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Microsoft Awards Academic Grants for Cutting-Edge Device Research and Curricula Windows Embedded Academic Program Continues to Foster Collaborative Learning Across Academic Community REDMOND, Wash. -- June 25, 2003 -- Microsoft Corp. today demonstrated its commitment to fostering academic innovation by awarding grants to colleges and universities around the world. The company announced that 77 colleges and universities from more than 25 countries have been awarded Innovation Excellence Awards for Windows Embedded with grants totaling $1.7 million to fund new research projects and curriculum development based on Microsoft® Windows® Embedded platforms. The grants were awarded by Microsoft University Relations in conjunction with the Microsoft Windows Embedded Academic Program (WEMAP), a free program that provides academic educators and researchers with access to source code, development tools and support for the development of projects. Today's Innovation Excellence Awards for Windows Embedded announcement is another step in Microsoft's strong alliance with academia in turning ideas and research into reality. Microsoft will host a Windows Embedded Academic Developers Conference to help jump-start learning opportunities and build a worldwide community for grant recipients and other members of the academic community. "We received a tremendous quantity of remarkable proposals from the academic community for research projects and curriculum development based on the Windows Embedded platforms. Winners were selected for their outstanding examples of creativity and innovation," said Douglas Leland, director of University Relations at Microsoft Research. "From robotics to wireless and ubiquitous computing, there is a great deal of activity in the device space. As more and more powerful computing devices develop, making fundamental contributions to the future of technology, our mission at Microsoft is to help promote that innovation and make software easily accessible to empower the next generation of engineers." To participate in the Innovation Excellence Awards for Windows Embedded, more than 120 colleges and universities worldwide submitted more than 130 research and curriculum proposals that included use of either Windows CE .NET or Windows XP Embedded. Grant recipients were selected based on a variety of criteria, including scientific merit, novelty, innovation and public accessibility to the results of the work. Academic Developer Conference Provides Hands-On Training In addition to today's announcement, Microsoft also announced that professors and doctoral students from more than 80 universities and colleges around the world will attend an Embedded Academic Developers Conference June 26--27, 2003, at Microsoft's Redmond Campus. The conference was created to enable the academic community to gain technical knowledge about the Windows Embedded family of products, including Windows CE .NET and Windows XP Embedded. The conference will include hands-on sessions and discussions concerning all aspects of embedded development to help promote ideas for curriculum and research projects and better enable grant winners to get their projects quickly under way. Windows Embedded Academic Program Fosters Innovation The Windows Embedded Academic Program is available to colleges, universities and academic institutions worldwide. It enables new curricula such as courseware and research projects by providing academics with the Windows Embedded Academic Curriculum License (WEACL), which permits access to more than 2 million lines of source code through the Windows CE Shared Source License. In addition, WEACL provides development tools and support that enable users to collaborate on projects easily via the Windows CE .NET Shared Platforms Program as well as access to Microsoft Official Curriculum materials for both Windows XP Embedded and Windows CE .NET. WEACL enables engineers to create projects and modify code for development, testing and evaluation purposes only. More information about WEMAP can be found at http://www.microsoft.com/windows/embedded/ce.net/evaluation/offers/academic.asp. Continuing Academic Alliance and Innovation Today's Innovation Excellence Awards for Windows Embedded announcement is another step in Microsoft's strong alliance with academia in turning ideas and research into reality. In February the company announced the recipients of the annual Microsoft Research (MSR) University Relations Innovation Excellence research grants, awarded to 25 schools around the globe to enable them to conduct research in different areas of emerging technology. More information about the MSR University Relations program can be found at http://research.microsoft.com/collaboration/university/. Shared Source Initiative The Microsoft Shared Source Initiative is a balanced approach that makes source code more broadly available while preserving the intellectual property rights that sustain a strong software business. The Shared Source Initiative framework supports a spectrum of programs and licenses offered by Microsoft, including the Windows CE Shared Source Program. The Windows CE Shared Source Program is available via the Web for free download at http://www.microsoft.com/windows/embedded/ce/tools/source/default.asp (connect-time charges may apply). About the Microsoft Windows Embedded Family Microsoft is the worldwide leader in providing adaptable and scalable platforms for building the next generation of 32-bit, connected devices that enable rich applications and services. Microsoft Windows Embedded is a family of operating system software for use in embedded devices such as automated teller machines (ATMs), consumer electronics, gateways, industrial controllers, kiosks, mobile handheld devices, point-of-sale terminals, set-top boxes, voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) phones and Windows-based thin clients. The Windows Embedded family of operating systems consists of Windows XP Embedded, which delivers the power of Windows XP Professional in componentized form for flexible development of reliable and advanced devices, and Windows CE .NET, an advanced, real-time operating system for small-footprint devices. Each of these operating system platforms includes powerful development tools for rapid development of customized devices. A core license with an estimated retail price of $3 (U.S.) provides the rich capabilities of Windows CE .NET 4.2 for creating low-cost commercial and consumer devices. A free, noncommercial distribution license for Windows CE .NET 4.2 enables developers to share device images at no cost to foster innovation and collaboration. More information about the Windows Embedded family of operating systems can be found at http://www.microsoft.com/windows/embedded/default.asp.