Microsoft announce Azure for Students. This plan, aimed at university students, gives users a Subscription with $100 of Azure credit and access to certain Azure services for free. This includes 750 hours of Azure B1S General Purpose VMs for Windows Server or Linux, and 5GB of LRS-Hot Blob Storage. The Subscription lasts for 12 months or until the free credit is all used, and then students need to upgrade to a paid Subscription within 90 days to continue using their resources.

There’s also an Azure for Students Starter plan aimed at secondary school students which includes access to some Azure services but no free credit.

Find the Microsoft announcement here: http://bit.ly/2pDbfSD and a useful FAQ here: http://bit.ly/2IRTFlW which covers available services, eligibility criteria and some other useful FAQs on Azure for Students. The corresponding FAQ for Azure for Students Starter is here: http://bit.ly/2IOQSKk.