Programs for Students in Ukraine
Realizing that millions of people worldwide are still not able to use the advantages of new technologies, Microsoft Corporation, together with its partners, implements numerous CSR initiatives aimed at delivering knowledge and skills on modern IT. By providing access to the latest technologies, as well as conducting various seminars and trainings on ICT utilization, Microsoft helps educators and their students to realize their full potential.
InnovativeTeacher
Theideaofthisprojectistoincreasethe qualityofICTeducationinschools, institutesanduniversities, andtostimulateinitiatives on developingandimprovingcorrespondingstudymaterials by teachers and scientists. Theprojecthas beenoperating in Ukrainefor three years now. It is implemented in collaborationwiththeAcademyofPedagogy,andsupported by the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine. The participants of the Innovative Teacher contest are high schoolteachers and those of technical colleges, scientists, teachers and students at universities and institutes of all accreditation levels, as well as teachers at postgraduate education institutes.
Thecontestantspresenttheirlesson plans, lecture summaries, textbooks, learning aids, and othertrainingandmethodologymaterialsforschools, colleges, institutesanduniversities,whichdescribeMicrosoftproductsandtheiruses, aswellasself-developed educational software. The judges choose the most interesting and innovative solutions, which are expected to have a positive, practical influence on the educational process and help students to master modern IT.
In 2007,thefourthInnovativeTeachercontestin Ukrainegatheredarecordnumberofapplicationsfrompotentialparticipants (291) – almost threetimesthe number of those who applied thepreviousyear (102). A total of 10 winners received valuable prizes such as notebooks, PDAs and digital cameras. Thefirst placewinnerwas awarded with a notebook and multimedia projector, and got a chance to present his project at the Microsoft Innovative Teacher Forum, which was held in March, 2008, inZagreb (Croatia).
On the Way to Knowledge
MicrosoftUkrainesupportseducation-oriented initiativesof other companies. In 2007, Microsoft Ukraine,together with Intel, joined the ‘Samsung On the Way to Knowledge 2007’ program for teachers and students of Ukrainian schools.The program was initiated by Samsung Ukraine and aimed at strengthening IT knowledge and wider utilization of IT in the educational process.Totakepartintheprogram, teachersandstudentshadtowriteanessaydevotedtohowdigitaltechnologiescanhelprealize the talents of schoolchildren.
Everycontestantreceivedamobilephoneforhim/herself,modernhardware to equip a computer class with in his or her school, along with copies of Microsoft Windows VіstaTMand the2007 MicrosoftOffice System. Everywinneralsoreceived a copyoftheSecondEditionofthe English-UkrainianGlossaryonComputers, Internet, andProgrammingpublishedwiththesupportofMicrosoftUkraine, andsetsofWindowsVista: StepbyStepbooksforeveryPC in a computer class. In addition, teachers from winning schools got to attend a free training course on IT Basics as part of the Microsoft Unlimited Potential and Intel Teach to the Future programs.
Training Teachers of Institutions of Higher Education
In 2007, Microsoft Ukraineconducted a series of qualification upgrade courses for teachers from institutes and universities. The courses helped their participants to broaden their knowledge in the following fields: developing software for Microsoft Windows with .NET Framework, C# Programming Basics, Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Basics, Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Administration Basics, Building and Administration of Computing Clusters Based on Compute Cluster Server 2003. The participants were also introduced to the Microsoft Solutions Framework, a methodology which describes how to organize the shared software development.
The courses were attended by over 150 representatives of Ukrainian universities and institutes, in particular, Kharkiv National Aero Space University,Kharkiv National University of Radio Electronics, the Ukrainian National Technical University “KPI”, Kyiv National Taras Shevchenko University, the National Aviation University, Kharkiv National Economic University, the Institute of Program Systems of the National Academy of Science of Ukraine, Donetsk National Technical University, Chernihiv State Technological University, Sumy State University,Odesa National Polytechnical University, the National University “Lvivska Polytechnika,” etc.
AcademicDays
In 2007,Microsoft Ukraine organized its first Academic Days conference, which was attended by over 100 representatives from universities and institutes inUkraine, Russia, Belarus, and Latvia.
For 4 days,theparticipantsoftheconferencediscussedthelatestMicrosofttechnologies, opportunitiesforways to teachstudentshow toworkwiththesetechnologies, andmeans of interaction between Microsoft and universities. The presentations focused on Microsoft Silverlight™, Microsoft Visual Studio® 2008, and several other technologies, which could be interesting in supporting R&D activities, in particular,Microsoft Embedded Platform and Microsoft Robotics.
Live@eduProgram
2007 marked a new turn forWindows Live@edu, a program which suggests the implementation of the latest ICT in Ukrainian universities.Windows Live@edu letseverystudentcreatehisorherownvirtualspacewiththefollowingservicesavailable: e-mail, textandvoicemessaging, videocalls, fileexchange (includingpictures), various notifications (including integration into shared calendars) and so on. Everystudentgetsapersonale-mailaddressintheuniversitydomain, freefromthirdpartyads.Thestudent can useWindows Live@edu services even after graduation. It is also very significant for the university that almost all of the expenses for the development and support of these services are paid for by Microsoft.
Windows Live@edu received widespread support from Ukrainian universities. By the end of 2007 and beginning of 2008, it was joined by Kharkiv National University of Radio Electronics, the National Mining University (Dnipropetrovsk), the National Aviation University (Kyiv), Kharkiv National Aero Space University, Kharkiv National Economic University, Sumy State University, and Tavria National Vernadsky University.
NationwideTournamentonComputerScience
In 2007,MicrosoftUkraineprovided its support totheAll-UkrainianComputerScience Tournamentheld in Chernivtsi. This is an annual contest, which has been conducted in Ukraine since 2002. During the competition, a contestant is to solve a multi-step project-based task, which features an obligatory R&D component and develops a computer model described in the task.
Thewinnersofthetournamentgottheopportunitytoattend theirchoseninstituteoruniversity(IT majors) after the results of an interview. Their names were added to the list of school Olympiad and tournament winners, which is prepared by the Ministry of Education and Science at the end of every school year, and is forwarded to the admission commissions of all institutes and universities in Ukraine.
Summer Software Development Courses for Schoolchildren
In 2007,Microsoft Ukraine supported,for the fourth time, conductingsummer courses on the C# Programming for.NETfor pupils in grades 8-10. The training program was developed by teachers from KyivNationalTarasShevchenkoUniversity. The trainings used the material and technical base of the Microsoft IT Academy. Young people, who attended the courses, got the chance to master the popular profession of software developer, right out of school. The knowledge obtained will surely help them in their future studies.