University of Malaya and Microsoft Malaysia Collaborate to Invest in Human Capital Development by Empowering Students with Genuine Productivity Tools

Microsoft Malaysia underscores its National Plan commitment to transform Malaysia through education by empowering all 25,000 UM students with Microsoft Office software

Kuala Lumpur, 5 March 2012 – The University of Malaya together with Microsoft Malaysia and Prestariang are taking on the Government’s call to invest in human capital development by empowering all 25,000 University of Malaya students with genuine versions of the Microsoft Office 2010 productivity suite, an essential tool for success in today’s business environment, through a collaborative effort known as the “Hedstart Program”.

The launch of the Hedstart Program at University of Malaya’s campus this morning was hailed as a significant achievement and an excellent example of a private-public partnership that moves forward the government’s agenda towards transforming Malaysia, in tandem with the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak’s vision to enhance creativity, innovation and competitiveness among students.Launch of the Hedstart Program held at University of Malaya where Microsoft Malaysia hopes to underscore its National Plan commitment to transform Malaysia through education by empowering all 25,000 UM students with Microsoft Office software. From left: Ybhg. Prof Datuk Dr. Rohana Yusof Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Student Affairs), University of Malaya; Dr. David Asirvatham, Director, Centre of Information Technology, University of Malaysia; Dr. Abu Hasan Ismail, Chief Executive Officer, Prestariang System Sdn Bhd; Mr. Aanth Lazarus, Managing Director, Microsoft Malaysia.

Recently, the Prime Minister said that creating a high income nation will mean higher wages throughout the economy as growth is derived not only from the capital but from the greater productivity through the use of skills, innovation, improved coordination with international standards and intellectual property rights.

“The Hedstart Program is the answer to this call, and we are proud to empower 25,000 of our students with genuine Microsoft Office 2010 software which we believe will impart world-class knowledge and resources to develop students to become highly skilled and confident to face the globally benchmarked accreditation,” said Datuk Prof. Dr. Rohana Yusof, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Student Affairs), University of Malaya.

She also added that University of Malaya welcomed the collaboration with Microsoft Malaysia to rollout this campus-wide milestone that will further improve their education ecosystem and increase the competitiveness and capabilities of their students. “Microsoft Malaysia’s continuous support to provide quality education and eagerness to invest in the country’s education strategy is not only vital to create an excellent education platform for the future generation but also essential for Malaysia to achieve a developed status by the year 2020.”

According to Ananth Lazarus, Managing Director of Microsoft Malaysia, the decision to collaborate with the University of Malaya is part of Microsoft’s overarching National Plan – a long-standing commitment to help accelerate Malaysia’s transformation into a technologically advanced, high-income country, based on three strategic commitments – namely to transform education, businesses and Malaysian lives through the power of technology. He explained, “The effort we have put in through the Hedstart Program is grounded in our passion and promises encapsulated in a National Plan to help transform Malaysia together with the various communities and stakeholders who are also committed to the country’s future.”

“For the past 20 years, Microsoft, through its people, partnerships and technology, has been Malaysia’s trusted and long-term partner in accelerating the country’s education ecosystem through initiatives such DreamSpark, which provides students with Microsoft software design and development tools at no charge; the Imagine Cup, known as the “World Cup” of student technology competitions; the Partners in Learning Initiative, where we have trained more than 200,000 teachers as part of our continuous effort in helping successful pedagogy delivery through the use of IT; as well as various other programs aimed at transforming education for Malaysians. Our investment and commitment has made an impact on more than one million students,” continued Ananth.

He added, “In bringing the very best business productivity tools of tomorrow for today’s students at the University of Malaya, I am confident that this is good progress towards transforming the educational landscape of Malaysia and further cultivate potential leaders of tomorrow for the betterment of the country.”

This collaboration could not have been possible without Microsoft Malaysia’s partner, Prestariang Berhad, one of the leading software licence distribution and management organisations in Malaysia who been a catalyst to this successful partnership.

“Focusing on ICT training and certification, our role is to advocate, educate and prepare students with the right productivity tools. Universities present the best platform for us to reach out and spread this valuable message across to students. Together with Microsoft Malaysia, we are working very closely with other higher learning institutions in Malaysia to nurture thousands of students to adopt genuine software by the end of this year. It’s an amazing feat and we are in the midst of replicating this initiative to other higher learning institutions to drive compliance which is crucial to our nation’s progress,” said Dr. Abu Hasan Ismail, Chief Executive Officer, Prestariang.

Through the Headstart Program, students will not only own a Microsoft Office 2010 productivity suite which they are able to retain after graduating, but will also be able to access more than 200 software under the MSDN Academic Alliance program. Ultimately, Microsoft seeks to equip students in public universities with this valuable software under the campus agreement program with the Ministry of Higher Education.