14 DAY TRIAL // Earlier this week, Microsoft and United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization announced that they were forming a partnership designed to focus on higher education. The duo also committed to launching the UNESCO-Microsoft Task Force on Higher Education and Information and Communication Technology (ICT). Building on the initial announcement, the Redmond company revealed that it was ready to pour no less than $50 million in higher education resources that are designed to fuel economic recovery from the global financial crisis.
At the Education Leaders Forum, organized by UNESCO and Microsoft, the software giant explained that the $50 million would serve to support the Higher Education ICT Task Force, with the investment focusing on resources, training and certifications via the Microsoft Education Alliance Program agreement. The Redmond company pledged support for short-term workforce training as well as the evolution of higher education by offering the necessary resources and tools.
“The innovative application of technology has the potential to impact broad change in higher education in terms of learning, teaching and research,” commented Nicholas Burnett, UNESCO assistant director-general for Education. “It is the mandate of the UNESCO-Microsoft Task Force on Higher Education and ICT to offer guidance to governments on the use of information and communication technology (ICT) in education and programs that facilitate increased access and solutions that will scale to address challenges globally.”
The Redmond company indicated that the $50 million in free software and certifications implied technologies such as Microsoft DreamSpark, an initiative that allowed students to access designer and developer tools completely for free. Microsoft Live@edu is another program set up for organizations involved in education, offering a collection of communication and collaboration solutions. But the software giant will also provide the online Digital Literacy Curriculum, the Microsoft IT Academy Program, the Microsoft Students to Business and Microsoft Certification.