Back in July, U.S. president Donald Trump announced the AI Action Plan, designed to make the country an AI superpower and beat China in the race. But of course, winning the AI race also involves upskilling people in relevant areas and now, Microsoft has swooped in to grab to that opportunity.
At the White House's AI Education Task Force meeting held today, Microsoft announced various ways in which it's going to support the AI Education Executive Order. In addition, Microsoft President Brad Smith outlined three principles that broadly explain how the company is going to empower people of the U.S. The first deals with providing AI tools to classrooms, the second focuses on AI upskilling, while the final principle involves the creation of economic opportunities by converting learned AI skills into tangible jobs.
To that end, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella announced that Copilot in Microsoft 365 will be available to all U.S. college students for free for a year. After that, they'll be able to redeem their Microsoft 365 Personal subscription at a discounted rate that knocks 50% off the regular price. Those interested can sign up here until October 31, 2025 through a valid university email address. Similarly, classrooms will be able to take advantage of expanded access to Copilot through the Microsoft Elevate platform. This platform will also offer $1.25 million in educator grants to the top AI teachers in the country.
Furthermore, Microsoft-owned LinkedIn will open its doors to its AI learning courses and certificates available on the platform, for free. A similar offer will also be available for job seekers, as they will get access to over a 100 new AI courses with 15 new learning paths. Microsoft believes that all of these commitments serve as a powerful way to invest in the future of the United States.
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