Microsoft Department Appeared in KFU
This news was spread on March 14, 2013 after a meeting held in Kazan Federal University between the Rector of KFU, Mr. Ilshat Gafurov, and Vice-President of Microsoft for the Eastern and Central Europe, Mr. Donald Grantham.
President of Microsoft in Russia, Nikolay Pryanishnikov, Regional Director of Microsoft in Russia, Kirill Semenikhin, acting Director of Volga-Microsoft macroregion in Russia, Iskander Bariyev, regional representative of Microsoft for work with educational institutions in Volga-Region Federal District, Maksim Muchkayev were among the Microsoft delegation members.
KFU was represented at this meeting by the Vice-Rector for Economic and Strategic Development, Marat Safiullin, Director of the Institute of Computer Mathematics and Information Technologies, Rustam Latypov, Director of N. I. Lobachevsky Institute of Mathematics and Mechanics, Vladimir Chugunov, Director of the Higher School of Information Technologies and Information Systems, Ayrat Khasyanov, Director of the Department of Informatization and Communication, Dmitriy Burmistrov, the 4-th year student of the Institute of Institute of Mathematics and Mechanics, Ruslan Dautov.
It is worth saying that KFU and Microsoft have been cooperating for several years already. Thus, as early as in 2008 Microsoft and Kazan University announced an opening of Microsoft Innovation Center (MIC), in the framework of which students, teachers, novice entrepreneurs, software developers, as well as representatives of industrial enterprises and governmental organisations exchange experience and jointly develop innovation projects. A project based on Microsoft Office 365 product, which has been being implemented on the territory of the University since September, 2012, is the second in Russia and one of the largest in Europe.
Nikolay Pryanishnikov thanked KFU representatives for partnership and said that Microsoft company was striving for investing everything new it possessed, including new devices, products and services, in educational system, in the first place.
Mr. Donald Grantham told the meeting participants in more detail about development and priorities of the company. He put emphasis on the fact that social partnership namely with higher educational institutions was of great importance for Microsoft. He was interested in the project connected with construction and equipping of the University planetarium. “If we can help you with international contacts broadening, then we are ready to do that”, – said Mr. Donald Grantham.
During the meeting the parties discussed some other possible lines of cooperation, as well. For instance, such issues as interaction between KFU and Microsoft Research in the sphere of data analysis in bio- and chemoinformatics, annual Imagine Cup contest holding on the basis of KFU, invitation of Microsoft engineers and specialists to KFU for open lecture delivery were also discussed.
Summing up the results of the meeting, Mr. Ilshat Gafurov noted that it was rather fruitful. The Company integration with the higher education institution will probably be very soon supported by an official document, in which certain mid-term plans will be stated. It had been decided to organize a working group entrusted with such an agreement elaboration.
