Microsoft and S.T.E.M. (Science Technology Engineering Math)

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STEM: A Foundation for the Future
Improving student skills in science, technology, engineering and math
is the foundation of America’s economic future

At Microsoft, our focus has always been on enabling people around the world to realize their full
potential. For some time, an important part of that commitment has involved helping individu-
als develop the skills necessary to succeed in a world—and a workplace—that is more complex,
technologically advanced and competitive than ever before.
These skills are predominantly concentrated in science, technology, engineering and mathematics
(STEM) disciplines. Gone are the days when a basic understanding of math or science was suf-
ficient for most high-school or college graduates. Today’s students will need a strong foundation
in these subjects regardless of their post-high-school plans.
In the global marketplace, American businesses are increasingly dependent on innovation and
increasing productivity to remain competitive. As a result, the vast majority of family-wage jobs in
the 21st century will require employees with a range of technical skills and a capacity for lifelong
learning.
Consider the many challenges confronting society: global warming, AIDS and other diseases,
hunger and poverty. Science, technology, engineering and math are central to addressing all of
these issues—through development of new energy sources, medical breakthroughs, more effec-
tive agricultural practices and the creation of new economies.
The U.S. Department of Labor has projected that by 2014, there will be more than 2 million
job openings in STEM fields in the United States. Yet, across the U.S., student performance on
international math and science benchmarks lags behind that of their peers from other nations.
Multiple studies have found that many students begin to lose interest in these subjects as early
as middle school. And colleges are finding too few students with the interest and preparation to
pursue STEM degrees.

K-12 Programs Higher Education Programs Tools for Engaging Students Conclusion

2 STEM: A FoundATion For ThE FuTurE

As Bill Gates noted in 2008 testimony before the U.S. House Committee on Science and Technology:
“Too many of our students fail to graduate from high school with the basic skills they will need
to succeed in the 21st Century economy, much less prepared for the rigors of college and career.
Although our top universities continue to rank among the best in the world, too few American
students are pursuing degrees in science and technology.”
For the U.S. to continue to be a leader in innovation, and competitive globally, we must work
especially hard to persuade young women and minority students—who are under-represented
in the STEM fields today—that their contributions are needed and that exciting and rewarding
career opportunities exist. Expanding the talent pool to include more women and minorities is not
simply a matter of ensuring that all members of society have access to economic opportunities.
It is a business imperative if the U.S. economy is to maintain its leadership.
Addressing the STEM challenge is a responsibility shared by both the public and the private sector.
As the world’s largest software company, we are keenly aware of the importance of expanding
the talent pool. It’s important to our business, our partners and our customers, and to the com-
munities in which our 91,000 employees work and live.
That’s why Microsoft has invested significantly in tools and resources that enable effective teach-
ing of STEM subjects, and in programs that encourage young people to become proficient and
consider careers in STEM fields. On an annual basis, our commitment of cash, software and em-
ployee volunteer time totals hundreds of millions of dollars.
As with any prudent investment strategy, we have diversified our efforts. Some of the programs
we support, like Imagine Cup, help students and the public understand the transformational
role these technologies play in our daily lives. Others, such as DigiGirlz, dispel stereotypes typi-
cally associated with careers in technology. Partners in Learning, the Microsoft Math Partnership
and Games4Learning provide educators and students with innovative new approaches to STEM
learning.
From our earliest days, Microsoft has been committed to changing the way people work, learn
and live. We are proud to say that our interest in STEM education is an extension of that com-
mitment. We hope you will take a few minutes to learn more about our business and citizenship
programs that support STEM.



K–12 Programs
Education is the foundation of our communities, and key to America’s ability to remain competitive
in the global economy. Microsoft is working to strengthen K–12 education worldwide through a
range of programs that support students, teachers and school leaders.

