Microsoft launches higher education courses with three UK universities

Vendor aims to tackle the digital skills gap with partnerships in London and Staffordshire

Microsoft has launched nine higher education courses with three universities in the UK to help drive the number of students studying emerging tech.

The vendor has partnered with the University of London, Staffordshire University and London School of Economics and Political Science.

Microsoft said the courses in artificial intelligence cybersecurity and data science have been built to help tackle the skills gap in the UK.

Karen Kocher, general manager of 21st century Jobs, skills and employability at Microsoft, said:"The incredible transformation we're witnessing in the 21st century workplace calls out for key organisations - governments, higher education institutions, employers, the non-profit sector - to step up and work together to teach, train and prepare workers for the jobs of tomorrow.

"This is a crucial part of our purpose at Microsoft and we are proud to join forces with seminal, global learning institutions to help make good on that purpose."

The nine courses are: Data Analysis, Data Science, Big Data, Cybersecurity, DevOps, IT Support, Internet of Things, AI and Entry-Level Software Development.

Microsoft has also partnered with two US institutions to offer the courses.