Microsoft has secured the help of 12 sets of university research teams to help it improve MSN Search.
The Redmond giant has awarded 12 grants to scientists to “advance the field of search.” The winners will receive a grant of between $30,000 and $50,000, and access to more than 15 million queries and accompanying click-through data from MSN Search.
Winners are free to publish their research in journals and at conferences. Nothing is proprietary. “It’s our gift back to the research community,” enthuses Microsoft on its blog announcing the winning parties.
The gift that Microsoft receives, however, is the network of scientists spanning the U.K., Australia, Germany, the U.S., and India, who will use Microsoft query data and API technology and provide feedback on how it could improve its search technology.
Read the news story here. The full lineup of winners and their research projects can be found here.
Linda Leung lleung@nww.com
