Microsoft offers free access to Office 365 to Belarusian university students, professors

Microsoft Belarus now offers free access to the Office 365 suite to university students and professors, BelTA learned from Irina Maximova, head of the representative office of Microsoft in Belarus, at the roundtable session held on 19 March to discuss the quality of education in the country.

According to Irina Maximova, Microsoft is intent on making the latest technologies available as part of the education process and allows professors and students to use some applications at home. The company has special offers for academic institutions, including the Education Ministry, universities, schools, professors, university students and school students. The company also offers two and three-year installment plans as well as subscription-based licensing models.

“We offer discounts as large as 80-90% to the academic audience. It is a unique offer. Besides, some of our applications are available for free,” said Irina Maximova. She also added that the company’s partners can provide software deployment and operation services.

According to the source, the product Microsoft Office 365 is free for learning purposes and allows engaging the full potential of cloud technologies for processing documents. It was said that cloud technologies are the state of the art trend in the IT industry. Teachers and students can also use applications for free via the Dreamspark program. Access can be granted by signing a three-year contract.

BelTA has been told that all these options are a good opportunity for Belarusian students and professors to use modern technologies as part of the learning process. Apart from that, graduates will have a business advantage, will be competitive and in demand.