PETALING JAYA: Software giant Microsoft has launched another programme to help budding software developers realise their dream.

Called DreamSpark, Microsoft will give students at local institutes of higher learning access to professional-grade developer and designer tools for free.

About 870,000 students nationwide are expected to benefit from the programme, which will provide access to tools such as Microsoft Visual Studio Pro, Expression Studio, XNA Game Studio 2.0 and SQL Server Developer Edition.

According to Microsoft Malaysia, the programme is part of the company’s commitment to help develop human capital among students in the country and to help equip these students with the skills they will need in the workplace.

Yasmin Mahmood, Microsoft Malaysia managing director, said about RM3bil was spent to realise the programme.

“We want to encourage every student to access these tools and realise their creative potential,” she said.

Tyson Dowd, Microsoft Malaysia local software economy senior director, said the software offered is constantly being updated — as fast as Microsoft releases new technologies.

He said students would be able to download each software and its registration key, which would enable them to better build solutions.

“Students can try experimenting with and developing solutions at home or use the software for class projects. Microsoft supports their efforts with these tools,” he said.

According to Dowd, the new programme help students to familiarise themselves with the latest tools in the market, and to be able to do this first hand.

Kickstart

The programme, he said, can also be viewed as a start to a student’s career as a technopreneur. This in turn further helps startup companies in their efforts to gain a foothold in the business.

Startups are already getting a helping hand from the software giant. BizSpark, a programme launched by Microsoft last year, gives every startup RM650,000 worth of Microsoft development software, such as Expression Studio and Visual Studio Team System.

DreamSpark was welcomed by several young software developers who attended the recent prize-giving ceremony for the Imagine Cup — a competition by Microsoft to encourage creativity and innovativeness among university students who develop software.

IT undergraduate Tengku Azlina Tengku Ahmad said that besides helping to realise dreams of becoming the next big name in IT, the programme will encourage youths to use legal copies of software.

“Not every student can afford these tools and the easy way out is to use the pirated version. This is no longer necessary,” said the student from Universiti Tun Hussein Onn.

A group of young developers from Universiti Utara Malaysia said the move is a positive one and hoped that Microsoft will also include tutorials for the software.

“Also, it will help new developers learn how to use the software more effectively,” said 24-year-old Farah Shafilla Mohd Kassim who represented the UUM group.

Dowd said Microsoft, encouraged by the response to DreamSpark, has plans for a similar programme targeting secondary school students.

For more information on DreamSpark, go to www.dreamspark.com.