Free Microsoft Software for IEEE Student Members

This year’s Engineers Week in the US and in many countries worldwide may be about to come to an end, but a new Microsoft initiative is bound to make sure that engineers everywhere remember February 2010, in particular, as a celebration of their profession. The Redmond company has partnered with IEEE in order to streamline access to Microsoft software for the next generation of engineers and technology professionals. Specifically, IEEE student members will be offered access not only to Microsoft software products, but also to training, free of charge, while the software giant and its new partner will also work to attract new students to IEEE.

Walid Abu-Hadba, corporate vice president of the Developer & Platform Evangelism Group at Microsoft explained that “the Microsoft-IEEE collaboration will provide aspiring engineers around the world with tools and resources to convert their innovative thinking into marketplace innovation by equipping today’s technical students for tomorrow’s jobs.”

Microsoft reveals that the MSDN Academic Alliance, a subscription service which is normally reserved for educational institutions, will also be offered to IEEE student members. Through their new MSDN subscriptions, students can take advantage of a range of technologies including Windows Server platforms, Visual Studio development tools and training content. In fact, Microsoft is offering MSDN subscribers in excess of 300 software titles completely free of charge throughout the duration of the subscription.

Cecelia Jankowski, managing director, IEEE Member and Geographic Activities added “IEEE student members will benefit from access to free Microsoft software, training and opportunities to connect to the Microsoft community through speaker invitations, connections to Microsoft-sponsored student clubs, and increased access to internship and job opportunities. In addition, the participation of IEEE Fellows and other high-profile members in the Imagine Cup program supports our initiatives to highlight the contributions engineers and other technology professionals make to society worldwide.”

What is even more important is that Microsoft is essentially offering IEEE student members not only freebies but also opportunities for jobs and careers, an aspect which, as one commercial would say, is “priceless.” The promise from the Redmond company is that job opportunities with Microsoft partners and customers will be brought to science, technology, engineering and math students via the Microsoft Students to Business program.