See some of the stories of people and organizations that have participated in skills and competences related projects and partnerships.
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Anect
A case study of European Union Grants Advisor
Anect applied for the Profese Specific Training on finance and productivity management (EUR9,000 granted).
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Belgian Employability Alliance
A case study of European Alliance on Skills for Employability
Created in May 2006, the goal of the Belgian Employability Alliance is to facilitate the provision of skills training to disadvantaged groups: young and unemployed workers, people from minority groups and citizens with disabilities, by providing them with technology and content access, skills training and certification in IT as well as other skills required by current and future employers.
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Bond Solutions
A case study of European Union Grants Advisor
Thanks to the “Växkraft” (“Power to grow”) grant, Dynamics partner Bond Solution has been able to perform a competence analysis with the objective of mapping out not only their immediate training needs but also taking future requirements into consideration.
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Computer Service Support - Supporting SME skills development
A case study of European Union Grants Advisor
Computer Service Support, headquartered in Warsaw and with 12 ICT training centres across Poland, is just one organisation working to bridge the skills divide in Poland and assist the development of an ICT-led economy.
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Computerhelp
A case study of European Union Grants Advisor
Computer Literacy = training for general public. Provision of basic training sessions to the general public in a number of branches around the Czech Republic (EUR380,000 granted)
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Czech Technical University Brno – VUTBR - ACSA
A case study of European Union Grants Advisor
Using the funds, the university is able to rent learning premises, hire internal and external learning specialists, and cover the cost of book and course production.
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Employability Alliance partnerships with Fairbridge and learndirect Scotland
A case study of European Alliance on Skills for Employability
learndirect Scotland, in partnership with Microsoft, Cisco Systems and local and national employers is working in Scotland to enhance the productivity, competitiveness and growth of the Scottish economy by increasing the scale and scope of ICT-based learning and skills acquisition across Scotland.
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Employability Alliance Polish Chapter
A case study of European Alliance on Skills for Employability
Foundation Supporting Physically Disabled Mathematicians and IT Specialists, Microsoft, Randstad, State Street, Cisco and Comptia’s Creating Futures Foundation joined forces in the European Alliance on Skills for Employability. A Polish edition of the European initiative was officially announced in the presence of Vladimir Spidla, EU Commissioner responsible for Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities. During the launching conference organized by the Employers Association Lewiatan, representatives of public administration, employers association, non-governmental organizations and business sector discussed on effective forms of education and vocational reinsertion at times of economic crisis.
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Fastrack IT
A case study of Community Technology Skills Program
Working in Ireland’s most disadvantaged communities, the Fastrack to IT (FIT) is an industry initiative which brings together government organizations with companies such as Microsoft to promote IT skills education. The goal is to enable the unemployed and people with low or no education qualifications to acquire the skills necessary to compete effectively in the increasingly knowledge-based economy.
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Growing Sweden’s ICT skills
A case study of European Union Grants Advisor
Sweden’s public employment service has launched a project to help more people achieve long-term employment in the ICT sector, made possible by a grant of over one million Euros, secured through the European Union Grants Advisory (EUGA).
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IT Fitness initiative
A case study of European Alliance on Skills for Employability
Launched in November 2006 by Bill Gates, the IT Fitness initiative in Germany aims to reach 4 million people nationally by 2010. They will get access to self-testing and self-learning tools and receive a valuable IT fitness description for their job applications. Founding members of the IT Fitness partner network include Randstad, Microsoft, State Street and Cisco.
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IT Skills Training Gives Portuguese Workers New Chance in the Labour Market
A case study of Community Technology Skills Program
CITEVE and Microsoft join hands to support Portugal’s textile industry workers by providing them with IT training to update their skills and re-enter the workforce.
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Junior Achievement (JA)
A case study of Partners in Learning
Junior Achievement Bulgaria drives ICT training for teachers.
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Kindergarten of the Future
A case study of Partners in Learning
Computer software helps children to develop language literacy skills.
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Long Eaton School
A case study of Microsoft IT Academy Program
School equips students with industry qualifications to bridge local IT skills gap.
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Prague City Council
A case study of Partners in Learning
Advancing skills and competences of teachers through Microsoft Office Courses and Certification.
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President Kennedy Community School
A case study of Microsoft IT Academy Program
School empowers teachers and students with self-directed technology classes.
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Qurius
A case study of European Union Grants Advisor
Qurius sought to extend its manpower by recruiting and training 25 young professionals on implementing ERP software functionality and skills.
