IT professionals worldwide have responded enthusiastically to Charles Sturt University's (CSU) decision to offer a free short-course in Windows Phone 8 development.
The course, offered via distance education with the backing of Microsoft Australia, has attracted more than 400 developers from around the world and is the first of a range of courses CSU will offer from 2013 and beyond.
CEO of the University's industry partner IT Masters Pty Ltd, Mr Martin Hale, said the strong response and positive feedback so far reflected the strength of CSU’s industry relations and the involvement of some of the industry's most respected figures.
"The support of Microsoft Most Valuable Professional (MVP), a global community of volunteer industry experts, was instrumental in getting this and a number of other planned free short courses established," he said.
"It was fantastic to get access to the best people in the world to develop and run the course and the MVP Community has also been a great help with our Doctor of Information Technology students wishing to research Microsoft technologies and platforms."
Mr Hale said the new courses coincide with the relaunch of CSU's Master of Systems Development.
"The Master course has been redesigned to meet the current needs of programmers and incorporate new subjects reflecting the latest industry trends, such as developing applications for mobile devices," he said.
"The Windows Phone 8 course, and the other courses that will follow, give developers a chance to sharpen their skills in specific areas but also give people a chance to get a feel for studying via distance education.
"Until you've studied this way once, it can be difficult to understand how it works in practice."
Mr Hale said the short course, which launched on November 21, will be a learning experience for the University, too.
"We will use the feedback from participants to refine course content and delivery methods, but the early indicators are very positive," he said.
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