Hyderabad, Jan 16 (IANS): Microsoft India has announced the launch of the Microsoft Academia Accelerator, aimed at building a deep long-term association between industry and academia.

Vinod Anantharaman, head of Business Management at Microsoft India (R&D) Pvt Ltd, told reporters here Thursday that Microsoft, in collaboration with the faculty at 10 leading engineering colleges, will aim to enhance the computer science curricula in selective areas and foster even greater student-driven innovation and entrepreneurship.

"The programme aims to expose students to critically important technology trends and practices earlier, during their formative years, thereby preparing them with vital skills and experiences that will enrich their careers and fuel innovation and impact from India," he said.

Under the programme, a series of workshops will be organised that span a wide spectrum of topics relevant to the modern-day high technology industry. The second component involves a series of student "hackathons" which give all students an opportunity to work collaboratively in team environments to build modern, real-world applications that leverage the latest Microsoft platforms, including Mobile and Cloud.

Workshops are tailored to the curriculum at each partner college, based on the needs of the computer science faculty and their specific requirements, and get delivered by seasoned Microsoft engineers who are domain experts in that particular area.