Microsoft launches Ed-vantage educational programme

Microsoft Corporation India Wednesday announced the launch of a new education resourcing programme, Microsoft Ed-vantage, in response to strong feedback received from academic institutions in India.

"The key aspects of this feedback related to helping the institutions with topics that are most relevant to them, such as partnering with them to bring in more technology innovation and capacity building for faculty and students; and making their students more employable," a company statement said.

"The introduction of Microsoft Ed-vantage represents an evolution in the way over 10,000 universities and colleges can adopt Microsoft student solutions to their individual needs, providing them the opportunity to compete on the global employment stage on an equal footing," the statement said.

The programme aims to consolidate and enhance the benefits to both academic institutions and students who are leveraging well-established Microsoft programs like Campus Agreements, IT Academy, DreamSpark, Imagine Cup, Student2Business etc. that provide the right software tools to the faculty and students, the statement said.

"This programme's primary focus is to make students more employable and equip them with skills relevant to industry needs. It is designed to help eligible academic campuses and their students connect with various organizations in Indian industry, thereby creating a platform for the students to explore internship and employment opportunities," the company said.

"The introduction of Ed-vantage represents an all new way that in the way academic institutions can work more closely with Microsoft than ever before, to leverage the technology and programs that we have to offer, build the right skills to become more employable while getting innovative ", said Sanket Akerkar, Managing Director, Microsoft Corporation India Private Limited.

"Facilitating the right technology education is on the top of Microsoft's agenda, as it collectively helps India as a nation", he added.

The importance of providing current, real-world tools to information systems (IS) students at an affordable cost is a challenge many IS educators continue to face.

"The Microsoft Ed-vantage program is a response to this need and pulls together the core principles of genuine software, and certifications to make students 'employable' in these times of shrinking academic budgets and increasing educational costs," the statement said.

The Microsoft Ed-vantage program offers four levels that can be leveraged with Microsoft - each level of investment comes with key benefits going from Basic to Silver, Gold and Platinum.