Microsoft's first Asian Datacenter Academy is based in Singapore

Source: Microsoft. Lee Hui Li, MD, Microsoft Singapore (6th from left) and Low Khah Gek (7th from left), CEO of ITE, pose with other attendees at the launch.

Microsoft has launched its first Datacenter Academy (DCA) in Asia. Located in Singapore and created in partnership with ITE, the DCA is a five-year commitment to empower some 300 ITE students with a focus on building applied data centre skills.

With 12 DCA locations globally, Microsoft partners with select education partners to provide guidance on curriculum; donations of servers, laptops, and data centre equipment for labs; and opportunities for mentorship and work experience in Microsoft data centres. The Singapore DCA draws on resources from Microsoft and ITE to offer ITE students an applied programme that connects education to a career in data centres, a growing ICT sector. Through a shared commitment to upskill students for technical jobs and prepare them for careers in the digital economy, the DCA is an extension of Microsoft's commitment to empower ITE students to thrive in a growing ICT sector.

The DCA will offer data centre skills integration into ITE's existing technical and professional development track, provide a sustainable learning lab for hands-on instructional training, and offer mentorship and professional development resources. Through ITE's Work Study Diploma programme, Microsoft will offer scholarships to cover tuition costs for up to 20 ITE students who are keen on a future in the data centre industry. Upon completion of their academic programme, selected scholars will receive an opportunity to interview for open data centre positions at Microsoft in Singapore.

"As we build a resilient, digitally inclusive future for Singapore, we must close the gap between skilling and employability while ensuring that our people have relevant skills and opportunities for success," said Lee Hui Li, Singapore MD, Microsoft. 

"As we embrace digital perseverance across business, government and our local communities, we remain focused on making intentional investments in Singapore as we deepen our ecosystem of partnerships. This will strengthen our capabilities at all levels of society and deliver broad, inclusive economic growth for our shared future."

"We are happy to partner Microsoft in equipping our Work-Study Diploma trainees with the skills needed for the data centre industry. This is a fast-growing industry and our collaboration with a strong market leader will position our trainees at the forefront of industry trends. With Microsoft, we can nurture talents for the industry and prepare them for exciting careers in this increasingly digital environment," said Low Khah Gek, CEO, ITE.

According to IDC, Microsoft, its ecosystem of partners, and customers will create over 86,000 new jobs in Singapore by 2026, of which over 50,000 will be skilled IT jobs.

Starting January 2023, ITE will offer DCA curriculum to students across all three ITE Colleges from the Work-Study Diploma programmes in Data Centre Infrastructure & Operation, Mechanical & Electrical Services Supervision, and Logistics & Supply Chain Management. The curriculum aligns closely to the core competencies required for data centre roles across the tech sector focused on data centre infrastructure management, IT support, troubleshooting and mechanical services. It also includes experiential training across areas including artificial intelligence, data analytics, automation and cybersecurity.

Through this data centre-focused curriculum, students can acquire knowledge and earn a certificate of completion or a diploma. This gives students industry-relevant accreditations for a career in technology.

At the Datacenter Lab situated in ITE College East, students will be able to practice and apply their technical knowledge through hands-on learning experiences in a real-world setting. They will be able to practice skills such as cable installations, data centre physical infrastructure management, parts replacement, physical hardware troubleshooting, and hardware and network diagnostics. 

As students hone their data centre skills in ITE, they will also be one of the first in Singapore to use servers at their Datacenter lab on campus. These servers were donated by the Microsoft Circular Center in Singapore. The first of its kind in Asia, the Microsoft Circular Center enables the reuse and repurpose of decommissioned cloud computing hardware from Microsoft's data centres. The global programme aims to reuse 90% of cloud computing hardware assets by 2025.

To better prepare ITE students for a career in the data centre industry, Microsoft employees will also provide support and mentorship guidance through regular engagement with DCA participants and graduates.

Beyond helping customers to do more with less, the DCA joins a wider range of initiatives from Microsoft that have been implemented locally to build a resilient, digitally-inclusive Singapore and support broad economic growth.

These initiatives include public-private partnerships to positively impact the local community on areas including cybersecurity and accessibility, as well as national skilling initiatives like #GetReadySG and Let's Skill Up which close the gap between skilling and employability. Microsoft also continues to build deep partnerships across the public and private sectors to create sustainable solutions, steer the adoption of responsible artificial intelligence and strengthen critical infrastructure for a digital future.