Partners in Learning Club Tech at the Boys and Girls Clubs
of America
Partners in Learning is a 10-year, $500 million
commitment to help local schools increase For more than a decade, Microsoft has part-
their access to technology and improve its use nered with the Boys & Girls Clubs of America
in learning. Since 2003, Partners in Learning to teach essential digital literacy skills to chil-
has touched the lives of more than 90 million dren across the country and on U.S. military
students, teachers and education policymak- bases abroad. Club Tech uses fun, interactive
ers in 101 countries. Through the Innovative lessons to give youth of all ages and back-
Schools program, we are partnering with grounds the skills they need to showcase their
12 schools in different parts of the world to creativity, perform better in school and even-
move beyond the limits of the classroom and tually take their technology know-how into
traditional education models toward new ap- the workplace. To date, Microsoft’s $150 mil-
proaches that make learning more engaging, lion pledge has reached 4.5 million children in
inspiring and relevant. The resulting educa- 4,300 locations. Microsoft also provides local
tional tools and methods are available for Clubs with technology and support services
other school districts to adapt and use. Our to help run their operations, and many of our
Innovative Teachers program is dedicated to employees volunteer at Clubs.
helping educators develop and share success-
ful teaching methods, lesson plans, practices
and professional development resources. As
part of our Innovative Students program, we
work with governments and schools to help
deliver technology products and supporting
curricula directly into the hands of students to
enrich their learning.



The Microsoft Math Partnership system. Microsoft, the Bill and Melinda Gates
Foundation, The Boeing Company, Battelle,
The Microsoft Math Partnership (MMP) works
the Washington Roundtable and the Partner-
to raise middle-school students’ participa-
ship for Learning are providing the critical
tion and achievement in math, science and
initial support for these efforts. The goal is to
technology studies. Through partnerships
improve teacher effectiveness and significant-
with local school districts, universities and
ly increase the number of high-school gradu-
other educational organizations in the Puget
ates who are prepared to succeed in STEM
Sound area of Washington state, MMP pro-
degree programs in college, with a particular
vides professional development opportuni-
emphasis on accelerating the achievement of
ties for teachers that will increase the rigor
low-income and minority students.
of secondary and post-secondary math and
science education. MMP also advocates for
policy changes, with the ultimate objective digiGirlz
of encouraging students to become critical Started in 2000, the Microsoft® DigiGirlz
thinkers who are proficient in mathemati- program is designed to dispel the stereotypes
cal skills and concepts, including numeracy, typically associated with careers in technol-
algebra, statistics and problem solving. Over ogy. DigiGirlz Days and DigiGirlz High-Tech
time, the plan is to expand MMP programs to Camps give high-school girls a chance to
other states and to work with school districts learn about careers in technology, connect
to improve science education. with Microsoft employees, and participate in
hands-on computer and technology work-
Washington STEM initiative shops hosted on many of Microsoft’s cam-
puses around the world. Participants receive
The Washington STEM Initiative seeks to im-
career planning assistance, explore technolo-
prove student achievement and opportunity
gy and business roles, engage in thought-pro-
in science, technology, engineering and math-
voking exercises and view in-depth Microsoft
ematics. Launching in spring 2010, the initia-
product demonstrations.
tive will provide technical assistance, teacher
training, access to STEM curricula and other
resources and leadership to help spur innova-
tion in Washington State’s K–12 education



2008 Imagine Cup
software design
winners

Higher-Education Programs
Microsoft-sponsored competitions and technology-access programs are designed to help young
people develop collaboration and problem-solving skills that will be useful in any work environ-
ment while inspiring them to pursue opportunities in science, technology, engineering and math.

imagine Cup level and internship positions. Microsoft S2B
provides unique training and certification
Encouraging young people to apply their
opportunities as well as other resources that
imagination and their passion to create
fuel innovation and help students gain the
technology innovations to solve real-world
skills required to become more employable.
problems is the goal behind Imagine Cup.
Since 2006, the program has provided more
In 2009, more than 300,000 students from
than 300,000 students with new career skills
142 countries participated. The competition
and has led to internships and jobs for 15,000
helps students strengthen technical, problem-
students.
solving and communication skills that can
aid them in a future career. In the eight years
since Microsoft created Imagine Cup, students dreamSpark
have created technology solutions to improve To support advanced technical learning and
software accessibility for the visually impaired, unlock students’ creative potential, the Micro-
increase food production and improve access soft DreamSpark™ program enables univer-
to healthcare in remote areas. Using the UN’s sity and high-school students to download
ambitious Millennium Development Goals professional Microsoft developer, designer
as a guiding framework, the theme for 2010 and gaming software at no cost. Since 2007,
is “Imagine a world where technology helps DreamSpark has provided more than 2.3 mil-
solve the toughest problems.” lion downloads of Microsoft software tools.
The program also offers online instructional
Students to Business resources, training videos, special offers on
Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist
The Microsoft Students to Business (S2B)
exams and access to Microsoft IT Academy
program helps university students who are
learning opportunities.
pursuing technology careers to connect with
Microsoft partners and customers for entry-



MSdn Academic Alliance
To help improve teaching and learning at
accredited universities, technical schools and
high schools, the MSDN® Academic Alliance
provides access to professional-level software
development and design tools. Students
enrolled at a school with an MSDN Academic
Alliance subscription also can obtain free
Microsoft software with a license that never
expires. The program is designed to give
students a head start toward an IT career by
helping familiarize them with the tools and
practices that employers will expect them
to use. In its eight-year history, the MSDN
Academic Alliance has distributed more than
4.4 million downloads of software and other
resources to subscribers.

