Over seventy-five more students from twenty-five Nigerian universities have been selected as Microsoft Student Partners (MSPs) at this year’s Microsoft Nigeria Student Partner on-boarding event which held at Elizade University, Akure, Nigeria.
Currently active in over 100 countries around the world, and 27 universities in Nigeria, the Microsoft Student Partner (MSP) programme is an educational and promotional program to sponsor undergraduate students majoring in disciplines related to technology including Computer Science, Computer Information Systems, and Information Technology among others with the aim to enhance their employability and increase their awareness of Microsoft technologies. These Student Partners are offered training especially in product-specific skills not typically taught in academia, including knowledge of Microsoft technologies.
Speaking at this year’s on-boarding event, Developer Platform Evangelism Director, Microsoft Nigeria, Oyeshina Oyetosho said while the MSP program aims to increase awareness of Microsoft products, programs and initiatives, it consequently helps expand the user base of Microsoft products, and results in better availability of properly educated workforce in those technologies.
Explaining the selection process, Oyetosho said, “These MSPs were earlier selected as “Buddies” by the existing MSPs and have been monitored and groomed for the past several months and were selected upon their achievements and dedication shown over the period.”
He reiterated Microsoft’s commitment to continually drive skills acquisition and innovation amongst students across Nigeria.
Earlier in his remarks, the Vice Chancellor, Elizade University, Professor Valentine Aletor said, “In the global economy today, the knowledge sector is the fastest growing sector, with this growth being majorly accelerated by ICT.”
According to him, ICT doesn’t limit man’s capabilities; man limits ICT capabilities. He further noted that ICT helps to ensure youth employability in the commercial sector and Elizade University is interested and open to partnerships that will help to create start-ups and spinoffs from staff and students within the University.”
On being an MSP, Dara Oladapo of The Federal University of Technology, Akure says, “This has been a life-changer for me. It has afforded me the opportunity to utilize my time learning all sorts of new technologies and sharing them with others.”
Being an MSP is a privileged and honoured status for any student that would give them an advantage over fresh graduates entering the IT industry. Besides that, they enjoy opportunities and benefits such as having global portal access to the latest news, actions, events, worldwide forums, resources and photo gallery.
Other benefits are attending technical events hosted by Microsoft, and receiving software giveaways, betas and resource kits, and other promotional items such as posters, flyers, campus launch kits and the likes to be used in campus.