Sun Microsystems chooses IIITM as fifth centre of excellence

Kochi: California-based Sun Microsystems has chosen the Indian Institute of Information Technology and Management (IIITM), Kerala, as the fifth centre of excellence worldwide. The other four are the University of Alberta, Canada, University of Wisconsin, US, and one university each in Singapore and Australia.

Sun regional director Andrew Lim says the institute, located in the state's Technopark, was the natural choice as a centre of excellence. "It conducts research exemplifying the principles of Sun's COE Programme Innovations that brings real-world results."

The institute will now have free access to the software and hardware of Sun, which is valued at billions of dollars, added Lim.

IIITM, set up three years ago, can now impart to its students an advanced e-learning programme called Education Grid and take classes on the Internet via an online forum. It currently offers a post-graduate diploma in IT.

IIITM director K Srivatsan says on account of the new collaboration, research activities at the centre will speed up. "Sun will fund us on specific projects and will pay the salaries of the staff members who will be employed on these projects."