UK Academic Team Blog : System Administrator

MSDN AA has grown to include more products and to appeal to more departments

ukacademia — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 14:10:10 GMT

The MSDN Academic Alliance (MSDN AA) Program was first introduced to address the needs of the academic community focused on Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. The MSDN AA Program has now grown to include a family of membership offerings aimed at a broader set of Academic Departments:

Developer Academic Alliance – Developer AA membership, formerly referred to as MSDN AA, is designed to address the needs of academic departments teaching Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) disciplines.
Designer Academic Alliance – Designer AA is a membership designed around the Microsoft Expression suite intended to meet the needs of academic departments teaching Visualization, Illustration, Design, and Art (VIDA) disciplines.

Don't forget to tell your 'designer' colleagues!

Life changing prizes to be won in the Imagine Cup

ukacademia — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 18:30:00 GMT

The Imagine cup registrations are flooding in and the competition is definitely hotting up. If you need any more compelling reasons to prompt your students into registering (apart from the chance to win an Xbox 360 Elite) I thought I would share with you the prizes that are on offer which could really make a difference to their lives and give them a great start into their chosen career.

Competition	Prize
Software Design	2 weeks in Seattle working alongside the Popfly team. A great work experience opportunity to see how Microsoft builds software that the winners can use when they apply for jobs and go into industry
Game Development	2 weeks work experience at a Microsoft Games Studio in the UK
Embedded Development	2 weeks work experience at a Microsoft embedded partner
IT Challenge	A Tranquil PC Windows Home Server
Project Hoshimi	2 weeks work experience at a Microsoft Games Studio in the UK
Algorithm	A top specced desktop PC with Visual Studio 2008
Interface Design	A top specced desktop PC with Expression Studio
Short Film	An HD video camera with tripod and accessories
Photography	A Digital SLR camera, tripod, extra lens and accessories

As you can see, some of the prizes could really make a difference to your students' future so what are you waiting for, go to the Imagine Cup Website and find out how you can get involved.

Kate

Tell us why you like Windows Vista and Office 2007 - and win a Tablet PC

ukacademia — Tue, 31 Jul 2007 11:30:00 GMT

Lots of education establishments are already using Windows Vista and even more are using Office 2007. And if you are one of those, then here's your chance to tell others why you like it...and win a prize. There are two Tablet PCs up for grabs in the competition (one each for the best Student and Staff entry). And 20 x 2GB memory sticks for the first 10 featured entries in each category.

All you need to do is answer the question "How have the new features in Windows Vista and Office 2007 helped you with your teaching and lesson planning?".

The competition runs from now until the end of October, so there’s plenty of time to find the ways that Windows Vista and/or Office 2007 is helping you, even if you haven’t yet started using it.

You can enter through the website, which contains all of the detail and fine-print too, at http://www.microsoft.com/education/lovecompetition/

Registration Now open: MSDN AA Technology Day - 6th September - Reading

ukacademia — Wed, 18 Jul 2007 19:36:00 GMT

Microsoft is pleased to announce that registration for the Microsoft Developer Network Academic Alliance Technology Day is now open. This is a one day event for all IT professionals within academic institutions, aimed at providing you with the skills and knowledge to get the maximum benefit from your subscription whether you’re an existing user, new to MSDN AA or are thinking about buying a subscription.

Agenda

The sessions will take you through the key technology areas that are vital for you and your role:

Deploying and Managing Windows Vista
Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007
New developments from the Education product group
Exchange Server 2007,
Groove 2007
Real time scenarios

All of which, will really make a difference to how effectively you work. You will also have the opportunity to talk to Microsoft’s technology experts about any questions you have making this a must attend event for 2007.

Cost:

The event is free to attend and lunch and refreshments will be provided.

Venue:

The event will be held at Microsoft’s UK Campus at Thames Valley Park, Reading.

Booking Enquires:

Find out the detailed agenda and book online now.
Alternatively, for telephone booking enquiries, call 0870 166 6680 quoting Ref: 6049

I look forward to meeting you at the MSDN AA Technology day 2007.