By Marjorie Meyer
Going back to college with a bright new laptop sounds exciting, doesn’t it? The French Government wants happy students that work hard and has therefore decided to continue its MIPE (Micro Portable Etudiant) project for a third year.
The MIPE project consists of helping students to buy a Wi-Fi-enabled laptop. Depending on the model you are eyeing up, you will have to pay just 1 euro per day over a 12 to 36 month period! It's a great opportunity for those who can’t afford to spend a lot of money in one go.
Now I wish I were still a student, as I need to buy a laptop to replace the prehistoric desktop computer I’ve been working on since I was 18. Although it's expensive, I've decided to upgrade because I simply can’t live without a decent computer anymore. Surfing on the web, connecting with friends and family living far away from me, posting on my blog and reading other people's blogs, is now an integral part of my daily life (welcome to France's PC-addicted youth culture!).
In my opinion, the MIPE project is a win-win situation for all involved. It offers students greater freedom with their time and their working methods, and for the numerous partners championing the cause (vendors, retailers, banks…), the opportunity to build and retain customer loyalty. And best of all, it closes the gap between rich and poor students.
As Carol said before, service providers in France are offering very competitive pricing for internet access, and with Wi-Fi spreading all across the country, you can increasingly get internet access for free. This, together with the MIPE project, means that cheap mobile computing and the internet should soon be available to all students.
So when are you going to send your child to one of our fabulous French universities??
Comments