The IT Office and the Office of Student Affairs at USEK, in partnership with Microsoft Lebanon today launched both the Microsoft IT Academy and Microsoft Club USEK seizing the opportunity to provide the students at USEK with world-class computer technology curriculums enriched with real-world skills. The launch took place at the Salle des congrès - USEK main campus in the presence of Father Marwan Azar Secretary General of the USEK, Dr. Kamal Kellab, Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, Father Michel Abou Takk Director of Student Affairs Office, Dr Nehme Azouri Dean of the Faculty of Management Microsoft executives, directors, USEK faculty, personnel and students.

This proactive collaboration highlights Microsoft's recognized role as a supportive member of the local community especially towards the youth and the educational sector in specific. "IT is integral to every business, institution, ministry, household, in fact it is an important part of our everyday life" explained Samer Chidiac, Microsoft Developer Evangelist in his welcome speech at the event "Youth and the young brains are one the vital resources for our economy today, and with such academies in reputable universities like USEK, we are nurturing the skills providing students with cutting edge technologies and resources.

Microsoft IT Academies are provided with the infrastructure and information needed to craft the right course offerings, align to industry hiring needs, and deliver a dynamic learning experience to a diverse community of students, with cutting-edge Microsoft technologies in. "The Microsoft IT Academy Program works with academic institutions to offer top-quality education programs helping students reach their academic and career potential." stated Mohammed Helal, Microsoft Education Account Manager,

The Microsoft IT Academy program has simply "Linked academic learning to real-world job skills to help students graduate with the IT skills they need to become successful in today's job market."

"USEK has become a leading university in Information Technology, our goal is to constantly enable our students and faculties to acquire cutting-edge IT skills in order to be ready for real life challenges, in addition to providing resources that promote workforce development, stimulate interest to the IT industry and therefore positively impact the country's economy" says Ziad Eid, USEK's IT Director.

Khalil Abboud Vice-Director at USEK's Office Of Student Affairs added " By launching the Microsoft Club, USEK is keen on providing effective educational settings to help our students be the artisans of events, participate in competitions, and always be better informed, responsible and contributing citizens in an increasingly complex and information-rich society".

USEK has established solid grounds to provide rich online learning resources for anytime, anywhere learning for both their students and their instructors' professional development. Not only do they learn, they have direct relations with Microsoft, hence expressing ideas, projects, and possibly IT inventions that they want to Showcase. As Chidiac remarked in a closing statement "youth are resources we must nurture, guide them don't hide them!"