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S&T
A case study of European Union Grants Advisor
S&T drew up a project plan that focused on educating its 80-strong team in: Microsoft® Server curriculum, Oracle and SAP. (EUR100,000 granted).
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Sawtry Community College
A case study of Microsoft IT Academy Program
Innovative School delivers IT training to staff, students, and local businesses.
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SB Productivity pilot
A case study of European Union Grants Advisor
Productivity is about working smarter through better management practices and organisational design, through better use of ICT and through better levels of education and skills.
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Seit
A case study of European Union Grants Advisor
The granted amount enabled partners to hire employees with subsidized wages as well as training of the employee prior to recruitment. With the grant partners aimed to enhance their sales & marketing efforts in order to realize the growth potential in sale.
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Social Care Habrovany
A case study of European Union Grants Advisor
Grant called Integration of Disabled Personnel, from the Ministry for Social Funds. The Social Care Institute of Habrovany and its project partners successfully applied for EUR190,000 (U.S.$244,000).
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Social Care Institute Uses Funds to Help People with Disabilities Join the Workforce
A case study of European Union Grants Advisor
The number of people with disabilities in the Czech Republic who are not in employment is steadily increasing. In an effort to combat this problem, the Social Care Institute of Habrovany, partnered with the Masaryk University of Brno, Czech Technical University of Prague, Paracentre Fénix, and the regional government of Southern Moravia, in order to create a training and employment programme to help those with disabilities obtain their European Computer Driving Licence (ECDL).
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Strengthening Employability in Bulgaria
A case study of Community Technology Skills Program
Through the establishment of local iCentres throughout Bulgaria, Microsoft, in partnership with the Bulgarian Government and United Nations Development Program is working to deliver ICT training to disadvantaged groups.
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Telecentre-Europe
A case study of Community Technology Skills Program
Telecenters are public facilities such as libraries or community centers where people can access computers and the Internet, undertake basic training courses and gain skills certification. Being community-based, telecenters are especially effective in reaching people who are hard to reach through formal learning channels.
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Telegrafia
A case study of European Union Grants Advisor
Telegrafia successfully applied to the Leonardo Da Vinci programme for EUR18,000 (U.S.$22,000). The project involves an analysis of the teleworking market using questionnaires, field research, and data analysis, and identifies potential needs.
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Videnpilot / WPA Mobile
A case study of European Union Grants Advisor
WPA applied for funding from Videnpilot –a government-funded grant that subsidises the hiring of graduates in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The grant amounted EUR19,440.
Read the experiences of companies and institutions that have participated in innovation and growth related projects and partnerships.
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ACC
A case study of European Union Grants Advisor
Implementation of advanced telecommunication services in SMEs from the retail shoe commerce sector.
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Ældresagen
A case study of Community Technology Skills Program
Ældresagen has initiated a programme in Denmark designed to teach elderly people how to use computers and benefit from the Internet and e-mail.
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Barcelona Chamber of Commerce
A case study of Microsoft Innovation Centers
The Barcelona Chamber of Commerce increases its service capacity and quality thanks to the use of Information Management tools.
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Bringing together talent and demand in Belgium
A case study of Students to Business
On March 10th 2009, Microsoft Belgium organized the Microsoft Students to Business Day in Antwerp, Belgium that brought together students and Microsoft partners for career opportunities in technology.Microsoft Belgium organized a Microsoft Students to Business Day in Antwerp – a kickoff event for the Microsoft Students to Business (S2B) initiative. A track of technical presentations was combined with a job fair in a partner expo in order to offer the best connecting experience to the 840 participants from 15 universities. The students then had the chance to apply to those first 60 technology jobs posted on the S2B portal.
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Consequence
A case study of European Microsoft Innovation Center
A project of the European Microsoft Innovation Center. Efficient, fast and seamless data exchange is vital for today s society. But such data exchange should not violate the confidentiality or privacy of either the data owners, or those referred to in it. Consequence is a collaborative research project partly funded by the European Commission. It started in January 2008 and will run for three years. The Consequence project will deliver a data centric information protection framework based on data sharing agreements.
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Dahl
A case study of European Union Grants Advisor
To build services and applications based on localisation and tracking services, for the mobile personal assault alarm. EUR26,000 were granted.
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Defrotherm
A case study of European Union Grants Advisor
Navision implementation. With an improved IT infrastructure in place, Defrotherm has been able to streamline and automate its business processes (EUR4,560 granted).
