UK Academic Team Blog : Training

Student Technology Day - Future User Experience Technologies

ukacademia — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 18:02:22 GMT

Hello All,

Filmed at the Royal Festival on 1st October, please find below the session by Paolo Barone on Microsoft Surface:

If for any reason you cannot view this clip, please do let me know.

Best wishes,

Allison

ITA Student Pass

ukacademia — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 19:00:27 GMT

Hello,

I’d like to tell you a little about the ITA Student Pass which gives students access to a large number of e-learning courses free of charge. The e-learning materials will provide your students with access to training on real-world technology and industry-recognised certification.

You might even envisage an opportunity to incorporate some of the e-learning into the curriculum for new courses or simply to replace existing materials.

If you would like your students to have access to Microsoft e-learning materials I can supply, upon request, a series of unique codes for you to distribute to them.

To see a demonstration of what e-learning has to offer please click demo.

For the codes themselves, please email i-allmc@micrsoft.com with a subject header of ITA Student Pass.

With Best wishes,

Allison

MSDN: What’s New in Visual Studio 2008 Service Pack 1?

ukacademia — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 17:32:02 GMT

Hello,

I want to invite you along to a free half day event taking place in Exeter on 23rd October 2008 and which was created with developers in mind.

Technical experts from the UK MSDN team will deliver a range of demos and provide insight into the latest enhancements across many areas of the .Net Framework. This is your opportunity to broaden your knowledge base and stay ahead of these latest developments.

If you think this is something you’d like to attend, you can find out more or register by clicking here.

In the meantime, have a lovely weekend.

Allison

Microsoft Certification for Windows Embedded CE 6.0

ukacademia — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 12:28:20 GMT

Hello All,

I know that many of you are considering incorporating the Microsoft Certification Program into your curricula so that graduating students supplement their degrees with an industry recognised certification.

With this in mind I thought you might like to know about the the free Preparation Kit for the Windows Embedded CE 6.0 Exam 70-571 together with the 50% off voucher which you can redeem against the examination until 5th January 2009.

If you’d like to learn more, please click here.

And good luck!

Best,

Allison

Windows Embedded Seminars

ukacademia — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 15:58:02 GMT

Last week I posted news about the Windows XP Professional for Embedded Systems Event at TVP on 21st October.

Following on from that post, I’d also like to tell you about a series of online seminars relating to specific aspects of Windows Embedded technology. While not perhaps for those of you already teaching embedded technologies, the seminars may prove useful if you are considering future curriculum developments.

Windows Embedded and Gaming
16th September 2008
9:00 - 10:00

Windows Embedded and Kiosk Solutions
13th November 2008
9:00 - 10:00

Windows Embedded and Industrial Automation
19th February 2009
9:00 - 10:00

Windows Embedded and Medical Solutions
30th April 2009
9:00 - 10:00

If any of the above are of interest, you can get further information by clicking here.

Best,

Allison

Microsoft Tech-Ed 2007 Conference DVD sets to give away

ukacademia — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 10:29:00 GMT

Good morning,

I thought I’d start the week with a give-away of the ten Tech-Ed Conference DVD sets sitting on my desk.

So, if you live in the UK and would like me to pop one in the post to you, email me your address details and the first ten to reply will get the goodies.

Have a good week.

Allison

Invitation to Convergence 2008 Copenhagen - Microsoft Dynamics Academic Alliance MDAA:00071306

ukacademia — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 11:26:00 GMT

Hi,

I thought you'd like to receive your invitation to an interesting event in Denmark.

Microsoft Dynamics Academic Alliance invites you to attend:

Microsoft Academic Preconference and Convergence 2008 Copenhagen, Denmark from 17 to 20 November, 2008.

Last year we hosted about 60 educators and researchers from 17 countries from around the world. We would like to see you this year!

The Academic Preconference will be held 17-18 November 2008.

· Includes two tracks (Educators and Researchers Track) with several special sessions, workshops and network opportunities for educators and researchers working with Microsoft Dynamics software. You will be able to network, exchange experiences and enhance your knowledge with like-minded educators and researchers.

· Location: Copenhagen Business School (CBS) – Kilevej 14a, 2000 Frederiksberg.

· Registration fee: no registration fee is associated with these two days.

· Please consider the following call for papers and presentations.

Call for Papers – Researchers Track - due by 1st September 2008:

Academic Preconference 2008 - Research Agenda

17 - 18 November 2008
Copenhagen Business School (CBS), Frederiksberg

Submit to: workshop@3gERP.org - Please write "Submission to 3gERP workshop"

See instructions attached.

