MS widens support to IT education

Microsoft India is widening its effort to further IT education in the country.

To increase the developer base in the 'IT Nation', Microsoft has stated that it will continue to invest significantly at the grassroots "" schools and universities "" to widen the developer strength in the country.

The corporation also added that it will deepen its relationship with the venture capital community to take the concepts to the commercialisation stage.

In one such effort, Microsoft India has concluded the national finals of its Imagine Cup 2005, a global contest conducted by Microsoft to help students across the world showcase their software development skills before an international audience.

This is the third edition of such an event being organised by Microsoft. The theme for this year's event is 'Breaking Down Boundaries' and students were encouraged to conceptualise technology solutions to help address emerging social issues.

The winners of the India leg were two Pune-based students of MES College of Engineering who have worked on a project called City Pulse, a traffic management system using global positioning system. The team will represent India at the global finals in Japan. It will have a total prize money of $50,000.

Said Ravi Venkatesan, chairman, Microsoft India: "India has emerged as the world's IT capital and students have a big role to play in ensuring that we continue to compete successfully in the global market. Indian students are talented and amongst the most innovative technical minds in the world."

Microsoft recognises this fact and is committed to helping the Indian student community hone and display their skills."

This year, Imagine Cup was open to both the school and university students, and among other areas students were encouraged to submit applications that address social issues.

The contest included nine open categories such as software design, technology business plan and rendering, besides others.