Sun Technology Powers Student Learning Environment in Europe
3/3/2004 - Sun Microsystems, Inc. (Nasdaq: SUNW) announced widespread adoption of its computing solutions for educational institutions across Europe, in addition to solidifying further academic relationships with the recent addition of The Ministry of Education Catalonia, Spain and the SRH Business Academy in Heidelberg, Germany as Centers of Excellence. Sun's innovative and open software offerings including the Java Desktop System (Java DS), the Java Enterprise System and the StarOffice productivity suite offer educational institutions an alternative to the proprietary technology and restrictive licensing models of competitors. From all corners of Europe, spanning K-12 education to colleges and universities, institutions such as the University of Oxford, United Kingdom and the European campus of INSEAD in France are reaping the benefits and advancing the student learning environment using Sun technology.
"Sun technology is clearly making in-roads across Europe and academic institutions have welcomed our continued commitment to offering a less complex, open computing alternative," said Kim Jones, vice president, Global Education and Research for Sun Microsystems. "During our annual Worldwide Education and Research Conference in Madrid we're meeting with key educators, technologists and visionaries so we can continue to work together to transform education for the future."
"Technology from Sun Microsystems is key to running the educational portals for the Ministry of Education of Catalonia," said Ferran Ruiz Tarrago, IT department for the Ministry of Education of Catalonia. "Both students and teachers across Catalonia benefit from the anywhere, anytime access to educational resources through their digital desktops."
Sun Advances Student Learning Environments
From desktops to enterprise infrastructure software, Sun has been instrumental in helping schools and universities advance student learning environments. Successful implementations across Europe include:
- University of Utrecht, Netherlands and Parque Cientifico de Madrid, Spain implement Java Enterprise System: Sun's Java Enterprise System offers a radical new approach to enterprise infrastructure software that reduces IT cost and complexity, accelerates solutions and provides customers with simplicity, predictability and affordability. The Java Enterprise System is available in Europe for 45.87 Euro per full time faculty/administrative employee per year versus 91.74 Euro for all commercial customers.
- 58 Million Students Embrace StarOffice: Schools and universities across Europe have taken advantage of the free licensing offer for the StarOffice productivity suite from Sun. In total nine million higher education students and 49 million K-12 students use StarOffice – the only real alternative to software productivity suites that tie customers into costly licensing deals. To date 22 Ministries of Education in Europe, including Austria, Denmark, Germany, Holland, Finland, France, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland have benefited from Sun's unique offering.
- Java Desktop System for Education: Educational institutions across Europe have already benefitted from implementing this less complex alternative desktop solution. The Java DS for Education is an affordable, comprehensive, simple to use and secure enterprise-class desktop solution. The Java DS is available for just 22.94 Euro per desktop per year for the desktop software, maintenance, support and training.
Sun Microsystems Extends Partnerships with Education Program Initiatives
Sun's commitment to support the education and research sector is exemplified by the breadth of programs designed to encourage partnering with academic institutions and foster collaborative relationships. Recent successes in Europe include:
- Academic Excellence Grants: Sun's Academic Excellence Grant program grants equipment to eligible organisations who have developed creative projects and create partnerships for success. Donations in Europe for Sun's Fiscal Year 2003 totaled $5.6 million (4.5 million Euro).
- Centers of Excellence: Sun's Centers of Excellence program promotes collaboration to help build new technologies and communities that advance academic research. Recent additions across Europe include The Ministry of Education Catalonia, Spain and SRH Business Academy in Heidelberg, Germany. In total Sun has 32 Centers of Excellence across Europe.
- Sun Academic Initiative: this program is designed to create a collaborative relationship between Sun and academic institutions. Courses delivered through this program introduce students to Sun technologies, prepare them for industry-leading certification, and equip them with marketable IT job skills. Around 200 institutions across Europe offer a total of 90 courses spanning Java Technology, StarOffice and Solaris Operating Environment Systems Administration. More information can be found at www.sunacademic.com.
More information on Sun Global Education and Research is available on the World Wide Web at http://www.sun.com/edu
About Sun Microsystems, Inc.
Since its inception in 1982, a singular vision -- "The Network Is The Computer" -- has propelled Sun Microsystems, Inc. (Nasdaq: SUNW) to its position as a leading provider of industrial-strength hardware, software and services that make the Net work. Sun can be found in more than 100 countries and on the World Wide Web at http://sun.com
Sun, Sun Microsystems, the Sun logo, Java, StarOffice, Solaris and The Network Is The Computer are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sun Microsystems, Inc. in the United States and other countries.
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