Call for Presentation – Educators Track - due by 1st September 2008:

Academic Preconference 2008 - Educators Agenda
17 - 18 November 2008

Copenhagen Business School (CBS), Frederiksberg

Submit to: dynaa@microsoft.com – Please write “Academic Preconference - Convergence 2008 Presentation”

See instructions attached.

Convergence will be held 19-20 November 2008.

· Here you will enhance your knowledge through Dynamics conference sessions and interactions with Microsoft customers, partners, Microsoft Dynamics specialist and industry experts and establish a true community that can be leveraged in your work.

· Location: Bella Center A/S, Center Boulevard, 2300 Copenhagen S

· Registration fee - Academic Alliance team will fund a main part of your registration fee at Convergence. Your costs will include €250.00 for your share of registration fee.

· Please request special registration codes from us to have the special academic fee.

Registration:

To register please fill in attached registration form and send to dynaa@microsoft.com.

Registration includes entrance at the registered event, the meals served as part of the agenda as well as a special educator evening gathering.

The number of participants is limited due to space restrictions and will be determined on a first come basis.

Customer Excellence Award - Excellence in Academics:

· The Convergence Customer Excellence Awards recognize, honor and celebrate customers/members that have achieved outstanding success with their Microsoft solutions as well as Microsoft partners’ solutions. Start to consider if that is your educational institution.

· Please submit your own nomination via the online form which will be available 1 July 2008. Find more details here: http://www.microsoft.com/Dynamics/convergence/copenhagen/2008/customer_excellence.aspx

To make sure to receive all details please write to dynaa@microsoft.com to be included on the mailing list.

We look forward to seeing you in Copenhagen!

MICROSOFT DYNAMICS ACADEMIC ALLIANCE

The Microsoft Dynamics Academic Alliance is a global program that enables educators to incorporate Microsoft Dynamics technology into the classroom. Currently, over 1,000 institutions around the world use Microsoft Dynamics products to provide students with an exceptional hands-on learning experience. If you would like to learn more about the Academic Alliance you are welcome to visit our website: http://www.microsoft.com/education/academic_alliance.mspx.

Conference on 3rd Generation Enterprise Resource Planning Systems (3gERP)

The 3gERP project aims to develop the academic foundations for a ‘standard’ flexible and highly configurable global ERP-system for Small and Medium sized Enterprises (SMEs), which can be implemented and maintained at a fraction of the costs of current systems. The ambition of the project is to tackle some of the fundamental challenges and trade-offs existing systems have, for instance with regard to customizability vs. total cost including upgrades. If you would like to learn more about 3gERP please visit this website: http://www.3gerp.org

All the best,

Allison, your new Academic Information Manager

Films for Learning

ukacademia — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 19:53:52 GMT

One of the exciting new projects being demonstrated at the BETT show this year is the Films for Learning Project. I know that many of you work with your feeder schools to establish links, provide extra curricular activities and to foster enthusiasm for Computer Science and Engineering subjects and I think this resource could help you. I see potential for you to help your feeder schools make videos that other schools can benefit from, either in your area or across the country. I see students demonstrating their programming, electronics, robotics projects to their peers. What do you think?

Claire

The details of the project are:

Films for Learning (FFL) is a project that has been inspiring schools for two years now to create their own video resources and share them with others online as part of core curriculum. FFL is organised out of Thomas Hardye School in Dorset with the first year of funding from NESTA.

· Audience for FFL is youth 6-18 years of age and teaching professionals.

· All submitted videos are moderated by UK teaching professionals before publication to ensure the site content is safe and appropriate for education use.

· Microsoft is a sponsor of FFL and helped to re-launch www.filmsforlearning.org. This collaborative site and online community will serve as an educational resource that inspires and helps teachers and students to make their own video productions.

· Approximately 50 schools in the UK take part today (note that most school/classrooms are already undertaking video projects but haven’t had a place to interact around them more broadly.

· School participation costs – a DV video camera, a PC running Windows XP or Windows Vista for access to Windows MovieMaker, Internet connectivity to publish the video to filmsforlearning.org

· The Films for Learning community members provide student and teacher activity/training days, using a travelling film lab with equipment funded by Microsoft, to help schools start media enhanced, personal learning activities.

The introductory FFL video (provided as a WMV) is available here – please watch if you wanted to see and hear more about FFL by the teachers and pupils doing FFL today! http://community.filmsforlearning.org.ultimahosts.eu/video/FfL-Film-2008.wmv

Robotics and .NET Fundamentals webcasts

ukacademia — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 18:41:33 GMT

Dan Waters has posted a series of introduction level webcasts on his blog. The content includes:

Introduction
Getting Started
- Setting up the Create
- Serial port communication in VC# Express
- Teaching the robot to sing
More on serial port stuff
- Setting up and utilizing Bluetooth
- Driving the robot in a square
Intro to VPL and MS Robotics Studio
- Learning how to drive the robot via a dialog box
- See how you can use VPL to create a program without writing any code whatsoever
Introducing Autonomous Behavior
- Using the iRobot Create's sensors and a flow diagram to back up when an obstacle is encountered
- Conclusion to the series

and you can access it here.

