Nasdaq-listed integrated business software and hardware company Oracle today entered into an MoU with ICT Academy set up by the Tamil Nadu government to provide IT skills for students from the State.

As per the MoU, Oracle India through its Oracle Academy programme, would train 640 instructors from 400 colleges in three years, a company statement here said.

The Academy would provide software, technical support, access to curriculum and faculty professional development to institutions enrolled in the Oracle Academy's "Introduction to Computer Science" and "Advanced Computer Science programmes".

These programmes are expected to benefit 2.50 lakh students in the state over a three year period, it said.

The Oracle Academy, one of Oracle Education Foundation's intitiatives, reaches over 1.5 million students worldwide. It supports one million students in 91 countries.

"Through Corporate Citizenship, Oracle has made great efforts to extend the reach of education and technology to stduents throughout India", Oracle India Managing Director Bhaskar Pramanik said.

ICTACT is the non-profit autonomous organisation formed by Tamil Nadu Government and Confederation of Indian Industry.

ICTAT Chief Executive Officer Sivakumar said one of its main charters was to improve quality of students graduating from institutes and colleges in Tamil Nadu to make them industry ready. "By introducing the Oracle Academy programme, we are confident our students will gain a competitive advantage," he added.

Institutions wishing to participate in the programme need to visit http://academy.oracle.com, the statement added.

Currently, over 58,000 students from 350 education institutions in India benefit from the Oracle Academy programme, the statement said.