Microsoft to pay for grants at MIT.

Microsoft has unveiled a partnership with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in which the No.1 software maker will donate $25 million to the school for technology research grants. "Project I-Campus" will be based at MIT and involve MIT faculty and students and Microsoft researchers. The program is the largest educational research donation ever made by Microsoft. The funds will be awarded by a committee of Microsoft executives and MIT professors and administrators. The grant is the latest in a growing number of collaborations between schools seeking additional funding and corporations eager to expand their products and technology into classrooms and research laboratories. "Microsoft views education as one of the great frontiers where information-based services and advanced technology can improve people_s lives," said Richard Rashid, vice president of Microsoft_s research division. Three Microsoft executives will sit on the six-member committee that awards the grants, giving the Redmond-based software giant a say over what research is funded. Funds won_t be funneled to projects that support only Microsoft products. The alliance will begin by researching how information technology can improve three MIT programs, including a graduate-level engineering course taught simultaneously in Singapore and at MIT. The project also is expected to focus on developing tools to aid student learning from a distance, Web-based virtual museums and "global classrooms." Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates has made education a top philanthropic goal. Gates pledged last month to donate $1 billion for college scholarships for minority students. The "Gates Millennium Scholars Program" will provide 1,000 scholarships each year for 20 years to Asian-American, African-American, Hispanic and Native American students.