Microsoft has announced Office 365 for Education, providing the productivity, communications and collaboration experiences to educational institutes at no cost. Office 365 for Education is a cloud-based suite that includes the familiar Microsoft Office desktop applications, as well as Microsoft Exchange Online, Microsoft SharePoint Online and Microsoft Lync Online. It provides educators with powerful tools to create anytime, anywhere learning opportunities across multiple devices in addition to email, calendars, Microsoft Office Web Apps (Online companions to Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote), video and online meetings plus advanced document creation features for curriculum planning and student projects.
“Getting the world’s best technology in the hands of our students and teachers is critical to improving educational outcomes and making sure students are prepared for college and career,” said Anthony Salcito, Vice President of Worldwide Education for Microsoft. “With schools’ ever-tightening budgets, Office 365 for Education enables them to deliver new and innovative technology in the cloud that will modernize teaching and learning practices, at no cost.”
Announced as part of the one-year anniversary of Office 365, prestigious K–12 and higher education institutions around the world are moving to Office 365 for Education. The largest worldwide adoption of Microsoft Office 365 for Education is by the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE). AICTE decided to move all of its 10,000+ colleges on Office 365 for Education earlier this year and the deployment is currently underway. “Microsoft Cloud Platform will make for a truly progressive ecosystem and contribute to the country’s technical education by providing a better communication and collaboration platform for institutes and students,” said Dr SS Mantha, Chairman, AICTE
“Office 365 has millions of subscribers worldwide and in India, and we are now excited to announce the availability of Office 365 for Education, bringing enterprise-class productivity to education institutions across the country,” said Sanjay Manchanda, Director – Microsoft Business Division, Microsoft India.
“We are also proud to see Office 365 for education being selected by India’s leading educational institutions such as – IIM Bangalore and AICTE, – as their choice for cloud services to empower students and faculty for enhanced productivity,” added Manchanda.