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Dolphin Software
A case study of BizSpark
An example of innovative start-up growth supported by Bizspark. Dolphin Software has launched Dolphin Contract Manager for SharePoint, contract management software that brings cost, time and risk reduction to the 60%+ organisations standardising on the Microsoft SharePoint platform.
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Easit
A case study of European Union Grants Advisor
The company is now looking into new markets and therefore needs to localize its product, starting out by translating it into English, German, Danish and possibly yet another language. The grant will serve to part finance the very much needed product localization.
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Ecore
A case study of BizSpark
An example of innovative growth supported by Bizspark. An expert in both processing and presenting metering data. Ecore focuses on refining large automatically gathered data masses into a form which the user of this information can best understand.
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EEPLE
A case study of European Union Grants Advisor
A EUGA Consultant assisted Eeple in identifying the French government grant “WEB INNOVANT 2.0” as the most appropriate source of funding for the Board Engine project. This grant comes under the auspices of the French Stimulus Package, which has been tailored to support and strengthen the Digital Economy with a special focus on Internet WEB 2.0 technology.
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eworx - development of a new e-mail marketing solution
A case study of European Union Grants Advisor
Eworx an Austrian Microsoft Partner will be able to create an intelligent e-mail marketing solution which coordinates the mailing process including control and feedback function.
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FS Systems
A case study of European Union Grants Advisor
FS System will develop a business integration server that will integrate and connect the other two programs of the family (the Program Guide and Procurement Optimation).
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Geoview
A case study of European Union Grants Advisor
The topic of the project is to develop an e-municipality system, which is the realization of electronic administration and customer service (EUR64,000 granted).
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Gesway
A case study of European Union Grants Advisor
In 2004, Gesway applied for a R&D tax exoneration scheme. When informed that it would be subject of a tax investigation, Gesway turned to Cap Subvention (EUGA France) to document the technical evidences. EUR115,000 was granted.
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GWeb2
A case study of BizSpark
An example of innovative start-up growth supported by Bizspark. The Digital Marketing Cloud Computing Company revolutionizes the way digital marketing is created, managed and deployed over the Internet as a service. It offers interactive marketing experiences through touch screens and mobile devices in a retail setting because 70% of the consumer decision-making process is done on location of the purchased service or product.
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Helping partners finding the right candidates in Germany
A case study of Students to Business
In Germany, 860 Microsoft partners are engaged in SmartStart, connecting to 7000 enthusiastic technology students. In Germany, Microsoft is connecting students to business with the SmartStart program. The initiative was implemented as a trainee program which organized 6 months of intensive training for young talents in IT. For the first 3 months, the students and recent graduates receive theoretical training which is put into practice at local companies during another 3 months. More than 800 Microsoft partners are engaged in this program together with 7000 enthusiastic technology students.
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Hermelin Communications
A case study of European Union Grants Advisor
Through the current development project, Hermelin is set to improve the Hermelin Standard Platform by rendering the processes and routines more efficient. The project presents three goals: a) to develop the helpdesk to work in line with ITIL’s best practise.
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KeyLemon
A case study of BizSpark
An example of innovative start-up growth supported by Bizspark. Set to revolutionise the whole computer password and log-in process, with its pioneering use of face and speech recognition technologies, KeyLemon is a 2009 winner of the Red Herring 100 Europe. A prime example of a start-up that has grown out of innovation in a university environment.
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Latvia@World
A case study of Community Technology Skills Program
Microsoft Latvia helps the Latvian Information and Communications Technology Association to form an information society in Latvia.This public private partnership (PPP) serves as a good example for how an NGO working with central and local government offices and private companies can achieve common goals – to help the Latvian people learn the computer or internet skills required in a knowledge based economy.
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LRGs
A case study of European Union Grants Advisor
ITeraz Europa (ITE) is a local initiative under the EUGA umbrella. It started in May 2004 (when Poland accessed EU) and it is an ongoing initiative.
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Mercury Solutions
A case study of BizSpark
An example of innovative start-up growth supported by Bizspark. With a primary focus on VoIP, it gives business customers in the Czech Republic and Slovakia high quality, integrated voice and data communications. The company already has partnerships in place with Mitel, HP ProCurve, Dell and Microsoft, as well as customers in the region.
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Ministry of Public Administration and Administrative Reform
A case study of Partners in Learning
The project aims to increase computer and Internet literacy and access throughout the country.