Microsoft iT Academy
The Microsoft IT Academy program provides
comprehensive IT training curricula and
resources, as well as Microsoft certification
opportunities, to help prepare students for
today’s workplace, encourage lifelong learn-
ing and enhance employability. The program
gives educators the tools they need to deliver
technology courses that align with industry
hiring needs and to offer dynamic learning ex-
periences to a diverse community of students.
The program is available in thousands of loca-
tions in more than 100 countries.

Tools for Engaging
Students in STEM
In education, there’s nothing more valu-
able than hands-on experience. Microsoft is
working with education and research partners
around the U.S. to develop tools that make
STEM education more engaging and relevant
for students of all ages.

robotics
Educators have found that one way to stimu-
late student interest in STEM-related subjects
is through the use of hands-on tools such as
robots. Over the past five years, Microsoft
External Research has sponsored more than
a dozen robotics projects with universities
around the country. In many of those projects,
educators and students utilized Microsoft
Robotics Developer Studio (RDS), a general-



purpose software toolkit that can be used to ing games that will be more useful as educa-
develop everything from educational toys to tional tools.
industrial robots. An academic edition of RDS
is available to students through the Dream- Teaching Tools and Curricula
Spark program.
Microsoft is helping to develop tools and cur-
Microsoft External Research co-founded the ricula that are opening vast new opportunities
Institute for Personal Robots in Education for teaching and learning science. One great
(IPRE), in collaboration with researchers at the example is Microsoft Research’s Worldwide
Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) Telescope, which compiles enormous amounts
and Bryn Mawr College. IPRE uses personal of image data from land- and space-based
robots to make computer science more rel- observatories. Through a Web-based browser,
evant, fun and interesting for students. While users can pan across the night sky or zoom
the project’s initial focus is on undergraduate in on galaxies, stars and planets. Since its
students, IPRE’s ultimate mission is to employ launch in 2008, the Worldwide Telescope has
robots in education at all levels—from middle been downloaded more than 2 million times
school to graduate school. To ensure broad in research facilities, classrooms and homes
access to the program, IPRE’s prototype robot around the world. A new Web site called “Be
is easy to use and affordable—about the same a Martian” is another exciting exploratory
price as a typical textbook. tool. A joint effort of NASA and Microsoft, it
Microsoft has also sponsored robotics compe- gives students of all ages a chance to view
titions hosted by FIRST, for K–12 students, and hundreds of thousands of images of the
RoboCup, an international robotics competi- Red Planet. One of the primary objectives is
tion for university students. to spur interest in science and technology
among students.
Games for Learning STEM educational resources are also associat-
ed with a project called Life Under Your Feet.
The External Research Division at Microsoft
With financial and technology support from
Research has teamed up with research-
Microsoft, researchers at Johns Hopkins Uni-
ers from seven U.S. universities to form the
versity are pioneering the use of large arrays
Games for Learning Institute, based at New
of wireless sensor grids in soil science. The
York University. Researchers are exploring
sensor grids, combined with powerful data
new ways to use computer gaming to more
management tools, are enabling students to
effectively teach science, math, literacy and
learn about underground ecosystems by using
other academic skills. The study results will be
the same data that professional scientists use.
shared with educators, software developers
and other researchers interested in develop-

Conclusion
Social trends and global competition have created both challenges and opportunities for America’s
businesses and for our workforce. U.S. students are falling behind in math and science, while other
countries are graduating more engineers and scientists than ever before. The good news is that
the U.S. is still a leader in scientific and technological innovation, and jobs in science, technology,
engineering and math fields will continue to be available for those who are qualified.
Improving math and science education and inspiring young people to study and pursue careers
in STEM fields will require vision and commitment. In comments recognizing President Obama’s
leadership in making STEM a national priority, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said: “Public and
private partnerships to promote STEM are critically important. We all have a vested interest in
advancing our country’s proficiency in the disciplines of science, technology, engineering and
math as a means to driving innovation and jobs—which are key to fueling our economic growth
and global competitiveness.”


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