Yemen University of Science and Technology signs academic agreement with Microsoft

The agreement licenses all of UST's desktop and server software, and signs up the university to Microsoft's IT Academy and MSDN Academic Alliance programs, to provide learning benefits for ICT students.

Professor Dawood Al Hidabi, President of UST said: "The University of Science & Technology is committed to providing the young people in the country with the highest standards of education. These agreements with Microsoft expand the scope of our ICT education programs; by joining these programs, we will be able introduce the latest Microsoft technologies into the curriculum, providing students with the skills they need to enter the world of work."

The Academic Agreement, the first to be signed in Yemen, will ensure that all of the university's software is correctly licensed, enabling the university to access Microsoft's support programs and other benefits, as well as deliver the improved experience that can be leveraged from licensed software. Academic Agreements are licensing agreements that are especially designed to reduce the costs of acquiring, upgrading, maintaining, and managing software for multiple computers in academic organizations.

As a Microsoft IT Academy, UST will be able to include Microsoft technologies in its IT curriculum, providing students with vital training and certification on technologies that provide the building blocks for IT solutions everywhere. UST is the first establishment in Yemen to sign up for the IT Academy program, following the signing of a 'Partners in Learning' agreement between Microsoft and the Ministry of Education at the end of April. Under the Partners in Learning agreement, Microsoft and the MOE are working together to establish a number IT Academies, to bring enhanced ICT training to learning communities around the country.

Through membership of the MSDN Academic Alliance Program, part of the Microsoft Developer Network, the university will gain access to a number of benefits, including discounts on Microsoft developer tools and software, advanced access to new technologies and access to special developer support sites and knowledge base. The MSDN Academic Alliance program has been specifically designed to encourage student developers to get to grips with the latest technologies, to prepare them for the world of work.

"The University of Science and Technology is now leading the way in incorporating information technology into its education curriculum. Microsoft is very pleased to be able to work with UST to bring the skills and the support to its students that will help them to realize their potential, and to take their place in Yemen's growing ICT industry," said Abdullah Lootah, Public Sector Manager for Microsoft South Gulf.