbourne City Mission leverages innovative Microsoft technology to help prepare at-risk students for future employment

April 08, 2019; Melbourne, Australia: Leading Australian technology services and solutions provider, Data^#3, today announced that it has worked with Melbourne City Mission to deploy a technology solution that better integrates the business and provides tools to give students the best future prospects.

For many at-risk young people, engaging with traditional schooling is problematic. For those struggling with social factors, including homelessness and young parenthood, The Hester Hornbrook Academy, an Independent school run by Melbourne City Mission, offers the flexibility and inclusiveness that makes education possible.

The entire organisation, from teachers and management to the IT team, is focussed on removing obstacles to education. A dated and inefficient IT environment meant that collaboration was limited. For students to do their best work, modernisation was needed.

To address Melbourne City Mission’s unique circumstances, Data^#3 implemented a solution that leveraged Microsoft Office 365, Microsoft Azure, Microsoft Intune and Windows Autopilot. From a technology perspective, the strain placed by the older, manual system has been removed. The team is now free to focus on the next phase of the technology overhaul.

For students, the new school year has commenced with technology now acting as a positive influence. Access to the latest technology has been well received and adds to the sense of positivity the school strives for throughout its efforts. Echoing the school’s focus, the new environment presents youngsters and their teachers with the fewest technical hurdles possible.

Tim Knowles, Principal at The Hester Hornbrook Academy, Melbourne City Mission, who is already seeing a difference in classrooms, commented, “The kids will now hold video conferences using Microsoft Teams, collaborate using OneNote, create slides in PowerPoint, all the best tools for business. We are taking away that level of disadvantage, and giving our students what others in any world-class school would have. They come in the door, they’re handed a laptop that is ready-charged, loaded with a fantastic suite of apps, and all of their learning is done online. Young people can now access their learning from any location, on any connected device, even if they just have a smartphone with public Wi-Fi, they can login like they were in the classroom.”

It is the human aspect of the project that has given the team at Melbourne City Mission the greatest satisfaction, and the knowledge that careful investment has allowed them to help more students to reach their potential.

“Many students haven’t had a great experience with education, and we want to redefine success for them. We have made a modern Microsoft environment that will prepare our young people for 21st Century workplaces,” concluded Knowles.

Data^#3 Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, Laurence Baynham, commented, “Data^#3’s dedicated Education practice helps to break down the walls surrounding the classroom with innovative technology, allowing students to study in a digital world. This is a fantastic example of how student’s learning can be enhanced through technology, thereby making a meaningful and practical difference to the lives of at-risk young people. We look forward to continuing our work with Melbourne City Mission, and to helping them positively influence the lives of the next generation.”

Mark Leigh, One Commercial Partner Lead at Microsoft Australia, commented, “Data^#3 and Microsoft have a long-standing history of working together to help customers achieve their business goals. As a Microsoft Gold Partner, Data^#3 possesses the breadth and depth of capabilities required to deliver truly transformative solutions. It’s a pleasure to see the work Data^#3 is undertaking to enable at-risk children through the use of Microsoft technologies and associated services.”

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