In accordance with its ongoing partnership with University Academy 92 (UA92), Microsoft has opened a brand-new office space in the city of Manchester.
Serving as a location from which the tech giant can offer support to both partners and customers alike, the space will also afford students at UA92 the opportunity to interact with Microsoft professionals on a day-to-day basis, while studying and working alongside them.
A partnership to bridge the gap
The new office space is an integral element of the long-standing relationship between Microsoft and UA92, who together are working to develop and design a comprehensive curriculum for computer science. The aim of the organisations teaming up is to assist in bridging the gap for digital skills throughout the United Kingdom.
Chief Executive for Microsoft UK, Cindy Rose, spoke out at the recent opening for the new Microsoft office space
“We are proud to play a role in both the educational and technology aspects of this unique initiative. It’s an . It has become a vibrant tech hub with a fantastic start-up community and a centre of gravity for Microsoft and our partners.”
Through the partnership between Microsoft and UA92, students and staff have been trained to get the best from the Redmond-based firm’s collaboration and chat platform Teams. Students have also been granted a day dedicated each week to digital learning, and future schemes for the project are set to include digital apprenticeship collaborations to progress digital skills around Manchester and its surrounding area. Through working in conjunction with a selection of employers to build a curriculum for UA92s degree in computer science, the new programme seeks to further develop the necessary skills required by modern industries.
Learning skills for the workplace of tomorrow
With over 170 employees of Microsoft based in the North West region, the recently opened office space will deliver a new facility that allows them to both host and improve support for customers, along with the firm’s 800 partners around the area. By having enterprises work directly from UA92s campus, Principal and CEO for the organisation Craig Gaskell hopes students will now benefit greatly from interaction with Microsoft professionals. He commented:
“The fact that we’re co-located with Microsoft here on our campus means that there are daily informal interactions between students and the company. They’re operating in the professional world and the digital world together.”
First launched a decade ago, the Microsoft apprenticeship programme is designed to help customers and partners address gaps in digital skills across their organisations. At present, one of the multiple Microsoft Learning Providers involved in the initiative is supporting a total of 500 apprentices in the North West. These include major organisations such as Barclays, HMRC and Siemens.
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