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At Microsoft, our focus has always been on enabling people around the world to realize their full potential. For some time, an important part of that commitment has involved helping individuals develop the skills necessary to succeed in a world—and a workplace—that is more complex, technologically advanced and competitive than ever before.
These skills are predominantly concentrated in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) disciplines. Gone are the days when a basic understanding of math or science was sufficient for most high-school or college graduates. Today’s students will need a strong foundation in these subjects regardless of their post-high-school plans.
In the global marketplace, American businesses are increasingly dependent on innovation and increasing productivity to remain competitive. As a result, the vast majority of family-wage jobs in the 21st century will require employees with a range of technical skills and a capacity for lifelong learning.
Consider the many challenges confronting society: global warming, AIDS and other diseases, hunger and poverty. Science, technology, engineering and math are central to addressing all of these issues—through development of new energy sources, medical breakthroughs, more effective agricultural practices and the creation of new economies.
The U.S. Department of Labor has projected that by 2014, there will be more than 2 million job openings in STEM fields in the United States. Yet, across the U.S., student performance on international math and science benchmarks lags behind that of their peers from other nations. Multiple studies have found that many students begin to lose interest in these subjects as early
as middle school. And colleges are finding too few students with the interest and preparation to pursue STEM degrees.
As Bill Gates noted in 2008 testimony before the U.S. House Committee on Science and Technology: “Too many of our students fail to graduate from high school with the basic skills they will need to succeed in the 21st Century economy, much less prepared for the rigors of college and career. Although our top universities continue to rank among the best in the world, too few American students are pursuing degrees in science and technology.”
For the U.S. to continue to be a leader in innovation, and competitive globally, we must work especially hard to persuade young women and minority students—who are under-represented in the STEM fields today—that their contributions are needed and that exciting and rewarding career opportunities exist. Expanding the talent pool to include more women and minorities is not simply a matter of ensuring that all members of society have access to economic opportunities. It is a business imperative if the U.S. economy is to maintain its leadership.
Addressing the STEM challenge is a responsibility shared by both the public and the private sector. As the world’s largest software company, we are keenly aware of the importance of expanding the talent pool. It’s important to our business, our partners and our customers, and to the communities
in which our 91,000 employees work and live.
That’s why Microsoft has invested significantly in tools and resources that enable effective teaching of STEM subjects, and in programs that encourage young people to become proficient and consider careers in STEM fields. On an annual basis, our commitment of cash, software and employee volunteer time totals hundreds of millions of dollars.
As with any prudent investment strategy, we have diversified our efforts. Some of the programs we support, like Imagine Cup, help students and the public understand the transformational role these technologies play in our daily lives. Others, such as DigiGirlz, dispel stereotypes typically
associated with careers in technology. Partners in Learning, the Microsoft Math Partnership and Games4Learning provide educators and students with innovative new approaches to STEM learning.
From our earliest days, Microsoft has been committed to changing the way people work, learn and live. We are proud to say that our interest in STEM education is an extension of that commitment. We hope you will take a few minutes to learn more about our business and citizenship programs that support STEM.
K–12 Programs
Education is the foundation of our communities, and key to America’s ability to remain competitive in the global economy. Microsoft is working to strengthen K–12 education worldwide through a range of programs that support students, teachers and school leaders.
Partners in Learning
Partners in Learning is a 10-year, $500 million commitment to help local schools increase their access to technology and improve its use in learning. Since 2003, Partners in Learning has touched the lives of more than 90 million students, teachers and education policymakers in 101 countries. Through the Innovative Schools program, we are partnering with 12 schools in different parts of the world to move beyond the limits of the classroom and
traditional education models toward new approaches that make learning more engaging, inspiring and relevant. The resulting educational tools and methods are available for other school districts to adapt and use. Our
Innovative Teachers program is dedicated to helping educators develop and share successful teaching methods, lesson plans, practices and professional development resources. As part of our Innovative Students program, we
work with governments and schools to help deliver technology products and supporting curricula directly into the hands of students to enrich their learning.
