RNP and Microsoft signed on Tuesday, August 28th, an agreement of intent to support education and entrepreneurship in our user institutions. The initiative is part of RNP's commitment to providing global integration and collaboration supported in information and communication technology (ICT) for the generation of knowledge and the excellence of education and research. At the same time, Microsoft aims to contribute to the development of the country by supporting education, providing state-of-the-art technology and training for students, teachers and professionals in educational institutions.

With the partnership, nearly 1,200 campuses of educational institutions with units in the capitals and countryside - including federal universities and schools - will have access to Microsoft platforms with Office 356 for Education (cloud) - such as email and calendar (Outlook), online conferences and instant messaging (Skype), corporate social media (Yammer), text editor (Word), spreadsheet editor (Excel), slide show (PowerPoint), digital classroom collaboration notebook (OneNote), file storage (OneDrive), and real-time collaboration (Teams).

Also available are solutions for academic support and training, such as STEM content, a free lesson program focused on Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics, with content packages to support teachers in building practical activities that incorporate computational and design thinking in the high school curriculum.

In addition, it is included the offer of faculty training that, through the free program of 'Microsoft Educational Consultants', may receive training to insert technology into the learning process and tools provided in the agreement. "This training extends to teachers, researchers, students and IT managers. And with this partnership, we will expand our capacity to meet the needs of the Brazilian academic community in terms of infrastructure and services to enable communication, collaboration and development of new applications", explains our Director General, Nelson Simões.

"Microsoft has made a commitment to education. We have adopted the mission of promoting technology as an ally of professionals so that they can use our tools to innovate with classes that stimulate student participation with more creativity. Therefore, this partnership is essential to support this sector, expanding access to technology training and contributing to boost entrepreneurship activity", says Ronan Damasco, national technology director at Microsoft Brazil.