Claire

Imagine Cup - Software design deadline extension, new mentor service and extra prize

ukacademia — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 14:57:00 GMT

Students competing in the Software Design category of the Imagine Cup will be delighted to learn that the deadline has been pushed back to January 9th. This gives everyone chance to work on their submissions over the Christmas holidays.

We realise that it is in the last stages that students need the most assistance and so to take the pressure of you, their lecturers, we have a team of impartial techies on standby ready to provide a free mentoring service. Please have your students get in touch so that we can link them up.

In addition we have added an extra bonus prize for the 15 teams that make it through to the next stage: free professional training from innerworkings on a .NET developer interface that integrates directly with Visual Studio.

Claire

Life as an intern on the Microsoft Student Placement Programme

ukacademia — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 16:18:00 GMT

Based in Reading and London, our placements last 48 weeks, beginning with a week-long induction designed to introduce the student to all the different areas of the business and identify objectives for their professional development.

Subsequent learning will take the form of on-the-job training within thier team, bespoke skills training and one-to-one performance reviews. Most importantly, they'll do real work and have real opportunities to make a genuine impact on our business and their future.

The benefits of a Microsoft Student Placement don’t merely apply to their future career, however. There’s also some pretty hefty advantages to getting involved with Microsoft from day one, including a £14,500 a year salary, £500 sign on bonus, 25 days holiday per year and – should you wish to return to Microsoft on the MACH programme – a fast-track to the last stage of the assessment process.

Please encourage your students to apply by returning a completed application form available here to sturec@microsoft.com quoting placement08. They might even end up working in our team and take over from Ben Coley from De Montfort and Muhammad Walji from Brunel

New Silverlight Teaching Program Launching

ukacademia — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 18:21:00 GMT

As avid readers of our Academic blog I thought I’d give you a heads up about our latest teaching program which is due to launch soon.

Having already covered XNA and Embedded technologies I’m pleased to announce that our third program for the year will be around Silverlight .

For those of you who haven’t already heard the buzz Silverlight is a cross-browser, cross-platform plug-in for delivering the next generation of media experiences and rich interactive applications (RIAs) for the Web. It really is impressive stuff.

so If you're an Academic and would like to register your interest about joining this exciting teaching program please email us at Ukacinfo@microsoft.com and we will forward on details of this program.

I'll look forward from hearing from you!

Kate

MSDN Academic Alliance, do your students know they can get Vista?

ukacademia — Mon, 17 Sep 2007 19:14:00 GMT

The academic team is currently in London running the Microsoft Student Partner bootcamp; 62 students from 50 universities learning about our tools, products and vision so that they can help their peers develop a love of technology.

A big debate just revealed that many of them are unaware of the benefits they can derive from your MSDN AA memberships, particularly the fact that they can get Vista Enterprise and hundreds of other products. The start of the new academic year is a good time to remind your existing cohort and inform the freshers. You can get all the information you need here. If there are any of you that do not have a subscription then I urge you to consider it and let me know if you have any questions.

Claire

Inspiration Tour

ukacademia — Tue, 21 Aug 2007 16:28:00 GMT

We’re very excited in the Academic team, we’re just about to launch the “Inspiration Tour” and we can’t wait to go out and meet you all.

Ed Dunhill

Ed and Ben will be out on the road during the next six months, so why not take a look at our Inspiration Tour web page to find out more and beat the rush to reserve your tour date now!

Ben Coley

The aim of the inspiration tour is to bring technology to you and your students, everything from the . NET platform to some of the really cool stuff that’s around at the moment like Silverlight, XNA and Microsoft Embedded technologies.

Spaces will fill up fast so please email us if you are interested in securing a date.

How to save €300 atTechEd 2007

ukacademia — Mon, 30 Jul 2007 11:00:00 GMT

Are you planning to go to TechEd 2007, 5th - 9th November in Barcelona? If so you can save €300 by registering byTuesday 31st July (tomorrow).

Designed to provide developers with deep dive technical training, information and community resources, this conference focuses on building software solutions with Microsoft development tools for current and soon-to-release products and technologies. This event is ideal for:

Developers

Software Engineers

Solution Architects

Development Managers

Web Developers

Database Developers

If your aim is to architect and build secure, scalable applications, to migrate applications to Microsoft .NET Framework 3.0 and Windows Vista, or to address complex technical issues and accelerate development, then TechEd Developers will help you unlock your potential.

Claire