Israel Innovation 2.0

Microsoft Israel announced earlier this month that it is making its DreamSpark program available to students in high-school and university in Israel.

According to the site, the program – which will provide $10 million in equipment – enables students to “download professional-level Microsoft developer [and design] tools to advance your learning and skills through technical design, technology, math, science and engineering activities.” 

Around the same time as this announcement, Microsoft Israel also announced Israel’s inclusion in the Imagine Cup 2009 worldwide competition. Imagine Cup, which focuses on students studying computer science and engineering in specific, challenges students in those areas to “Imagine a world where technology helps solve the toughest problems facing us today.” Students who participate can choose from one of 9 categories, including Software Design, IT, Design and Photography, among others,  to create their solution. 

Microsoft’s announcements together with EMC’s Center of Excellence program that was announced last month seems to indicate a trend among big IT companies to reduce their R&D costs by outsourcing while developing and building a pool of potential future employees. Aside from being cost-effective, it can help prevent some participants who might have an entrepreneurial flare from creating a company that could turn into a competitor or which these companies would have to purchase for a lot of money.

Regarding Microsoft’s move in specific, four possible benefits of the program for the company are:

• Additional exposure: It is good publicity for the companies products and raises awareness of them among potential users.
• New products: Microsoft can further develop any of the projects submitted in the Imagine Cup competition. This can help it gain valuable ground in Web 2.0 and especially Enterprise 2.0. 
• Long-term future users: Similar to Microsoft’s strategy of providing poor countries with free copies of its customer software products, any students who use Microsoft’s developer software via DreamSpark who might not have ever used it, will now gain a familiarity and knowledge of it that will make them more inclined to continue to use Microsoft products in the future. It also can create loyalty among a young crowd that can lead to several sales over a long period of time. 
• Large pool of potential future employees: With both programs, Microsoft will now have a major database of students worldwide who can be tapped for jobs in the next few years as they finish schoo. Having a larger database will give it the ability to be selective and ensure that only the top candidates will be hired. 

It wouldn’t be surprising if other companies also went after students for R&D-related purposes in the next few months. 

More information about DreamSpark can be found here.