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In fiscal 2007, Sun made approximately $5.5 million in education-related grants through our Academic Excellence Grant program ($2.28 million) and our External Research Office program ($3.24 million).
External Research Office
The Sun External Research Office (ERO) supports technology collaborations between Sun and the academic community to transform research outcomes into future innovations, many of which will help expand access to technology. The program also promotes professional development for students as well as Sun employees.
In keeping with our commitment to developing and fostering assistive technologies, we're currently supporting a project at the University of Toronto's Adaptive Technology Resource Center in Canada to improve access to computing for people with severe disabilities. Living with a disability can be very isolating — restricting people's social interactions and making it difficult for them to study and work. Access to IT and the Internet can open doors for people with disabilities, but only if the equipment and software is designed to meet their needs. With financial and technological support from Sun, the University of Toronto is developing open source, on-screen keyboard software for people whose disabilities prevent them from using a conventional keyboard. The software will be integrated into the Solaris Operating System and will be available to any other open source operating system using the GNOME desktop environment.
For more details, see the Accessibility section in "The Network."
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Partnerships and Communities
We partner with others to support and advance the use of technology in education. One example is our participation in Education Commons, an online forum where academic systems users, designers, and implementers can share knowledge, experiences, and best practices. Another is our partnership with Curriki, an online community of educators, parents, and students that supports the development and free distribution of world-class educational materials to anyone who needs them.
Sun Academic Initiative
The Sun Academic Initiative (SAI) is designed to create a collaborative relationship between Sun and academic institutions. SAI courses introduce students to Sun technologies and enable them to obtain industry-leading certification and job-related IT skills.
Through SAI, schools and nonprofit institutions become authorized to deliver training on Sun technologies to their faculty, staff, and students. In addition, faculty, staff, and students can obtain free access to more than 200 online courses through the Sun Learning Connection. In fiscal 2007, 589 educational institutions worldwide joined the SAI program, bringing the total number of schools authorized to deliver training on Sun technologies to more than 3000. During the year, 11,883 students completed coursework through SAI, 6055 students participated in the certification exam, and 4510 students — nearly 75% — became certified in Sun technologies.
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