Microsoft invites region's academia to promote innovation through Rotor

Academic Days was held at the American University of Dubai on April 24-26 and attended by 140 academics and computer science professors from around the region.

Rotor provides a free, shared-source implementation of Microsoft's Common Language Runtime platform, including source code for C# and Jscript compilers, as well as for the Common Language Infrastructure (CLI) platform itself. It also contains source code for a variety of useful developer tools, including a Common Intermediate Language (CIL) assembler, a disassembler, a debugger, a profiler, and an assembly linker.

Nasser Ghazi, .NET & Platforms Director, Microsoft Middle East and Africa for Microsoft explained: "The Rotor Shared Source Code CLI program allows university professors, students and researchers to have free access to downloadable archives containing more than 3.9 million lines of source code. The Rotor source code can be extremely useful for academics and researchers who wish to teach and explore modern programming language concepts, and for .NET Framework developers."

Having access to the Rotor source code, according to Ghazi, allows professors to teach the students techniques and concepts they would not receive in other courses. "Because educators have access to the Rotor source code, they are able to provide their students a hands-on experience that teaches them how programming really works. It's a completely different learning experience than traditional, book-based learning. The Rotor course has been a great success. Not only do the current students appreciate the class work, the number of students enrolling in upcoming classes is increasing," Ghazi said.

Microsoft Research Academic Days is an annual forum hosted by Microsoft, which brings top faculty throughout the region together to share best teaching practices and collaborate on how to best incorporate technology into the curricula. The event featured key speakers from Microsoft Research, Microsoft Corporation and from leading Universities across the region. Scientists and researchers from Microsoft's research labs and product groups, who are working on building the technologies of the future, shared their knowledge and project details with the region's top faculty members who are responsible for delivering learning opportunities computer science students across the Middle East.