Microsoft Partners In Learning Programs to Provide Vital Technology Access and Training for Canadian Schools

Province of Manitoba first Canadian partner in new program to provide critical resources for student access, teacher training and skills development

Winnipeg, Manitoba, March 2, 2004 — Aboriginal students in remote areas of Manitoba and more than 1,000 of the province’s teachers will be the first Canadians to benefit from Microsoft Canada Co.’s new Partners In Learning initiative announced in Winnipeg today.

Through the program, Microsoft will make strategic investments in kindergarten to grade 12 education programs across Canada by providing teachers and students with the latest computer technologies and training.

Microsoft Canada President Frank Clegg and Premier of Manitoba, Gary Doer, outlined the Manitoba partnership today at the Manitoba Legislature. In its first year, the province will receive $3.75 million dollars in software, services and support. The program’s value in Manitoba is estimated at approximately $15 million dollars over the next five years. Nationally, that investment will be over $300 million over the next five years in cash and software donations.

“As an industry leader, Microsoft has a responsibility to help make technology more accessible and affordable to students and teachers,” said Frank Clegg, President, Microsoft Canada. “Our fundamental goal is to put essential technology tools into the hands of students and teachers in order to better equip our children for the future.”

“Investing in young people and providing them the skills to excel in the ‘new economy’ is a critical component of our province’s economic strategy,” said Premier Doer. “The partnership provides useful computer equipment, software and training for students and teachers in schools that would otherwise not necessarily have access to these valuable resources. Manitoba is pleased to partner with Microsoft Canada on this important and innovative initiative.”

Partners In Learning is composed of three elements:

Microsoft Canada and the Province of Manitoba have been working together for the past four years, training approximately 100 teachers annually. Today’s agreement will create a more formal, sustainable training model for the whole province and will increase teacher training from 100 to a minimum of 1000 annually.

Strategic investments will also be made in two northern, aboriginal communities - Norway House and Cranberry Portage and respectively, the Helen Betty Osborne Ininiw Education Resource Centre and Frontier Collegiate Institute. This will include offering Microsoft’s Certified Desktop Support Technician (MCDST) course both to teachers and students. Microsoft will also pay for students to take the final course examination if they obtain 80 percent or better in the course.

These two institutions are the country’s first schools to participate in the Microsoft Approved Partners in Learning Life-long Enriched Academic Facilities Schools project. This initiative is designed to help schools use technology in unique ways to benefit students and teachers.

Microsoft Canada will also provide specially priced software agreements to  approximately 130 schools in-need in Manitoba. Upgrades for Microsoft Windows will be free and any version of Microsoft Office will be offered at a cost of $3.50 per year per PC.

Despite real improvements in the availability of information and communication technology around the world, many students and teachers still lack basic access to computers and training. The result is a widening skills gap in information and communication technology (ICT) fields that contributes to disparities in quality of life, economic development and competitiveness.

Microsoft’s Partners in Learning initiative recognizes the educational value of technology in schools. Global in scope and local in implementation, this initiative provides a significant investment of software and more than CDN$330 million in cash grants worldwide over the next five years to deliver information and communication technology skills training, tailored curriculum development, technical support, and research funds and resources to students and teachers. The Partners in Learning initiative also includes significantly lower prices for Microsoft's core educational desktop software for students and teachers.

About Microsoft Canada Co.

Established in 1985, Microsoft Canada Co. is the Canadian subsidiary of Microsoft Corporation (Nasdaq "MSFT"), the worldwide leader in software, services and Internet technologies for personal and business computing. Microsoft Canada provides nationwide sales, marketing, consulting and local support services in both French and English. Headquartered in Mississauga, Microsoft Canada has regional offices in Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Ottawa, Montréal, Québec and Halifax dedicated to empowering people through great software - any time, any place and on any device. Visit Microsoft Canada's web site at www.microsoft.ca.

BACKGROUNDER

Employing a systemic and comprehensive approach to the challenge of empowering students and teachers, the Partners in Learning initiative consists of three programs:

At the heart of the initiative is the Learning Grants program. This program provides an investment of software and more than $250 million in cash grants worldwide (CDN$20 Million for Canadian projects)  in cash grants over the next five years, to deliver technology skills training to students and teachers and to assist in ICT integration into curricula and learning. Funding will support the establishment of local Microsoft IT Academy Centres in conjunction with local advisory councils, educational institutions and training providers. The Microsoft IT Academy Centres will use a variety of training methodologies to deliver student skills certification, leadership and teacher development, curriculum and assessment tools, school-based technology support, and research. The goal of the Microsoft IT Academy Centres is to empower schools to increase student achievement through teacher leadership.

Donated computers are a foundation of educational programs in Canada. Recognizing this, the Partners in Learning's Fresh Start for Donated PCs program will help Canadian schools make the most of donated computers, promoting increased access for students through wider deployment of PCs in classrooms. For donated machines received by primary and secondary schools that were originally licensed with Microsoft Windows® operating systems, the Microsoft Fresh Start for Donated PCs program provides, at no charge, a licensed copy of the Windows 98 or Windows 2000 operating system for PCs (Pentium II or older).

The Partners in Learning initiative will offer further educational discounts through Microsoft's Standard School Agreement Subscription volume licensing program for disadvantaged schools in certain partner countries. Through this program, participating primary and secondary schools will receive free upgrades to Windows XP Professional for both new computers and computers already in the classroom, and can acquire the professional version of the Office productivity software suite at a rate significantly below Microsoft's already-reduced education pricing.

Partners in Learning is part of Microsoft Canada’s Innovation Initiative. It is comprised of three distinct, but linked areas that, together, address the life stages of Canadians and the Canadian innovation cycle. This includes: Partners in Learning, the Microsoft Canada Academic Innovation Alliance which offers funding to Canadian universities, and a labour-sponsored investment fund that provides venture capital for emerging software developers.

©Microsoft and Windows are either registered trade-marks or trade-marks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries.

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