OTTAWA, ON - July 24, 2000
Willis College of Business & Technology, Ottawa's 104-year-old
institution announced today that the Microsoft AATP summer
training initiative for Canada is scheduled to take place
at Willis College of Business and Technology from July 24-28th.
A Willis Microsoft-certified academic instructor will deliver
in-depth training in Microsoft Official Curriculum Course
2152, "Implementing Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional
and Server," at a drastically reduced price to a total of
20 educators. This is a first for Canada, a first for
Ottawa and a first for Willis College. Educators will
be attending from such places as Syracuse University, Ryerson
Polytechnic University, College of the North Atlantic, Graduate
Centre of Applied Technology, Canadore College, Novatech
Computer Careers, Hainze Institute, Champlain Regional College,
Seneca College and Forsyth Technical Community College.
There are only twenty-two schools across the US and one
in Canada participating in this prestigious training that
is subsidized highly by Microsoft. (Participants are paying
only $300 US or $500 Canadian for the week! The same level
of training otherwise could cost $1,200 US or $1,875 Canadian
at minimum.)
All host sites are either compliant or pending members
of Microsoft AATP or APDC. (Microsoft Authorized Academic
Training Providers, Microsoft Academic Professional Development
Centers.) Willis College of Business & Technology is a compliant
Microsoft AATP member.
Microsoft created the Academic Professional Development
Center (APDC) program in response to educators' requests
for a program that would enable schools, whether small institutions
or large educational systems, to offer technology training
on Microsoft developer and networking technologies. One
benefit of the program is that it allows faculty and technical
staff to be trained in their local communities with other
faculty and staff, cutting down on travel expenses and time
away from jobs.
The Microsoft Authorized Academic Training Program (AATP)
is offered through high schools, colleges, and universities
to help full-time and part-time students prepare for jobs
that demand proficiency with Microsoft products and technologies.
AATP also offers convenient and affordable programs to train
faculty members and IT support staff on Microsoft technology.
When asked why Microsoft chose Willis to host this event,
Rima Aristocrat, President and CEO of Willis College responded:
"Willis College is the only Canadian member of Microsoft
Education National Advisory Council. The mission of the
council was to answer the challenge of running technology
courses in academic environments and to design a Microsoft
AATP planning and implementation guide specifically for
AATP. During my past three years of membership, I have developed
a deep understanding of the mission of AATP, a great appreciation
of the philosophies behind AATP and APDC and a profound
admiration for the members of AATP/APDC. Their selfless
contributions and ongoing efforts have ensured the success
of Microsoft's mission to provide affordable, high quality
educational options for today's educators in tomorrow's
IT community. In particular, a very special thank-you is
due Gay Robbins and her staff."
Janie Schwark, AATP Marketing Manager writes of Willis
College and its president and CEO Rima Aristocrat: "Your
work on the AATP Advisory Council certainly exemplifies
its mission. You are one of our most active members and
certainly exemplify the spirit of sharing to make AATP a
better program for everyone. The Willis curriculum that
you have shared with the Council is outstanding and will
serve as a framework for many schools across the U.S. and
Canada."
"Education and certification are the passport to the
future," continued Aristocrat. "Together, in partnership,
Public educations and Willis College are working to create
this passport. It is our hope that this partnership will
encourage other Canadian education institutions to embrace
Microsoft's highly subsidized initiative, recognize the
importance of partnerships between public and private education
institutions, and realize the importance of the articulation
that allow students to transfer credits between Canadian
high schools, colleges and universities."
In addition to the training, Microsoft will be sponsoring
all the breaks in training (coffee and muffins in the mornings,
catered lunches and afternoon refreshments). Each attendee
will also receive a copy of Windows 2000 Professional and
Server, a MOC kit, a Curriculum and Implementation Planning
Guide for Educators and a Windows 2000 polo shirt. Guests
will receive welcome kits donated by Ottawa tourism and
personal greetings from members of the Canadian governments
and IT community as well as enjoy an evening of hospitality
sponsored by Willis College.
Willis College and its staff members thank Microsoft AATP/APDC
for giving them the opportunity to contribute to this noble
endeavour. They would also like to thank the Canadian government
along with the education and IT communities for recognizing
the importance of the AATP/APDC mission and for welcoming
their guests to the first Canadian Academic Development
Institute (CADI).
Willis College of Business and Technology is located in
Ottawa and Kanata, Ontario. This 104-year-old college specializes
in Ministry of Universities and Colleges approved and Microsoft
Certified, Oracle Certified, Certified Internet Webmaster
Certified, SUN Java training and e-Commerce/e-Business programs.
For additional information on Willis College or the products
it offers, visit the Willis College website at http://www.williscollege.com or call (613)
233-1128.
Microsoft and Windows 2000 are either registered trademarks
or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation.
For more information,
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