The Hindu : Front Page : Microsoft bonanza for engineering students

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Mar 17, 2006

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Microsoft bonanza for engineering students

Vani Doraisamy

REASON TO SMILE: S. Somasegar, Corporate Vice-President (Developer division), Microsoft Corporation (left), with D.Viswanathan, Anna University Vice-Chancellor, in Chennai on Thursday. — Photo: Shaju John

CHENNAI: This may be one of the grimmest academic years for aspirants of higher education in the State but over four lakh engineering students have a reason to smile.

In a first of its kind partnership with an Indian university, Microsoft will soon be putting out exclusive development software and tools for use by engineering students anytime, anywhere.

Under a strategic alliance between Microsoft and Anna University announced here on Thursday, students and faculty of all 235 engineering colleges in the State can access the exclusive MS software basket that can be used either in their institutions or at a home/hostel computer for academic/research purposes. The software will be available for a nominal price.The modalities of the partnership are being worked out and the pact would be signed within a month, S. Somasegar, Corporate Vice-president (Developer division), Microsoft Corporation, told reporters. Such partnerships earlier existed only with individual college departments. The tools would allow students and over 40,000 engineering college faculties to work/learn/conduct research on a range of MS applications.

Exposure to technology

The primary goal of the partnership is to enable students scale up their employability potential "by exposing them to global cutting-edge technologies and empowering them with relevant skill sets. The critical manpower shortage of 500,000 skilled personnel over the next five years in the IT sector that the recent NASSCOM-McKinsey report cites [can be met] only with such imperatives," he said.

"Students can now enhance their communication skills, employability factor and technical development expertise that will enhance their recruitment potential, Anna University Vice-Chancellor D. Viswanathan said.

"No piracy threat"

Interestingly, with all the proposed free availability of original software, Microsoft does not see piracy as a threat. "We trust the students [not to indulge in piracy]. The financial and legal aspects are being worked out," Mr. Somasegar said.

Microsoft is also looking at setting up its technology components in laboratories of select institutions and train the faculty in curriculum-related technologies. "We will aim for a judicious mix of geographically spread institutions," Chandar Sundaram, the company's Academic Lead, said.

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