OREANDA-NEWS. August 9, 2011. Lenovo announced today that students in the Student Global Leadership Institute (SGLI) program are using the Lenovo IdeaPad K1 Tablet to help them impact their world. SGLI, an annual initiative that brings together students and government leaders globally to address world issues, recently deployed 65 tablets to its elite youth participants. Students will use the devices to help them stay connected, track project progress and record their experiences as they address current, pressing energy issues through field studies and community services.

“Through generous support from the Education Research Initiative (a partnership of Lenovo, Intel and Microsoft), SGLI students are able to embrace innovative mobile technologies as an essential component in building a global community of youth leaders dedicated to positive change,” said Jim Scott, president of the Punahou School, host of the Student Global Leadership Institute.

Students are using the IdeaPad K1 Tablets for serious education, not just for play with apps like Angry Birds and Facebook. Following last week’s group program at Punahou, where they met with government leaders including U.S. Energy Secretary Dr. Steven Chu and Hawaii Lt. Governor Brian Schatz, students returned to their home schools with the technology tool to help them conduct social action and community service projects around energy conservation. They’re already using apps like eBuddy Messenger and Documents to Go to share data and insight with their program peers in real time.

“SGLI fosters the same type of ‘do’ culture we strive to cultivate at Lenovo,” said Michael Schmedlen, director of worldwide education, Lenovo. “We are proud to support the academic portion of the institute through our Education Research Initiative (ERI) and support the technology needs of these global students with our IdeaPad K1 Tablets.  By focusing on learning outcomes, global collaboration across three continents, and an unparalleled student experience powered by Lenovo, SGLI is truly innovating in edtech."

For the latest Lenovo news, subscribe to Lenovo RSS feeds or follow Lenovo on Twitter and Facebook.