Sun Microsystems Donates Software to Education Sector

Sun Microsystems Donates Software to Education Sector

The Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Education and Training (MoET), Mr. Pham Vu Luan, signed a multi-million dollar agreement with Sun Microsystems' Andrew Lim, Regional Director for Education and Research in South Asia in mid August to adopt StarOffice 7 as the office productivity platform for Vietnam’s education industry.

Under this agreement, students and teachers in all schools, colleges and universities across Vietnam will have unlimited access to office productivity technology and the various elements of StarOffice 7, including word processing, spreadsheets, presentation and design, and database both at home and in the classroom without having the ministry bear the cost of expensive licensing fees.

The formal presentation of StarOffice 7 to the MoET demonstrates the ministry’s lead role in standardising its productivity platform in educational institutions. StarOffice software will benefit schools in both urban and rural areas, introduce IT culture to future generations, expand the pool of IT talent and raise IT standards in Vietnam.

To date, under Sun's free StarOffice licensing and redistribution agreement for educational institutions, donations to South Asia have mounted to more than US$300 million worth of StarOffice software and training.

• K.P