Club Tech at the Boys and Girls Clubs of America
For more than a decade, Microsoft has partnered with the Boys & Girls Clubs of America to teach essential digital literacy skills to children across the country and on U.S. military bases abroad. Club Tech uses fun, interactive
lessons to give youth of all ages and backgrounds the skills they need to showcase their creativity, perform better in school and eventually
take their technology know-how into the workplace. To date, Microsoft’s $150 million pledge has reached 4.5 million children in 4,300 locations. Microsoft also provides local Clubs with technology and support services to help run their operations, and many of our employees volunteer at Clubs.
The Microsoft Math Partnership
The Microsoft Math Partnership (MMP) works to raise middle-school students’ participation and achievement in math, science and technology studies. Through partnerships with local school districts, universities and other educational organizations in the Puget Sound area of Washington state, MMP provides professional development opportunities for teachers that will increase the rigor of secondary and post-secondary math and science education. MMP also advocates for policy changes, with the ultimate objective
of encouraging students to become critical thinkers who are proficient in mathematical skills and concepts, including numeracy, algebra, statistics and problem solving. Over time, the plan is to expand MMP programs to other states and to work with school districts to improve science education.
Washington STEM Initiative
The Washington STEM Initiative seeks to improve student achievement and opportunity in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Launching in spring 2010, the initiative will provide technical assistance, teacher
training, access to STEM curricula and other resources and leadership to help spur innovation in Washington State’s K–12 education system. Microsoft, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, The Boeing Company, Battelle, the Washington Roundtable and the Partnership for Learning are providing the critical initial support for these efforts. The goal is to improve teacher effectiveness and significantly increase the number of high-school graduates
who are prepared to succeed in STEM degree programs in college, with a particular emphasis on accelerating the achievement of low-income and minority students.
DigiGirlz
Started in 2000, the Microsoft® DigiGirlz program is designed to dispel the stereotypes typically associated with careers in technology. DigiGirlz Days and DigiGirlz High-Tech Camps give high-school girls a chance to learn about careers in technology, connect with Microsoft employees, and participate in
hands-on computer and technology workshops hosted on many of Microsoft’s campuses around the world. Participants receive career planning assistance, explore technology and business roles, engage in thought-provoking
exercises and view in-depth Microsoft product demonstrations.
Higher-Education Programs
Microsoft-sponsored competitions and technology-access programs are designed to help young people develop collaboration and problem-solving skills that will be useful in any work environment while inspiring them to pursue opportunities in science, technology, engineering and math.
Imagine Cup
Encouraging young people to apply their imagination and their passion to create technology innovations to solve real-world problems is the goal behind Imagine Cup. In 2009, more than 300,000 students from 142 countries participated. The competition helps students strengthen technical, problem-solving and communication skills that can aid them in a future career. In the eight years since Microsoft created Imagine Cup, students have created technology solutions to improve software accessibility for the visually impaired, increase food production and improve access to healthcare in remote areas. Using the UN’s ambitious Millennium Development Goals as a guiding framework, the theme for 2010 is “Imagine a world where technology helps solve the toughest problems.”
Students to Business
The Microsoft Students to Business (S2B) program helps university students who are pursuing technology careers to connect with Microsoft partners and customers for entrylevel and internship positions. Microsoft S2B provides unique training and certification opportunities as well as other resources that
fuel innovation and help students gain the skills required to become more employable. Since 2006, the program has provided more than 300,000 students with new career skills and has led to internships and jobs for 15,000
students.
DreamSpark
To support advanced technical learning and unlock students’ creative potential, the Microsoft DreamSpark™ program enables university and high-school students to download professional Microsoft developer, designer and gaming software at no cost. Since 2007, DreamSpark has provided more than 2.3 million downloads of Microsoft software tools. The program also offers online instructional resources, training videos, special offers on
Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist exams and access to Microsoft IT Academy learning opportunities.
