MOSES LAKE — Big Bend Community College’s computer science program recently received a $10,000 donation from Microsoft, according to a press release.

The donation is to support scholarships for students working toward the new Manufacturing and Process Technology (M&PT) degree offered by the college.

Students can qualify for the scholarships if they are taking courses pertaining specifically to M&PT, Mission Critical Operations emphasis for the first of two years toward a degree. The Mission Critical Operations emphasis pilot was launched during the 2019 fall quarter and prepares students for entry-level facilities management positions, such as those found in data centers.

“Data centers require a significant variety and quantity of equipment, physical structure, electricity, cooling, security, and maintenance of these to support the Information Technology (IT) requirements on a daily basis,” stated BBCC Computer Science Specialist Tom Willingham in the press release. “Someone needs to monitor these to ensure that they operate correctly and efficiently. Schedules for operation, maintenance, and replacement must be carefully coordinated to prevent catastrophic loss.”

Microsoft has two data center campuses in Quincy and supports technology education in a number of significant ways across the region, including at BBCC. Two of those initiatives are Microsoft’s Technology Education & Literacy in Schools, or TEALS, program and the company’s TechSpark program, led locally by Lisa Karstetter.

Big Bend first offered a data center training program in fall 2017, and many students have since moved on to full-time jobs at local data centers, the press release said. The program utilizes work-based learning partnerships so students can gain experience before graduation.

Some of the large data centers in the Columbia Basin requested that Big Bend offer data specialization center training, the press release said.

Microsoft has supported Big Bend’s computer science program in the past through equipment donation and additional scholarship funds.

“We can always count on Microsoft to support our students and the college; they have a long history of helping us achieve our goals,” Willingham said in the press release. “We are very excited about the prospects of this new program, support for the data centers and great opportunities for our local students.”