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Miyowa
A case study of European Union Grants Advisor
Based in France, Miyowa provides mobile instant messaging services. It needed funds to research and develop new applications for handheld devices. With assistance from the EUGA programme, Miyowa received a tax break for 2005 and 2006. The grant helped the company build the world’s first handset-independent client messaging technology. The status allowed Miyowa to leverage its social charges on R&D staff. Miyowa is now the global leader in mobile instant messaging services.
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Montén & Hederstierna AB
A case study of European Union Grants Advisor
Using the funds, Montén & Hederstierna was able to hire a specialist consultant with the technical expertise to build a new wireless logistics software solution that would target a niche market—small business users.
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MyMedia
A case study of European Microsoft Innovation Center
A project of the European Microsoft Innovation Center. The volume of content on the internet is literally exploding. So, in this flood, how do you find content that matters to you? The European Microsoft Innovation Center, BBC Research, BT Research, Microgénesis, Telematica Instituut and the Universities of Hildesheim and Eindhoven join their expertise in the MyMedia project to pioneer new dynamic personalization software.
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Pricing Partners
A case study of European Union Grants Advisor
Pricing Partners offers accurate solutions for derivatives products valuation, pricing tools and risk analytics on most asset classes and is the only company completely mastering the chain of valuation.
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process4biz
A case study of European Union Grants Advisor
WAFF awarded Process4.biz a grant worth EUR42,150 (U.S.$54,015). With the funds, Process4.biz was able to recruit and train a highly skilled employee and cover the first few months’ salary.
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Raising the employment rate in Portugal
A case study of Students to Business
Microsoft Students to Business, in partnership with IEFP, made an agreement with the Portuguese government to create, develop and promote 500 internship positions at 4300 Microsoft partners in order to help raising the employment rate among young people in Portugal. Microsoft Students to Business, in partnership with IEFP (Instituto de Emprego e Formação Português - Portuguese Institute for training and employment), made an agreement with the Portuguese government in the presence of Bill Gates to create, develop and promote 500 internship positions at 4300 Microsoft partners. The target group consists of unemployed people between 16 and 30 years old looking for their first job. Moreover, the companies can choose candidates with the right skills for employment opportunities. The Microsoft Students to Business (S2B) portal provides the right framework to leverage this program. So far, at least 500 students and 200 partners are registered in the program.
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SaasCom
A case study of BizSpark
An example of innovative start-up growth supported by Bizspark. Saascom specialises in the design, development and support of Software as a Service systems to Banks and Financial Institutions in the Irish, UK and other European markets. It recently helped its customer IFG to achieve 60% productivity gain as it deployed the Saascom Mortgage Portal throughout its nationwide agency network
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SEJannebergs Smedja
A case study of European Union Grants Advisor
The company has made the following investments: - New building for production, the old building was not adapted for production during the winter - New areas for the personnel, lunch facilities, locker rooms and bathrooms.
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SimplySim
A case study of BizSpark
An example of innovative start-up growth supported by Bizspark. Using SimplySim 3D simulation technology, universities or design engineers can avoid the creation of expensive prototypes for testing by creating as realistic as possible artificial environment or "world".
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Sobees
A case study of BizSpark
An example of innovative start-up growth supported by Bizspark. An easy unified user experience to access, organize and share information from the likes of Twitter, Facebook, Friendfeed, Digg, Flickr and Youtube directly on the desktop. Sobees is winner of Red Herring 100 Europe (2009) and a finalist of Innovate!Europe 09, so travelling to the Silicon Valley in June.
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Town Council of Alella
A case study of Microsoft Innovation Centers
The Town Council of Alella (Barcelona) increases its productivity through a better use of IT tools.
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VIOSO
A case study of BizSpark
An example of innovative start-up growth supported by Bizspark. German-based VIOSO- producer of innovative projection software – is a ‘spin off’ from Bauhaus University and was given a chance to commercially develop its technology, with the university retaining the patents. Today, it secured a second round of funding and deals with NEC and Toshiba.
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Virtual Factory Project Oy
A case study of BizSpark
An example of innovative start-up growth supported by Bizspark. To offer an integrated suite of best of breed solutions that can be configured to suit the needs of SMEs on an individual basis. This is the business goal of the Virtual Factory project . Partners are European, based in Finland, Sweden, Germany and the UK. Virtual Factory Project is the leader and point of contact for the network.