MSDN Academic Alliance
To help improve teaching and learning at accredited universities, technical schools and high schools, the MSDN® Academic Alliance provides access to professional-level software development and design tools. Students enrolled at a school with an MSDN Academic Alliance subscription also can obtain free
Microsoft software with a license that never expires. The program is designed to give students a head start toward an IT career by helping familiarize them with the tools and practices that employers will expect them to use. In its eight-year history, the MSDN Academic Alliance has distributed more than
4.4 million downloads of software and other resources to subscribers.
Microsoft IT Academy
The Microsoft IT Academy program provides comprehensive IT training curricula and
resources, as well as Microsoft certification opportunities, to help prepare students for
today’s workplace, encourage lifelong learning and enhance employability. The program gives educators the tools they need to deliver technology courses that align with industry hiring needs and to offer dynamic learning experiences to a diverse community of students. The program is available in thousands of locations
in more than 100 countries.
Tools for Engaging Students in STEM
In education, there’s nothing more valuable than hands-on experience. Microsoft is
working with education and research partners around the U.S. to develop tools that make STEM education more engaging and relevant for students of all ages.
Robotics
Educators have found that one way to stimulate student interest in STEM-related subjects is through the use of hands-on tools such as robots. Over the past five years, Microsoft External Research has sponsored more than a dozen robotics projects with universities around the country. In many of those projects, educators and students utilized Microsoft Robotics Developer Studio (RDS), a general-purpose software toolkit that can be used to develop everything from educational toys to industrial robots. An academic edition of RDS is available to students through the Dream-Spark program.
Microsoft External Research co-founded the Institute for Personal Robots in Education
(IPRE), in collaboration with researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) and Bryn Mawr College. IPRE uses personal robots to make computer science more relevant, fun and interesting for students. While the project’s initial focus is on undergraduate students, IPRE’s ultimate mission is to employ robots in education at all levels—from middle school to graduate school. To ensure broad access to the program, IPRE’s prototype robot is easy to use and affordable—about the same
price as a typical textbook.
Microsoft has also sponsored robotics competitions hosted by FIRST, for K–12 students, and RoboCup, an international robotics competition for university students.
Games for Learning
The External Research Division at Microsoft Research has teamed up with researchers
from seven U.S. universities to form the Games for Learning Institute, based at New
York University. Researchers are exploring new ways to use computer gaming to more
effectively teach science, math, literacy and other academic skills. The study results will be shared with educators, software developers and other researchers interested in developing games that will be more useful as educational tools.
Teaching Tools and Curricula
Microsoft is helping to develop tools and curricula that are opening vast new opportunities for teaching and learning science. One great example is Microsoft Research’s Worldwide Telescope, which compiles enormous amounts of image data from land- and space-based observatories. Through a Web-based browser, users can pan across the night sky or zoom in on galaxies, stars and planets. Since its launch in 2008, the Worldwide Telescope has been downloaded more than 2 million times in research facilities, classrooms and homes around the world. A new Web site called “Be
Be a Martian” is another exciting exploratory tool. A joint effort of NASA and Microsoft, it gives students of all ages a chance to view hundreds of thousands of images of the
Red Planet. One of the primary objectives is to spur interest in science and technology
among students.
STEM educational resources are also associated with a project called Life Under Your Feet. With financial and technology support from Microsoft, researchers at Johns Hopkins University are pioneering the use of large arrays of wireless sensor grids in soil science. The sensor grids, combined with powerful data management tools, are enabling students to learn about underground ecosystems by using the same data that professional scientists use.
Conclusion
Social trends and global competition have created both challenges and opportunities for America’s businesses and for our workforce. U.S. students are falling behind in math and science, while other countries are graduating more engineers and scientists than ever before. The good news is that the U.S. is still a leader in scientific and technological innovation, and jobs in science, technology, engineering and math fields will continue to be available for those who are qualified.
Improving math and science education and inspiring young people to study and pursue careers in STEM fields will require vision and commitment. In comments recognizing President Obama’s leadership in making STEM a national priority, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said: “Public and private partnerships to promote STEM are critically important. We all have a vested interest in advancing our country’s proficiency in the disciplines of science, technology, engineering and math as a means to driving innovation and jobs—which are key to fueling our economic growth and global competitiveness.”
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