Introduction
The advent of Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) has transformed the way we live and work, creating new opportunities for business and access to information services. However, for one to optimally harness these opportunities, they are need to update a wide range of skills including technical, business and person traits.  Therefore, Microsoft Corporation as a leading technology corporation through her, Local Software Economy (LSE) directorate rolled out the Microsoft Innovations Center (MIC) Network as a means of accelerating students to Jobs, Ideas to Innovations, and Innovations to solutions and Solutions to companies.  The Microsoft Innovation Centers (MICs) which are local government organizations, universities, industry organization, software or hardware vendors that partnered with Microsoft with a common goal to foster the growth of local software economies. These state of art technology facilities  are open to students, professional software developers, IT professionals, entrepreneurs and academic researchers. The broader areas of focus in the MIC network include;

1. Skills and Intellectual Capital: The Skills Accelerator focuses on intellectual capital and people enablement with software, business management and marketing courses, software development courses, and employment programs for students.
2. Business and Industry Partnerships: The Partnership Accelerator focuses on enabling successful partnerships by connecting people and organizations in the innovation ecosystem. The MICs do this by offering programs on partnering with Microsoft, and by cultivating local and regional industry alliances that support the growth of software ‘industry clusters’ and software quality assurance programs.
3. Solutions and Innovation: The Innovation Accelerator focuses on enhancing local capacity for innovation through hands on engagements. This includes labs for Independent Software Vendors (ISVs), start ups, partners, students, and entrepreneurs Microsoft Innovation Centers Scope of work

In May, 2011 Microsoft Approved the establishment of a Microsoft Innovation Center in Uganda in light of the growing ICT industry in the country. While the MIC program covers a wide number of areas, MIC Uganda for the year 2011/2012 wil focus on the following activities in the domain of Accelerating Students to Business, and Ideas to Solutions.  The choice of the areas of focus is motivated by the unique opportunities offered by the large numbers of students graduating or enrolled in the Computer Science and related fields in the country. For example the College of Computing and Information Sciences alone has over 6,000 students on its undergraduate programs with another 500 on graduate programs. These numbers exclude the over 4000 students that are trained at the College every year in professional skills like the Microsoft IT Academy programs.  In specific terms the MIC Uganda will carry out activities in the following areas;

1. Imagine Cup competitions
2. Student to Business program
3. Business Skills Development
4. Technical Skills Development
5. Business Incubator / Startup Incubation
6. Microsoft IT Academy
7. Developer Camps

Activity Schedules (November-December 2011)

Location: 6th floor, CoCIS Block B, Makerere University, Plot 5, University Road, Kampala, Uganda
Manager: Drake Patrick Mirembe
Telphone: +256 776 844343
email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Website: www.cis.mak.ac.ug/psd/mic