The Student Advantage service is meant to better the academic lives of students as it will enable them to communicate, collaborate and access assignments in a shared work space.

The platform will help synchronize on OneNote as well as access Office applications, this, the company said will help prepare the students with the skills required in the workforce.

Students will be able to enjoy this service from 1 December this year. It will be made available to any institution worldwide that licenses Office 365 ProPlus or Office Professional Plus for staff and faculty can provide access to Office 365 ProPlus for students at no additional cost.

Microsoft Office 365 Education, an always-up-to-date cloud productivity service, is currently used by 110 million students, faculty and staff around the world. Office 365 Education enables students to communicate and collaborate more efficiently, access assignments in shared workspaces, have notes synchronized in OneNote and have familiar Office applications such as Word, PowerPoint and Excel anywhere, across virtually any device.

“Students use Office every day for school work and activities that are most important to them. Office not only helps students stay organized and get their work done today but at the same time develops skills that will be required when they enter the work force,” Said Mark Chaban, Microsoft Education Lead, Middle East and Africa.

Chaban was speaking at a Higher Education forum organized by Microsoft and attended by dons from over 30 Private and Public Universities and the Ministry of Education.

The launch comes in the wake of a white paper released by International Data Corporation (IDC) which states that top candidates for current and future jobs will be measured by capabilities and competencies.

The study by Microsoft Corp provides insight into the skills students need for the top 60 high-growth, high-wage occupations that will account for 11.5 million new hires and 28 percent of job growth by 2020. Out of those skills, oral and written communication, detail orientation, and Microsoft Office proficiency top the list.

With technology and innovation booming, the global economy is changing and business needs are evolving. IDC research found that although a number of positions require technical skills, even more require knowledge and cognitive skills.

- Ad -