Corporate Partners:
Microsoft’s Win-Win Relationship with UMUC

Hasan Sayani

By Chip Cassano

Microsoft Corporation, one of the most widely recognized names in the world of software and computing, is a prominent contributor to UMUC’s remote-access laboratories (see the story in this issue). But the software giant’s relationship with the University extends to other areas, as well, offering a prime example of how business and education can work together to the benefit of all.

UMUC is a part of the Microsoft MSDN Academic Alliance, an annual membership program—free to UMUC—that offers students and faculty free access to popular, cutting-edge applications like Visual Studio .NET 2003, Visio, Project, and the Windows XP Pro operating system.

It is the definition of a win-win relationship.

“The benefit to Microsoft is typical of the benefit to any vendor that provides students with software,” said Hasan Sayani, professor and program director of the Master of Software Engineering program in UMUC’s Graduate School. “If students get comfortable with that software in their courses, when they move into a work environment and are asked to recommend [software], of course they will recommend something that they are familiar with and can put to immediate use.”

Students, in turn, have the opportunity to train on popular, industry-standard applications, and the workforce benefits from their expertise. (Maryland’s Department of Business and Economic Development, in its list of the top 10 reasons to locate a business in Maryland, ranks the state’s skilled and technically savvy workforce as first on the list.)

The benefits to Microsoft run deep, as well. Sayani was invited to serve on Microsoft’s 2003–2004 Faculty Advisory Board, a 20-member panel that fills an advisory role, providing the company with a source of direct feedback from higher education.

“They give us access to their research facilities, and they’ve designated a representative to come here and meet with us regularly,” said Sayani. “I think their goal, from the start, is to make faculty comfortable with their products so that we can put them to better use in our classes. [The Faculty Advisory Board] meets biweekly by teleconference to talk about issues, and Microsoft representatives ask us how they can help. And judging from my experience, they listen. They are serious about making sure that people aren’t just aware of their software, but that they really know how to use it. They invite our comments and our suggestions.”

Finally, of course, the University benefits by being able to offer students greater value for their education dollar.

“Just think about it,” said Sayani. “Our students can get the Visual Studio .NET 2003 software, which retails for $1,100, essentially free of charge, and they’re allowed to keep it after they graduate. I was just talking to a group from my capstone course, and two different students said, ‘Wow, what a benefit!’ And that is the sort of thing we want to hear.”